A legal padel serve is a sequence, not just a low swing.

The ruleset used on this page

This page applies the FIP Rules of Padel in English and Spanish, both marked as reviewed for application on 1 January 2026. FIP is the international governing body, and Rules 6–9 control the serve, service faults, return and service lets.

This is an international baseline, not a claim that every club, national federation or tournament uses identical procedures. The current Premier Padel and CUPRA FIP Tour officiating texts contain two service instructions that do not align cleanly with the baseline rulebook; those differences are identified below rather than silently made universal.

Begin behind the service line in the correct service area

FIP Rule 6 requires the server to start with one foot behind the service line, between the imaginary continuation of the centre service line and the sidewall, and to remain in that service area until the ball is struck. The server's feet must not touch the service line, the imaginary centre-line continuation or the receiving box on the server's own side before contact.

A foot on a painted line is therefore not rescued by the rest of the serve being correct. The position restriction lasts until the ball is hit; crossing afterward is not itself a service fault.

Bounce first; strike no higher than the waist

The server must bounce the ball on the floor inside the corresponding service area. Before the strike, the ball may not cross the service line or the imaginary centre-line continuation. At contact the ball must be at or below the server's waist, and at least one foot must be touching the ground.

The current FIP rule does not use “underhand” as a separate legal test. It uses the observable bounce, height, foot and position requirements. A tennis-style toss and overhead serve fails those requirements, but a low-looking swing can also be a fault if the bounce or feet were illegal. FIP does not define an anatomical marker or measurement procedure for “waist” in the playing rule, so a borderline height call remains a fact decision rather than a different published centimetre test.

Serve diagonally, starting from the right

The first point of a normal game is served from the right service area into the receiver's left-hand service box. After each point, the side alternates: left-to-right, then right-to-left, and so on. The ball must pass over the net and its first bounce must be inside the correct diagonal box.

Under FIP Rule 7(c), every line bounding the receiving service box counts as good. A ball on the service line or centre service line is therefore in; a first bounce wholly beyond a bounding line is a fault.

Glass can be live; metallic fence is a service fault

A correct first bounce does not finish the service ruling. If the ball then touches the metallic fence surrounding the court before its second bounce, FIP Rule 7(e) makes the serve a fault. By contrast, the baseline rules do not list post-bounce glass contact as a service fault, so a serve that bounces in the correct box and then reaches the glass remains playable. The receiver must return it before the second floor bounce.

If the ball bounces correctly and exits directly through a gate on a court without the safety area and authorization for out-of-court play, Rule 7(f) makes the serve a fault. On a court where out-of-court play is authorized, that particular no-safety-zone fault does not apply; the receiver may have to chase the ball outside. See the out-of-court play rules for the court requirements.

The server and partner cannot be struck

Rule 7 also makes the service a fault when the ball hits the server, the server's partner, or anything either is wearing or carrying. This is different from a legal serve striking a receiver before the required bounce: unless the ball first touched the net or an in-play supporting post, Rule 8 awards that point to the server.

A breach of any of the first six service requirements in Rule 6 is a fault as well. That includes the wrong starting area, illegal pre-contact line or court position, bad bounce, above-waist contact, no foot on the ground at contact, or wrong diagonal destination.

Net contact can replay the first or second service

Under baseline FIP Rule 9, the service is a “net” when it touches the net or a supporting post and then lands in the correct receiver's service box, provided it does not touch the metallic fence before the second bounce. It is also a net if, after touching the net or an in-play post, it hits an opponent or an item the opponent carries or wears. The service is repeated.

The Spanish Rule 9(b) says “opponent,” while the English text says “any player.” FIP By-law 26.1 makes Spanish prevail in a discrepancy, and Rule 7(d) separately makes a service that hits the server or serving partner a fault. This page therefore applies the net replay to opponent contact and the service fault to contact with the serving pair.

• First-service net or let: the complete point is replayed and the server again has two services.
• Second-service net or let: only the second service is repeated.
• Net, then wrong first bounce: the service does not meet Rule 9's net condition and is a fault.
• Net, correct bounce, then metallic fence: it is a fault, not a replay.

