Padel compared
How padel compares with tennis, pickleball and squash on court size, equipment, rules, cost and how hard each is to pick up.
Short answer: Padel is closest to tennis in scoring and strokes, closest to squash in using walls, and often confused with pickleball because both are new and social. Unlike tennis, padel is doubles only, on an enclosed court, with an underarm serve. Unlike squash, the ball must cross a net and bounce before it touches the walls. Unlike pickleball, it uses glass walls, a pressurised ball and tennis scoring.
If you already play another racket sport, the fastest way to understand padel is to compare it with what you know. Each guide below puts the two sports side by side using their official rulebooks: the International Padel Federation's Rules of Padel, the ITF Rules of Tennis, the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook and World Squash's specifications and rules.
Comparison guides
- Padel vs tennis: court size, serve, racket, ball pressure and which is easier to learn.
- Padel vs pickleball: walls vs the kitchen, rackets vs paddles, and where to play both in Australia.
- Padel vs squash: how the walls work differently, scoring, and which suits you.
Court sizes compared
| Sport | Court | Walls |
|---|---|---|
| Padel | 20 m by 10 m | Enclosed, glass and mesh |
| Tennis (doubles) | 23.77 m by 10.97 m | None |
| Pickleball | 13.41 m by 6.10 m | None |
| Squash (singles) | 9.75 m by 6.4 m | Four walls |
Which one should I try?
There is no single answer, and plenty of people play more than one. If you want a social game that tennis players pick up quickly, try padel. If you want something you can play one on one in a small indoor space, squash. If you want soft, quick exchanges at the net on an open court, pickleball. Several Australian venues, such as the Racquet Club venues in Sydney, Canberra and on the Gold Coast, offer both padel and pickleball under one roof, so you can try both in one visit.
Sources for this page
Checked November 2026. Full list on the sources page.
- International Padel Federation, Rules of Padel (application 1 January 2026)padelfip.com
- LTA Padel, padel vs tennisltapadel.org.uk
- USA Pickleball, Official Rulebook 2026usapickleball.org
- World Squash, Specifications for Squash Courts (2017)worldsquash.sport
- Canberra Racquet Clubracquetclub.com.au
Guides in this section
- Padel vs tennis: what is the difference?Same scoring, very different game: walls, underarm serve, solid racket, softer ball and doubles only.
- Padel vs pickleball: which should you play?Two fast-growing racket sports that are easy to mix up. Here is exactly how they differ.
- Padel vs squash: how do they compare?Both use walls, but one has a net and four players, the other a front wall and two. Here is the full comparison.