What is padel? A beginner's guide
Padel has exploded from a niche pastime into one of the most popular racket sports on the planet. If you're new to it, here's the whole thing in a couple of minutes.
The basics
Padel is a racket sport that blends tennis and squash. It's played almost exclusively as doubles, on an enclosed court about a third smaller than a tennis court, surrounded by glass and mesh walls that are part of the play.
It uses a solid, stringless perforated racket and a ball similar to a tennis ball but slightly softer. The serve is underhand, which keeps rallies long and tactical rather than serve-dominated.
Where it came from
Padel started in Mexico in the 1960s and became huge in Spain and Argentina, which still produce most of the top professionals. In the last few years it has boomed across Europe, the Middle East and beyond, with the Premier Padel tour now drawing big crowds and prize money.
Following the pros
Professional padel is contested by elite pairs — names like Galán/Chingotto and Coello/Tapia — across a global tour. Because partnerships are stable and matches are frequent, padel is great to follow with a rating model: we publish transparent win probabilities for upcoming pro matches, rating each pair by live Elo.