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How Padel Scoring Works: The Basics
Padel follows the same scoring system as tennis, which makes it approachable for anyone who has watched or played the sport before. The score moves through three levels: points within a game, games within a set, and sets within a match. A standard match is the best of three sets, and the first team to win two sets takes the win.
That said, padel has one notable difference from tennis: the golden point rule, which replaces traditional deuce and changes how tied games are decided. Here is how every level of scoring works.
Points: Love, 15, 30, 40, and the Golden Point
Individual points within a game are counted using the same notation familiar from tennis:
- Love = 0 points
- 15 = 1 point won
- 30 = 2 points won
- 40 = 3 points won
To win a game, a team needs to reach 40 and then win the next point while their opponents have fewer than 40. If both teams reach 40, the score is called deuce, and this is where padel differs from tennis.
In traditional tennis, play at deuce continues until one team wins two consecutive points. In padel, the golden point rule applies instead. At deuce, the receiving team chooses which side of the court they want the serve delivered to, left or right. One single point is then played, and whoever wins it wins the game.
This rule was introduced by the International Padel Federation (FIP) to keep matches moving at a faster pace and reduce the physical strain that extended deuce sequences can place on players. Most players come to appreciate how it keeps every game decisive.
Games: Racing to Six
Points add up to games, and games add up to a set. The first team to reach six games wins the set, provided they lead by at least two games.
- 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0: clean set wins
- 6-5: the leading team must reach 7 while the other stays at 5