If you're looking for a fun and sociable workout, then look no further than racquet sports. And there's two in particular that are enjoying a surge of popularity: padel and pickleball.
A-listers including David Beckham, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal are reportedly big fans of padel, while Bill Gates, Taylor Swift and LeBron James have been known to step onto the pickleball court.
While both sports may initially appear similar, there are actually significant differences between the two to swot up on before you pick up your racquet of choice.
Padel vs pickleball: origins
Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera is frequently credited with setting up the first ever padel court, in Acapulco in 1969. He surrounded his court with high walls, which were designed to stop the ball from escaping onto his neighbour's land. In 1974, Spanish businessman Alfonso de Hohenlohe imported the game of padel to the Costa del Sol after visiting Corcuera, and built courts at the Marbella Club Hotel. From there, guests including the Argentine millionaire Julio Menditenguia helped spread padel's popularity. The first world padel championships were held in Madrid and Seville in 1992.
Pickleball was invented in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Washington, US, by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. The story goes that they were looking for a game for their children to play together, and they combined badminton nets, a wiffle ball and table tennis bats. The first pickleball court was built at Pritchard's home in 1967 and its popularity quickly spread. Pickleball became a professional sport in 2019.
Padel vs pickleball: rules
Padel is only played as a doubles game (which makes it a very sociable sport) on a specific padel court. The game starts with an underarm serve that's below waist level and each shot must clear the net and bounce in the court before hitting the wall or cage. You're allowed one bounce before you have to hit the ball – this includes if the ball bounces and hits a wall. All the serves in padel must be underarm.
Pickleball can be played as a singles or doubles game on a badminton-sized court. To start, the ball is served underarm, clearing the 'kitchen' (an area near the net which is a no-volley zone). The ball must bounce once on each side of the net before players can begin to volley. The rally continues until a shot goes out of bounds or hits the net, or someone hits a winner (the ball bounces twice). Unlike padel, you can serve more shots in pickleball: a volley; drop shots; smashes; dink and a third shot drop (with some of these being overarm shots).
Padel vs pickleball: scoring
Padel is scored in the same way as tennis: 15, 30, 40, deuce, advantage and game. It's often played in sets and games, like tennis. So to win a set, you have to win six games and be leading by two clear games, with a best of three set system.
In pickleball, the winner is the first player or team to reach 11 points. Like in tennis or padel, you must win by two clear points. Only the serving side can win points and you win a point if the defending side hit the ball out, doesn't let the serve ball bounce, volleys in the non-volley zone, is hit by the ball or doesn't return the ball. You continue serving until you lose a point. When you win a point on your serve, you swap sides to then serve to your other opponent or into the other service box.
Padel vs pickleball: equipment
Padel is played with a specific type of racquet that has a perforated hitting surface that has no strings. Padel balls are smaller than tennis balls but these are only required in official matches – padel is often casually played with regular tennis balls.
Pickleball is played with a paddle and a hollow plastic ball that has holes in it.
For those of you in the UK, specialist sports shops will often stock padel and pickleball racquets and balls, as well as major retailers such as Decathlon and Sports Direct. Expect to pay from £25 for a padel racquet and from £15 for a pickleball option.
Padel vs pickleball: which is best for me?
If you enjoy fast, strategic sports (and know your way around a tennis scoring sheet), then padel is likely to be your best choice. However, if you'd prefer a slower pace of play or just want to build up your confidence, then have a go at pickleball. Whichever sport you choose, they are both social by nature. If you're in the UK, you can find your nearest padel facilities here. You can find pickleball courts here.
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Main image credit: Getty
