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Get Started · Reference

The padel glossary

From bandejas and viboras to the new 2026 Star Point, every padel word that matters - shots, scoring, court anatomy, equipment and the Spanish vocabulary you will hear at every club. Click a term to read the full definition.

184Terms

11Themes

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Shots 40 Tactics & positioning 11 Scoring & rules 31 Match formats 9 Equipment 29 Brands 5 Court 26 People, tours & competitions 11 Governing bodies 6 Booking & rating platforms 10 Culture & slang 6

Shots

40 terms

B C D E F G H K L M O P R S T V X

The shot played on the non-dominant side, often a volley or wall-recovery in padel.

Stepping back and intercepting the ball after it has come off the back glass.

The signature padel shot - a controlled, sliced overhead from mid-court.

A short, no-backswing return used against a hard smash to absorb pace and reset the rally.

The chancletazo is a flat, flicked low smash hit from around waist height with a quick wrist snap.

A soft, low cross-court attack played from defence, dropping the ball at the opponent's feet.

Against the wall - a shot that strikes a wall before going back over the net.

Knife - a sharply sliced overhead, deeper than a bandeja, used to keep the ball low.

Double wall - a shot that strikes side glass and then back glass before being returned.

Sleeper - a delicate drop shot just over the net designed to die instantly.

A volley hit with a fuller swing for placement and pace rather than a soft block.

A soft shot played short over the net to bring the opponent forward.

Effect - the Spanish term for spin. Padel takes topspin and slice readily.

The shot played on the dominant side - more often a groundstroke in padel.

Hook - an attacking overhead played in front of the head with a wrist snap.

Lob - a defensive ball lifted high to force the opponents back from the net.

A shot played after the ball bounces, usually from the back of the court.

A shot played immediately after the bounce, often at the service line as you come forward.

The hitting zone is the area on a padel racket face that produces the cleanest, most controlled response when you strike the ball.

A smash hit to land short with heavy topspin so it kicks up steeply and over the back glass.

The single most important defensive shot in padel - see globo.

Off the back wall

Off the back wall is the defining feature of padel that separates it from tennis.

Any shot played above the head - bandeja, vibora, smash, gancho.

Through 4 - a wall shot through the side mesh, extremely rare and used as a recovery shot.

Through 3 - a wall shot played around the side post, legal because the ball stays inside the playing area.

Finish - Spanish for a smash or finishing overhead.

Spanish for the backhand. Pronounced re-VESS.

A windscreen-wiper smash hit with topspin so the ball kicks up high and out over the back glass.

The opening shot of the point - played underarm, bounced first, struck at or below the iliac crest.

A shot hit with back-spin - most padel overheads use slice to keep the ball lower after the bounce.

The attacking overhead - subtypes include bandeja, vibora, kick smash, gancho and the flat smash.

Forward-rotating spin - used on the rulo and kick smashes to make the ball drop sharply then kick up.

A tweener is a between-the-legs shot - hit with the racket coming through the gap between your knees, facing away from the net.

Viper - an overhead struck with slice and side-spin so the ball cuts low and to the side.

A shot played before the bounce - the net player's primary tool.

Tactics & positioning

11 terms

Playing the ball above the head - smashes, overheads, bandejas and viboras.

By-the-line is a passing shot or attack hit down the sideline rather than cross-court.

A point pattern dominated by net play with both pairs at the net and fast volleys.

The default direction of most padel shots - diagonally to the opposite court.

A deep return is a return of serve aimed deep into the opponent's court, intentionally slowing the rally and buying the receiver time to…

Defensive position

The back of the court, hitting from behind the service line.

Beginner positioning pattern where the receiving pair forms a diamond rather than a flat line.

A forced error is a mistake produced by an opponent's pressure rather than your own bad choice.

Fridge is player slang for a player who has gone passive at the back of the court, "in the fridge".

A point pattern with players staying back, longer rallies and a focus on lobs and groundstrokes.

Reading and returning balls off the walls - the single biggest mental adjustment for tennis players.

Scoring & rules

31 terms

A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q S T U W

The point won after deuce in classic scoring. Win the next point and you take the game.

Best of three is the standard match format in padel.

Classic scoring

The FIP-recognised Advantage deuce option - win two consecutive points to take the game.

40-40 - the point at which the three FIP-recognised deuce options apply.

Diagonal service

Diagonal service

The entry list is the official list of players accepted into a sanctioned padel tournament.

The first attempt at a service point - a fault gives you a second serve.

A serve hit while the server's feet are not in the correct position behind the service line.

The unit of scoring won by reaching at least 4 points and being 2 ahead.

A single decisive point played at first deuce - receiver chooses side.

