How big is a padel court? A beginner's guide to size, walls and lines

Padel has a habit of pulling people in fast. You watch one game through the glass, you have a go, and within twenty minutes you are hooked. A big part of that instant appeal is the court itself. It is smaller than a tennis court, it is wrapped in glass and mesh, and the walls are part of the game rather than just a boundary. With padel now the fastest-growing sport in Britain, more of us are stepping onto one of these enclosed boxes for the first time and wondering exactly what we are looking at.

So let us take the mystery out of it. Here is what a padel court actually is, how big it is down to the last measurement, and why those walls change the way the whole sport plays.

A padel court is a 20m by 10m enclosed box. Replace this placeholder with a genuine court photograph.

What is a padel court?

A padel court is an enclosed rectangle, roughly the size of a small tennis court, surrounded by walls of glass and metal mesh. A net runs across the middle, splitting it into two halves, and the surface is usually artificial grass brushed with fine sand for grip. The whole thing is designed for doubles, which is how the vast majority of padel is played.

The defining feature is the enclosure. Unlike tennis, where a ball that flies past you is dead, a padel ball can rebound off the back and side walls and stay in play. That single difference is why padel feels more like a rally sport than a power sport, and why beginners can enjoy long, competitive points almost straight away. The surface matters too: it is springy and a little grippy, so it rewards quick, short steps rather than long sprints, which is why players wear shoes built for the surface rather than ordinary trainers.

How big is a padel court?

An official padel court is 20 metres long and 10 metres wide. That works out to 200 square metres of playing area, or roughly 2,150 square feet. It is set out symmetrically, so each team defends a 10 metre by 10 metre half.

The net across the middle is low by tennis standards. It sits 88 centimetres high in the centre and rises slightly to 92 centimetres at the posts on either side. On the floor, a line runs parallel to each back wall, three metres in from it, marking the service area. A central line then splits each service zone into two boxes, exactly as it would on a tennis court, so serving diagonally into the correct box will feel familiar if you have played racket sports before.

If you like a quick reference, the key padel court dimensions are: 20m long, 10m wide, a net that is 0.88m at the centre and 0.92m at the ends, and service lines set 3m from each back wall.

How does a padel court compare to a tennis court?

This is where padel earns a lot of its friendly reputation. A tennis court is far larger and completely open, which means covering it takes real speed and stamina. A padel court is considerably smaller, and because two players share each side, nobody has an impossible amount of ground to cover. Points are built through placement, angles and patience rather than raw pace.

The walls are the other headline difference. On a tennis court, the fences are simply there to stop the ball. On a padel court, the glass is part of the playing area. You can let a ball pass you, wait for it to bounce off the back glass, and then play it as it comes back into the court. It takes a few sessions to trust it, but once it clicks, chasing down "lost" balls becomes one of the most satisfying parts of the game.

The walls and the cage: why the glass changes everything

Walk around the outside of a court and you will see two materials. The back walls are glass, and the rest of the enclosure is a mix of glass and metal mesh fencing, usually somewhere between three and four metres high. Both surfaces are in play, but they behave differently, and learning to read them is a big step up as a player.

Glass gives a clean, predictable bounce, a little like a squash wall. The metal mesh is less forgiving: the ball can fly off it at awkward angles and speeds, so a shot that clips the fencing is much harder to control. Good players use this to their advantage, aiming to force opponents into corners where the ball comes off both a side wall and the mesh, producing an unpredictable rebound.

The back glass is the friendliest wall for newcomers. Rather than lunging for a deep shot, you can position yourself, let it pass, and take it after it rebounds. Because the court is enclosed, points last longer and rallies swing back and forth, which is exactly why padel is so sociable and so quick to learn.

Can you play singles on a padel court?

Yes, though it is worth knowing how the court is set up first. Standard courts are built for doubles at 10 metres wide, so playing singles on a doubles court means each person has a large area to cover on their own. It is a genuine workout and a great way to sharpen your movement, but it is not how the sport is usually played. Purpose-built singles courts do exist and are narrower, around 6 metres wide, which keeps the running manageable. If you only ever have access to a full-size court, singles is still perfectly playable, just expect to cover far more ground than in a doubles match.

Getting on court

The good news is that finding a court has never been easier. By the end of 2025 there were more than 1,550 padel courts across Britain, spread over 559 venues, with participation having roughly doubled in a single year. Many are indoors, many are floodlit, and most clubs will happily set up beginners with a coach or a friendly first hit.

Once you know the court, the rest is refreshingly simple. You need a padel racket, a pair of shoes made for the surface, and someone to play with. If you are still deciding on your first racket, our racket buying guide walks through shape, weight and balance without the jargon. After that, the best way to understand a padel court is simply to stand on one, look up at the glass, and hit your first ball into the back wall on purpose.