Do not serve an unready receiver

Rule 6 says the server must wait until the receiver is ready, while the receiver must adapt within reason to the server's rhythm. If the receiver attempts to return the serve, that player cannot then claim not to have been ready. If the receiver genuinely was not ready, a service fault cannot be called; Rule 9 provides a let.

This protects readiness without giving the receiver unlimited control of pace. In an officiated match, readiness and whether an attempted return occurred are fact decisions for the appointed official.

The designated receiver must let the serve bounce

The receiver may stand anywhere on that pair's side, but must allow the ball to bounce inside the correct service box and return it before the second floor bounce. The receiving pair chooses its order in the first game of the set, then the partners receive alternately during each game. That order cannot ordinarily change during the set or tie-break.

If the serve hits either receiver or a receiver's racket before bouncing, Rule 8 gives the point to the server. The exception is when the service first touched the net or an in-play supporting post: Rule 9 classifies that sequence as a net and repeats the service.

Correct the order without erasing completed points

• Wrong service side: correct it as soon as it is discovered. Completed points remain valid, and a first-service fault already made still counts.
• Wrong player serves: the correct server takes over as soon as the error is found. Completed points remain valid, but one earlier service fault is not carried over. If the game has ended, keep the altered service order to the end of the set.
• Wrong player receives: keep the altered receiving order through the game or tie-break in which it was discovered, then restore the originally selected positions for later games in that set.

These are correction rules, not automatic replays. The score already earned normally stands.

Star Point or Golden Point can change the receiving side

FIP Rule 1 offers Advantage, Star Point and Golden Point scoring methods. Under the Star Point and Golden Point options, the receiving pair chooses whether the deciding point is received on the right or left. The receivers may not swap their established positions merely to put the other partner on the chosen side; in mixed play, the receiver must be the same sex as the server.

This is a scoring-method exception to the ordinary alternating-side sequence. Check the event's published format before deciding which service side applies. In an Advantage game there is no corresponding receiver-choice deciding point.

Fault, double fault, net, let or live ball?

• First fault: the server has one service remaining.
• Second consecutive fault: the receiving pair wins the point.
• Qualifying net or service let: repeat according to whether it occurred on the first or second service.
• Valid serve: the ball is live from the valid service until the point is decided or a let is called.
• Receiver or partner struck before the bounce: point to the server, unless the ball first touched the net or an in-play post.

There is no advantage provision that converts a service fault into live play. Once a service fault is called, use the remaining service or award the point after the second fault.

Review is available only where the competition provides it

There is no universal player-review procedure in FIP Rules 6–9. Under Section 13 of the 2026 Premier Padel men's and CUPRA FIP Tour rulebooks, where the approved review system is operating, the Review Official may monitor service violations such as foot faults in real time. Service height is checked only after a valid player review request.

If the system cannot decide a player request, the chair umpire's original call remains and the pair does not lose a request. If the chair umpire requested the review and the system cannot decide, those tour procedures direct a let. Other competitions may use no video review or a different process.

How to rule on a disputed serve

1. Confirm the server and side. Apply the set order, point sequence and any deciding-point receiver choice.
2. Check the feet and starting area. Look for line contact or entry into the wrong court area before the strike.
3. Track the bounce. It must occur inside the server's corresponding service area.
4. Freeze contact. The ball must be at or below waist level and at least one foot must be grounded.
5. Judge the first bounce. It must be in the diagonal receiving box; its boundary lines are good.
6. Identify the next contact. Net, glass, metallic fence, gate or player can lead to different rulings.
7. Apply the service count. First fault, second fault, first-service replay and second-service replay do not have the same result.

The first bounce clips the service line

Situation: the ball clips the outer service line of the correct diagonal box and then rebounds from the glass.

FIP 2026 ruling: live serve. Rule 7(c) counts the line as good, and post-bounce glass is not listed as a service fault. The receiver must play it before the second floor bounce.