When something interferes with play - the point is replayed if the hindrance is involuntary.

The highest point of the hip bone - defined by FIP as the legal serve contact height.

A serve that touches the net or posts and lands correctly - the serve is replayed.

A line judge is the on-court official who calls whether balls land in or out at sanctioned padel tournaments.

Love means zero in padel scoring, exactly as in tennis.

Best of three sets in standard format.

A ball that does not bounce inside the court is out.

Pause refers to the time limits between points, at changeovers and between sets in padel.

In tournament terminology, a quarter is one of the four sections of a knockout draw.

The second attempt at a serve after a first-serve fault - a second-serve fault is a double fault.

A top-ranked player or pair given a protected position in the tournament draw.

First pair to six games (winning by two) wins a set, with a tiebreak at 6-6.

The new FIP-recognised deuce option from 2026 - max 2 advantages, then decisive point.

Played at 6-6 in a set - first to 7 with margin of 2.

Tournament director

The tournament director is the official responsible for running a sanctioned padel tournament.

The only legal padel serve - must be hit with the racket below the iliac crest after one bounce.

A mistake made under no real opponent pressure - the easiest type of point to give away.

An untouchable shot.

Match formats

9 terms

A B E K L M P R

A social format where you swap partners every round and scores are individual.

A UK club format where players are placed in boxes of 4-6 and play each other across a month.

Elimination format

Knockout-style tournament play - lose and you are out.

King of the court

A rotating tournament format where the winning pair holds the court and losers cycle out.

A rolling league format - beat the player above you to climb the ladder.

A social tournament format where rounds are paired by the leaderboard so similar-scoring players meet.

One man and one woman on each side - the most common social format.

A tournament-style format where players play within bands - promotions move you up the pyramid.

A tournament format where every player or pair plays every other player or pair.

Equipment

29 terms

A B C E F G H L N P R S T W Y

An approved ball is one that appears on the current FIP approved-balls list.

Where the weight sits on a racket - low (control), even, or high (power).

Body type matters when choosing a padel racket.

A premium racket-face material - stiffer than fibreglass, more power, harsher on the arm.

Continental grip

The shake-hands or hammer grip used for serves, volleys and most padel shots.

Ethylene-vinyl acetate, the core foam in most padel rackets.

FIP approved balls

FIP approved balls are the annual list of padel balls certified by the FIP for use in sanctioned competition.

The thickness of the racket handle, typically around 4 to 4.125 inches.

The handle of a padel racket has a maximum length of 20 cm under the FIP rulebook, with a maximum width of 50 mm at the throat.

Head balance describes a padel racket weighted toward the top of the head, away from the handle.

Round (control), teardrop (balanced), or diamond (power) - beginners should choose round.

The hole pattern is the configuration of perforations on a padel racket face.

Lower body weight

Lower body weight is used in padel racket-buying terms to refer to players under approximately 70 kg.

Numbered balls are padel balls numbered 1, 2 and 3 within a sealed can of three.

Pala is the Spanish word for padel racket.

The hitting face of a racket - usually carbon fibre or fibreglass over EVA foam.

A power racket combines high head balance, a hard EVA core, and often a diamond head shape to maximise the energy transferred into each…

Pressure refers to the internal air pressure of a padel ball.

A pressuriser is a sealed tube that re-pressurises padel balls between sessions, extending useful ball life.

The pala - FIP-regulated to maximum 45.5 cm length, 26 cm width, 38 mm thickness.

Restorative is the marketing term for a category of padel rackets designed with soft EVA cores to be more arm-friendly.

Rough surface refers to a textured racket face designed to grip the ball for more spin generation.

In padel racket construction, a slug is the bottom counterweight inside a racket handle that balances the weight of the head.

Stringing is a tennis concept that does not apply to padel rackets.

The optimal hitting zone on the racket face - round-head rackets have larger sweet spots.

The bounce-back behaviour of a racket face - higher trampoline equals more power, less control.

Padel rackets typically weigh 340-385 g - beginners should choose under 360 g.

The cord tying the racket to the player's wrist - mandatory under FIP rules, max 35 cm.

Yellow ball refers to the optic-yellow colour required for FIP competition.

Brands

5 terms

Adidas Padel is the padel arm of the Adidas brand, owned by the All For Padel group.

Bullpadel is one of the major Spanish padel manufacturers.

Head Padel is the padel range from Head, the global racket-sports manufacturer.

Kuikma is Decathlon's in-house padel brand.

Wilson is Wilson Sporting Goods' padel range.

Court

26 terms

B C E F I L M N O P R S T Z

The 3 m tempered-glass back wall behind each baseline, with 1 m of metallic mesh above.

Bridge of glass

Bridge of glass is the informal term for the angled glass connecting the back and side walls at each corner of a padel court.

