First bounce, then enclosure: that order decides most wall calls.

The ruleset and competitions covered

This is an international-baseline explanation of doubles padel under the FIP Rules of Padel, revision effective 1 January 2026. Rules 1 and 6–16 control the scoring, serve, live-ball and enclosure questions below.

The FIP rulebook permits several scoring methods and match formats. An event's regulations must say which option applies; a club league, national federation or age-grade competition may supplement the FIP baseline. The rally and wall rulings on this page should therefore be read with the appointed competition regulations.

Metal fence is not automatically out

The decisive question is not simply “glass or fence?” Under FIP Rules 12–14, ask what the ball touched before the enclosure and which side of the net it was on.

• Opponent's side, before a bounce: a return that goes directly into the opponents' wall or metallic fence loses the point for the hitter.
• Opponent's side, after a bounce: the ball remains live after hitting an internal wall or metallic fence and may be returned before its second ground bounce.
• Your side, while making a return: the ball may be played off your own wall and then into the opponents' court. If your shot touches your own metallic fence or your own ground, you lose the point.

A ball that first reaches the floor-wall angle in the opponents' court is expressly a correct return under Rule 14(i).

Games, sets and matches

FIP Rule 1 uses the familiar sequence love, 15, 30 and 40. Under the advantage option, three points each is deuce; a pair then needs two consecutive points to win the game. The ordinary set is first to six games with a two-game margin, with a tie-break at 6–6. A match is normally best of three sets.

A standard tie-break is first to seven points with a two-point margin. The player due to serve starts with one point from the right; service then changes for two points at a time in the existing service order, beginning from the left. FIP also permits pre-announced alternatives, including four-game mini-sets and a seven- or ten-point match tie-break replacing the final set.

Advantage, Star Point or Golden Point?

FIP Rule 1 now contains three alternatives. They are options, not three stages used in every match:

• Advantage: after deuce, win two consecutive points.
• Star Point: play a first advantage. If that pair loses, return to deuce 2; play a second advantage. If that pair also loses the next point, return to deuce 3 and play one deciding Star Point.
• Golden Point: at the first deuce, play one deciding point.

For a Star or Golden deciding point, the receiving pair chooses the right or left receiving side but may not exchange its established receiving positions. In mixed play, the receiver must be the same sex as the server.

Star Point is current on major FIP circuits

FIP announced Star Point for 2026 on Premier Padel, the CUPRA FIP Tour, FIP Promises and FIP Beyond. The 2026 Premier Padel men's rulebook, section 11.9, specifies best-of-three tie-break sets using Star Point.

That professional-tour choice does not make Star Point compulsory in every match played under FIP rules. Before play, check the competition entry conditions or match notice for the game method, number and length of sets, and whether a match tie-break replaces a final set.

A legal serve is bounced, diagonal and waist-high or lower

Rules 6–8 require this sequence:

1. The server starts in the correct service area, behind the service line and between the imaginary extension of the centre service line and the sidewall.
2. The server bounces the ball in that service area. Until the strike, the ball may not cross the service line or the imaginary centre-line extension.
3. At contact, the ball is at or below the server's waist and at least one foot remains on the ground. The feet must not touch the service line, the imaginary centre extension or the receiving box on the server's side before contact.
4. The ball travels diagonally over the net and first bounces inside the correct receiving service box. A line bounding that box counts in.

The opening point is served from the right, into the receiver's left service box; the service side alternates point by point. An intentional attempt to hit the ball counts as a service even if the server misses it.

One fault leaves one serve; two lose the point

FIP Rule 7 makes the serve a fault if the server breaks the Rule 6 procedure, misses on the attempted strike, lands the ball outside the correct box, or hits the server, the server's partner or something either carries or wears. A first fault leaves the second service; a fault on that second attempt loses the point under Rule 13(q).

A serve that lands correctly and then touches the metallic fence before its second bounce is a fault. A serve that lands correctly and then reaches the glass is not listed as a fault: it remains playable, and the receiver must return it before the second ground bounce. On a court without the required safety zone and therefore without authorised out-of-court play, a serve that exits directly through the gate after its correct bounce is also a fault.

The serve must bounce before it is returned

Rule 8 requires the receiver to let the serve bounce in the correct service box and return it before its second bounce. If the serve hits the receiver or the receiver's racket before that first bounce, the serving pair wins the point—even if the ball might otherwise have gone out.

A served ball that touches the net or supporting post, then lands in the correct box without touching the metallic fence before the second bounce, is a net service and is replayed. On a first-service net or let, the server again has two serves; on a second-service net or let, only the second serve is repeated. If the receiver was genuinely not ready, the serve is a let, but a receiver who attempted a return cannot then rely on “not ready.”

Correct the sequence; do not erase completed points

If a player serves from the wrong side, Rule 6 says to correct the side as soon as the error is found; completed points remain valid, and an existing first-service fault still counts. If the wrong partner serves, the correct server takes over when the error is found and completed points remain valid. A lone fault made before that discovery is disregarded; if the whole game has finished, the altered service order continues to the end of the set.

If the receiving partners change their established order by mistake, Rule 8 requires them to keep that altered order through the game—or through the tie-break—in which it was discovered, then restore the original order for later games in the set. These correction rules fix the sequence prospectively rather than replaying valid points.

After the first bounce, use the enclosure before bounce two

Once an opponent's shot has bounced in your court, Rule 12 keeps it live if it then strikes the internal glass, another wall or the metallic mesh and frame. You may play it before its second ground bounce. The wall contact does not count as that second bounce.

You may return the ball directly over the net or first rebound it from a wall on your own side. The resulting return must then bounce in the opponents' court (unless they volley it). A return that goes from your racket to your own floor or metallic fence loses the point under Rule 13(l).

