In padel, the receiver cannot volley the serve. The serve has to bounce in the correct receiving service box first, and the designated receiver must return it before a second floor bounce. After that return, the point becomes an ordinary rally.
The return of serve is the first shot played by the receiving pair after a legal serve. It is different from a normal rally shot because the receiver must wait for the ball to bounce in the service box before hitting it. A direct volley return of serve is not legal in padel.
The serve must bounce in the correct diagonal service box before it can be returned. Lines count as good, so a serve that touches the service-box line can be returned. If the receiver plays the ball before that bounce, or the ball hits the receiver or their racket before bouncing, the point goes to the server.
Once the serve has bounced legally, the receiver must hit it before it bounces on the floor a second time. A rebound off the glass or fence does not count as a floor bounce, but it does not give the receiver unlimited time. If the ball reaches a second floor bounce before the return, the receiving pair loses the point.
In doubles, the receiving pair sets a receiving order for the set. The player assigned to receive from that side of the court is the receiver for that serve. If the receiving pair gets the order wrong, officials treat it as an order error: points already played normally stand, and the order is corrected according to when the mistake is discovered.
At the start of each set, the receiving pair chooses who receives the first service game. During each game, the two partners receive alternately as the server serves from the right and left sides. Once the receiving order is chosen for a set or tiebreak, it normally stays fixed until a new set begins.
If the serve is a fault, there is no valid return to make. A serve that lands outside the correct box is a fault. A serve that lands in the box but then hits the metal fence before the second bounce is also a fault. A serve that lands correctly and rebounds from the glass can be returned before the second floor bounce.
If the serve touches the net or a net post and then lands legally without becoming a service fault, it is normally a let and the serve is replayed. If the ball touches the net and then hits the receiver or their equipment before bouncing, the service is also treated under the let rule rather than as a normal return.
The server should not serve until the receiver is ready, and the receiver should be ready within the normal pace of play. If the receiver was genuinely not ready, the serve is replayed. If the receiver tries to return the serve, they normally cannot then claim they were not ready.
After the receiver makes a legal return, the ordinary rally rules apply. The return may go directly into the opponents' court, may use the receiver's own glass first, may touch the net and land in, or may become out if it hits the opponents' wall, fence, or another outside object before bouncing in their court.
Officials look at the sequence: whether the serve was legal, whether the correct receiver played it, whether the ball bounced before contact, and whether the return was made before the second floor bounce. In casual play, the same sequence is the best way to settle the call without turning every difficult serve into a replay.