Padel match: How to play, how to score points, history and other details

padel is an exciting new sport that is catching on at breakneck speed in Italy, but how does a match padel?

A more than legitimate question given that, being still relatively unknown, there is some confusion around this sport.

For this reason, the Racchettiamo team comes to your rescue, leading you to clarify a few doubts about it.

Every little aspect to know, you will find it explained in the following lines, so let's dive into the discovery of this world.

What is the difference between Paddle and Padel?

One of the key points that we often hear confused about is the term paddle, improperly used for padel or in other more or less erroneous ways.

The paddle is the ancestor of the padel, a sport that opened the door to the version we know today, but which has disappeared over time.

The original padel was played on a field of half the size of the tennis one, with the barriers at the end of the pitch similar to those of today's padel.

Later the rules were then changed, with a wider court, and other modifications that allowed a more dynamic and tennis-like game.

Therefore what changes between paddle and padel? The fact that in padel the barriers could not be used to bounce the ball, while in padel they could.

The modern padel was born a few years later, when Enrique Croquera tried to create a padel court but, due to the limited space, he found himself having to deal with house walls that demarcated the area.

For this reason he established that, in order to play padel at his home, rebounds off the back walls counted as a field.

From there the padel was born, with the same philosophy still present today.

As a last note we want to remind you that there is also paddle surfing, a water sport that has nothing to do with paddle tennis or padel.

If you are looking for of padel clothing or the best padel shoes for all players,you can read our guides.

How does the game of padel work?

At this point it's time to go and see how to play a game of padel, with all its strange but simple rules.

Well, as mentioned earlier, backstops can be used to bounce the ball and hit back.

The score is the classic tennis one, i.e. 15-30-40 and a point, with the advantages in case of a tie 40-40.

That said, there are tons of other things to know but, since we have already written a detailed article about it, I leave you our guide on how to play padel.

How Long Does It Take to Play Padel Well?

A 100,000 million dollar question to which there is simply no single answer.

It all depends on the skill of the player to learn and adapt, there are no shortcuts.

Obviously those who have a past as a tennis player (or from other similar racket sports) certainly have less difficulty adapting.

Then there are natural talents, people who manage to understand every secret and play very well in a short time.

Others instead who need longer time but, in the end, everyone manages to reach an optimal level.

However, to give you an answer that can be considered satisfactory, with an average commitment (1/2 lessons per week), it takes 4 to 8 months to pass the beginner stage.

If you are looking for the best padel rackets for beginners, I leave you our article.

Where to see Padel matches?

Playing padel is great but, from time to time, watching some padel matches of the champions can also be interesting.

Well you must know that, the World Padel Tour and many other padelistic tournaments, are actually broadcast on free and paid channels.

The best tournaments are broadcast on Sky, channel 204, 205 and 206 (those of tennis and generic to be clear), which are paid.

If, on the other hand, you want to use your internet connection to see the World Padel Tour, you can connect to World Padel Tour TV and create an account.

Apart from these two options, you can keep an eye out for the free sports channels, which may broadcast reruns of old matches or minor tournaments not covered by pay TV.

If you are looking for the best padel rackets of 2022, you can find them at this link.

Conclusions

This is all you need to know about padel matches, how they are played and where you can watch them on television.

With the increasing diffusion of padel in Italy, we are sure that more and more opportunities will arise linked to courses, tournaments, specialized shops and fields to practice padel.

We at Racchettiamo will collect all the available information for you, in order to satisfy all your padelistica needs.