Court tolerance
Court tolerance is the small build margin the FIP allows on padel court dimensions. The FIP Rules of Padel set it at 0.5 percent of the interior playing area of 20 m by 10 m, which permits up to 0.10 m of drift on the length and 0.05 m on the width while still meeting the official specification.
What is court tolerance?
Court tolerance is the permitted margin of error on the printed dimensions of a padel court. Real-world construction never lands perfectly on a target, so the FIP publishes a tolerance figure that builders and homologators use to sign off a court. The FIP Rules of Padel set it at 0.5 percent of the 20 m by 10 m interior.
When does it apply?
The tolerance matters most when a court is being homologated for FIP-sanctioned events or LTA Padel-recognised competitions. Inspectors measure the playing area and check it falls inside the 0.5 percent window. At club level the rule still applies in theory, but in practice most venues only worry about it if they plan to host ranked or televised matches.
How the 0.5 percent figure works in practice
Half a percent of 20 m is 0.10 m, and half a percent of 10 m is 0.05 m, so length and width can drift by 5 to 10 cm. The margin exists because steel frames, glass panels and surface screeds expand and settle over time. Net height and glass panels carry their own separate tolerances under the FIP rules.
Quick reference: FIP court tolerance is 0.5 percent, applied to each dimension separately - up to 0.10 m on the 20 m length, up to 0.05 m on the 10 m width. The net and glass each have their own tolerances published in the same rulebook.
Common misconceptions
Court tolerance is a build-quality spec, not a licence for a court to change shape during play. It is also separate from the net-height tolerance of plus or minus 0.005 m. The 0.5 percent figure comes directly from the FIP Rules of Padel rather than any Padeli interpretation.