The ball lands in, then reaches the mesh

Situation: the first bounce is plainly inside the correct box, but the ball then touches the metallic side fence before a second bounce.

FIP 2026 ruling: service fault under Rule 7(e). The correct landing does not override the later metallic-fence test.

A second serve clips the net and lands correctly

Situation: after one fault, the second service touches the net, lands in the correct box and does not reach the metallic fence before its second bounce.

FIP 2026 ruling: net; repeat the second service only. The player does not regain a first service.

The receiver volleys a clean serve

Situation: the serve has not touched the net and is travelling toward the correct box, but the receiver strikes it before it bounces.

FIP 2026 ruling: point to the server under Rule 8(5). A padel service return must be played after the service-box bounce, not volleyed.

The ball exits directly through an open gate

Situation: the ball lands in the correct box and goes straight through a gate before its second bounce.

FIP 2026 ruling: check the court authorization. On a court without the required safety area and authorization for out-of-court play, Rule 7(f) makes it a service fault. Do not call every open-gate exit a universal fault without first checking the court and competition conditions.

Movement and net-plus-sidewall wording do not align

The 2026 FIP English and Spanish playing rulebooks require the server to remain in the service area, avoid the specified lines and own receiving box, and keep at least one foot grounded at contact. They do not publish a separate “may not walk, run or jump” clause. However, the CUPRA FIP Tour Official Rulebook, Version 2026, and the Premier Padel Men's Official Rulebook, Version 2026/2, expressly instruct chair umpires to call walking, running or jumping during service as a fault.

Those tour books cite that instruction as Rule 6.7, but Rule 6.7 in the current 2026 Rules of Padel concerns correcting a serve made from the wrong side. Their service-fault cross-references also use older-looking numbers for the waist and foot tests. Treat the movement instruction as an express rule for those named tours, not as text found in the 2026 international baseline.

There is a second mismatch. Baseline FIP Rule 9 excludes a service net when the ball reaches the metallic fence before its second bounce; the two tour officiating procedures say “metal fence or sidewalls.” For a net-touch serve that then reaches a sidewall, the published texts do not produce a clean universal answer. In a Premier Padel or CUPRA FIP Tour match, follow the appointed official and that tour's procedure; elsewhere, check the governing competition rules instead of guessing.

Six claims to avoid

• “Underhand means legal.” The current FIP tests are bounce, position, contact height, grounded foot and destination.
• “It landed in, so play continues.” Metallic-fence contact before the second bounce still makes a fault.
• “Glass and mesh are the same.” They have different service consequences under Rule 7.
• “Any net touch is a replay.” The later landing and contact must satisfy Rule 9.
• “The receiver may volley a serve.” Rule 8 requires a bounce in the receiving box first.
• “A wrong server erases the points.” FIP's correction rules normally preserve completed points.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• International Padel Federation — Rules of Padel (English), review applicable 1 January 2026: Rule 1 and Rules 3–10, 12 and 16
• International Padel Federation — Reglas del Pádel (Spanish), review applicable 1 January 2026: Rules 1 and 3–10, 12 and 16
• International Padel Federation — By-laws approved 28 November 2025: Articles 23.1 and 26.1 on official rule languages and discrepancies
• International Padel Federation — CUPRA FIP Tour Official Rulebook, Version 2026, application date 1 January 2026: Sections 11.1.8, 11.1.9 and 13
• Premier Padel / International Padel Federation — Official Rulebook, Men's Tournaments, Version 2026/2, application date 1 June 2026: Sections 11.8, 11.9 and 13

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the English and Spanish Rules of Padel currently linked from FIP's official documents library, the current FIP By-laws and the cited tour rulebooks. Rules 6–9 control the international service baseline. National federations, age grades, clubs and tournament regulations may supplement scoring, court authorization, officiating and review. The English/Spanish opponent-contact difference is resolved under FIP By-law 26.1; the published tour differences concerning service movement, rule numbering and net-plus-sidewall contact are retained above as competition-specific instructions or unresolved text conflicts.