Cancha is the Spanish word for court.

A panoramic-style court usually placed centrally in a club, often used for tournaments.

Central service line

The central service line runs perpendicular to the net and divides each service zone into a deuce box and an advantage box.

Court tolerance

Court tolerance is the small build margin the FIP allows on padel court dimensions.

Effective playing surface

The effective playing surface is the 20 m x 10 m interior of a padel court - 200 m² of playable area.

Fence is the broader term for the metallic mesh sections that surround the playing area above and to the sides of the glass walls.

Indoor padel is padel played under a roof rather than open to the sky.

Padel court lighting is measured in lux, and the level you need depends on the tier of play.

The mesh is the rigid steel fencing that sits above and around the glass walls of a padel court.

The intersection where the service lines meet the central line - the strongest net position.

10 m long, 0.88 m high at centre rising to 0.92 m at the posts, tolerance plus-minus 0.005 m per FIP.

The open door is the court access opening, typically positioned on the side of the court near the service line.

Panoramic court

A court built with a single piece of glass (no posts) along each side - prized for spectator visibility.

Playing surface

The playing surface is the 20 m x 10 m interior of a padel court where the ball can land and the ball is played.

Roof refers to whether a padel court is indoor (covered) or outdoor (open to the sky).

The 6.95 m by 5 m area on each side of the net into which a serve must land.

The line 6.95 m from the net that defines the back of the service box.

The 3 m tempered-glass side walls.

Side mesh refers to the metallic mesh sections above and beyond the side glass on a padel court.

The padel court surface is the playing floor that sits between the glass walls.

The top corner is where the back glass and side glass meet at the top of the wall structure.

Zona de servicio

Zona de servicio is the Spanish term for the service area on a padel court - the rectangle bounded by the net, the service line and the…

People, tours & competitions

11 terms

A C D P Q S T W

The independent professional tour run outside the FIP system, strongest in Latin America.

APT Padel Tour was the former name of A1 Padel, an independent professional tour that runs outside the FIP system.

Arturo Coello, current world top men's player, Spanish, partnered with Agustin Tapia.

The FIP's secondary professional circuit feeding into the same FIP world ranking as Premier Padel.

Damm is the Spanish brewing group historically known for the Estrella Damm beer brand.

The top-tier professional padel tour, FIP-sanctioned, backed by Qatar Sports Investments.

Qatar Sports Investments

QSI - owner of Premier Padel, same group behind Paris Saint-Germain football.

Setpoint Events

Setpoint Events

Agustin Tapia, current world top-3 men's player, Argentinian, partnered with Coello.

Tournament grade

Tournament grade is the official tier of a sanctioned padel tournament.

World Padel Tour

The former top professional padel tour - merged into Premier Padel in 2024 after CNMC approval.

Governing bodies

6 terms

British Padel, often called the British Padel Federation, was the national governing body for padel in Great Britain before the LTA…

A federation is a national or international governing body for padel.

International Padel Federation - the world governing body for padel.

International Padel Federation

See FIP - the world governing body for padel.

The padel arm of the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for padel in Great Britain.

UAE Padel is the national federation for padel in the United Arab Emirates.

Booking & rating platforms

10 terms

The rating assigned to a player by an app or federation.

Levelling class

A levelling class is a Playtomic feature - a coach-led class that resets your Playtomic reliability percentage.

LTA Padel rating

The official UK padel rating, 1.0 to 7.0 in 0.5 increments.

A Swedish booking and matchmaking platform - the major Playtomic alternative in Europe.

MATCHi's self-rating system, 1.0 to 7.0 scale.

The dominant European padel booking and matchmaking app, operating a 0.0-7.0 level rating.

Playtomic level

The 0.0-7.0 algorithmic rating used by Playtomic, calibrated by match results.

A points-accumulated competitive list - FIP world ranking uses 22 best results across 12 months.

Reliability percentage

Playtomic's confidence in your level - rises with every match played.

The tracker is the Playtomic match-tracking interface used by referees and players to log scores in matches that count toward Playtomic…

Culture & slang

6 terms

The spoken and unspoken behavioural rules of padel - line calls, ball collection, score calls.

Padel played by under-18s - the LTA runs junior padel pathways in the UK.

A different paddle sport, played on a 13.4 m by 6.1 m court with a plastic ball.

The first 5-10 minutes of any session - players mini-rally, lift, smash and serve to find rhythm.

Waterloo is friendly UK and European club slang for a heavy defeat - typically a love-bagel scoreline where one pair wins both sets 6-0.

Wonderlist is industry shorthand for the seasonal "best racket" or "best shoe" ranked lists published by major padel media outlets.