Your return needs court before wall or fence

A return is correct if it bounces in the opponents' court and then hits a wall or metallic fence. It is also correct if it clips the net or net post and then bounces in that court. By contrast, it is a lost point if the ball goes directly from your racket—or from your own wall—into the opponents' wall or fence without first reaching their floor. The same result follows if it clips the net and then goes directly into that enclosure.

The opponents may volley a return before it bounces. If the ball instead strikes an opponent or the opponent's racket, Rule 14(a) treats the return as having reached that pair; contact with the body, clothing or equipment other than the racket costs that pair the point under Rule 13(k).

An exit through the door may continue the rally

Rule 16 permits players to leave the court to retrieve a ball only where the court meets the FIP safety-area conditions. Each side needs two access points and an unobstructed outside area at least 3 metres wide, 4 metres long on either side and 3 metres high; 4 metres of width is recommended. Lighting columns in that safety area prevent out-of-court play.

Without authorised out-of-court play, a ball that has bounced correctly and then leaves through a gate or over the marked perimeter ends the point. With out-of-court play, a ball going through a side opening or over a sidewall can still be chased and returned from outside before its second bounce or before it touches an unrelated object. A ball leaving over the end wall is not retrievable under Rule 13(e).

The enclosure is only one part of the ruling

Under Rule 13, a pair also loses the point when the ball bounces twice before return; a player, racket or carried item touches the net, net posts, cable or opponents' court while the ball is live; the ball touches the player or partner after the player's own strike; or both partners hit it. A thrown racket cannot make a legal return.

A single continuous stroke can remain legal when contact is not two separate hits and the ball's natural exit is not substantially changed. Conversely, dropping the racket or breaking its mandatory wrist cord immediately loses the live point under the 2026 wording.

The serve reaches glass after landing in the box

Situation: the first serve clears the net, lands on the diagonal service-box line and rebounds from the side glass.

FIP 2026 ruling: play continues. Lines count in, and Rule 7 makes post-bounce metallic-fence contact—not glass contact—the enclosure fault. The receiver must play the ball before its second ground bounce.

The second serve reaches the mesh

Situation: after a first fault, the second serve lands in the correct box and touches the metallic fence before bouncing again.

FIP 2026 ruling: the receiving pair wins the point. Rule 7(e) makes that contact a service fault, and Rule 13(q) makes two consecutive service faults a lost point.

A rally return hits back glass before the floor

Situation: Red drives the ball past Blue, but it goes directly into Blue's back glass without bouncing and Blue does not volley it.

FIP 2026 ruling: Red loses the point. Under Rule 13(g), the opponents' wall cannot be the return's first court contact.

Back glass helps make the return

Situation: Blue's incoming ball bounces in Red's court and reaches the back glass. Red strikes it into Red's side glass; it then crosses the net and bounces in Blue's court.

FIP 2026 ruling: the return is legal. Rule 14(b) allows a return off a wall on the hitter's own side before it bounces in the opponents' court. It would be lost if Red's struck ball touched Red's metallic fence instead.

The ball leaves through an open side gate

Situation: Red's shot bounces in Blue's court and travels through the side opening. Blue runs out and returns it before a second bounce.

FIP 2026 ruling: the return can be legal only if out-of-court play is authorised and the court satisfies the Rule 16 safety conditions. On a court without authorised outside play, the point ended when the ball left the playing enclosure.

Backspin carries the ball over the net again

Situation: Red's shot bounces in Blue's court and spins back over the net toward Red's side. Blue reaches across the plane of the net and plays it without touching the net or Red's court.

FIP 2026 ruling: the return is legal. Rule 14(g) permits this after the ball has first bounced correctly and returned across the net; Blue could not reach across to strike an ordinary incoming ball before it crossed the net.

How to rule a scoring, serve or wall dispute

1. Name the ruleset and format. Confirm FIP 2026 and the event's selected scoring and match format.
2. If it is a serve, check the action. Correct service area, bounce, feet, waist height, diagonal box and first or second attempt.
3. Track the first court contact. On a rally return, opponents' floor before their enclosure is legal; enclosure before floor is not.
4. Track the defending side. After a legal first bounce, wall or fence contact remains live until the second ground bounce.
5. Check how the return was made. Own wall can be used; own floor or metallic fence cannot.
6. Check the exits and contacts. Outside-play authorisation, player contact, net touch, double hit and equipment can decide the point independently.
7. Apply the outcome. Play on, replay a let, take a second serve, or award the point—do not treat all unusual contacts as “out.”

Six shortcuts that produce the wrong call

• “Any fence contact is out.” After a rally ball bounces in the receiving court, its fence contact remains live.
• “Glass is always legal.” A return that directly strikes the opponents' glass before their floor loses the point.
• “Padel has one scoring system.” FIP Rule 1 offers advantage, Star Point and Golden Point; the event selects one.
• “The serve is simply underhand.” The enforceable FIP tests are a prior bounce, contact at or below waist level and at least one foot grounded, plus the service-position requirements.
• “A serve can be volleyed.” The receiver must wait for the service-box bounce.
• “Leaving the court always ends the point.” A side exit may remain playable on a court with authorised out-of-court play.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• International Padel Federation — Rules of Padel, revision effective 1 January 2026, Rules 1 and 6–16
• International Padel Federation — Reglas del Pádel, revision effective 1 January 2026, Rule 1 (parallel Spanish scoring text)
• International Padel Federation — Star Point implementation notice, 18 December 2025
• Premier Padel / FIP — Official Rulebook, Men's Tournaments, version 2026, section 11.9

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the FIP rules revision effective 1 January 2026 and the cited 2026 competition material. The FIP rules provide the international baseline; national bodies, club leagues and individual events may supplement it or select another authorised scoring and match format.