What is padel?
The fast, social doubles game played inside glass walls. Three indoor courts at the Park, open 24/7 through the app, and your first go is free.
Played in doubles
Partner up and split the court.
Enclosed in glass
The walls are part of the play, like squash.
Easy to start
Most people rally inside ten minutes.
A proper workout
Fast feet, short bursts, long rallies.
Padel in 60 seconds
Padel (it rhymes with “saddle”) is a doubles racket sport played on an enclosed court about the size of a tennis service box. The glass walls keep the ball in play, the serve is underhand and the scoring comes straight from tennis. Rallies are long and the court is small, so it’s easy to pick up. You might hear it called paddle or padel tennis: it’s all the same game.
The court
A padel court is 20 metres long and 10 metres wide, enclosed in toughened glass and mesh, with a net across the middle like tennis. The big difference is the walls: once the ball has bounced in your court, you can play it off the glass.
The gear
- Racket: a solid, drilled face with no strings. Smaller than a tennis racket, heavier than you’d expect.
- Ball: a low-pressure tennis ball, a touch softer than tennis.
- Shoes: court shoes with good sideways grip.
No racket? Hire one from the vending machine 24/7, or the pro shop during staffed hours.
How a point plays out
- Serve underhand from behind the service line: bounce the ball, then hit it below waist height, cross-court.
- The return: after the bounce, anyone can play the ball off the glass. That’s the magic move.
- Rallies build: slow at first, then both teams move up to the net.
- Scoring is tennis: 15, 30, 40, game; sets of six, tiebreak at 6–6.
Want the full rulebook? Read our complete guide to padel.
How padel compares
If you've played a racket sport before, padel will feel familiar in some ways and brand new in others. The Park runs both padel and pickleball, so you don't have to pick before you've tried.
| What | Padel | Pickleball | Tennis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court | 20m × 10m, enclosed in glass | 13.4m × 6.1m, open | 23.77m × 8.23m, open |
| Walls | In play after the bounce | None | None |
| Ball | Low-pressure tennis ball | Perforated plastic | Pressurised tennis ball |
| Racket or paddle | Solid, drilled face, no strings | Solid, rectangular, lighter | – |
| Serve | Underhand, below the waist | Underhand, below the waist | Overhand |
| Format | Doubles (mostly) | Singles or doubles | Singles or doubles |
| Scoring | 15-30-40-game, like tennis | Games to 11, win by 2 | 15-30-40-game |
| Special rule | The walls are part of the play | The kitchen: no volleying in the 7-foot zone by the net | None |
| Time to first rally | About 10 minutes | About 5 minutes | Depends on your background |
| On the body | Moderate: quick sideways sprints | Low: small court, less running | – |
| Feel | Social, fast, tactical | Social, simple, addictive | Classic, athletic, demanding |
Your first weeks of padel
Ready for your own racket?
Starter bundles and forgiving rackets from the Park shop, picked for your first months on court.
Playing every week?
A Padel pass from $5 a month takes 20% off your padel court bookings and Open Matches. Or go all in: The Park Membership is $75 a month with 300 minutes of court time included, and you can book 14 days ahead.
Students and over-60s get 50% off off-peak court bookings, free to add: students · over 60s
