Padel
Court: 20 × 10 m, enclosed by glass walls and mesh.
Play: mostly doubles; the ball can be played off the walls.
Gear: stringless, perforated racket and a low-pressure ball similar to a tennis ball.
Scoring: tennis scoring (15, 30, 40, game).
Pickleball
Court: 20 × 44 ft (about 6.1 × 13.4 m), open, no walls.
Play: singles or doubles, with a 7 ft no-volley zone (the "kitchen") on each side of the net.
Gear: solid paddle and a light plastic ball with holes.
Scoring: games usually to 11, win by 2.
The court
A padel court is 20 m long and 10 m wide, closed in by walls: glass at the back and in the service corners, metal mesh along the rest of the sides. The back walls are 4 m high. A pickleball court is 20 by 44 feet, the size of a badminton doubles court, with no walls at all.
Walls change everything
In padel, after the ball bounces it can hit the glass and stay in play, so you learn to let it come off the wall and return it. Rallies last longer and lobs are a big part of the game. Pickleball has no walls, so points are won at the net, with soft "dinks" into the kitchen and quick volleys.
Serve and scoring
Both serves are low. In padel you bounce the ball and hit it at or below waist height, diagonally into the service box, with two attempts. Scoring is the same as tennis, and many events use a "golden point" at deuce. In pickleball the serve is hit below the waist (or dropped and played after a bounce), and the return and the next shot must both bounce before anyone volleys. Under USA Pickleball rules, only the serving side scores and games usually go to 11, won by 2.
Racket vs paddle, ball vs ball
A padel racket has no strings: a foam or EVA core with a perforated face and a wrist cord. The ball looks like a tennis ball but has slightly less pressure. A pickleball paddle is solid and smaller (at most 17 in long, 24 in length plus width), and the ball is a light hollow ball with 26 to 40 holes, so it travels slower.
Which should you play?
- Padel if you like longer rallies, lobs and smashes, and playing off the walls. Tennis and squash players usually feel at home fast.
- Pickleball if you want the gentlest start, smaller courts nearby, and a net-based game of touch and reflexes.
- Both are easy on beginners and very social. Where you live often decides it: padel is huge in Spain, Italy and much of Europe, pickleball in the US.
Sources: padel rules and court (FIP, via Wikipedia), USA Pickleball rulebook, Britannica. Checked 22 October 2026.