Padel serving order and tie-break scoring, worked out.

Two questions cause most of the arguments in a first padel match: whose serve is it? and what is the score? Both have exact answers in the rules, and once you have seen a whole game and a whole tie-break written out, they stop feeling like guesswork. This guide walks through both with four players, Ana and Ben against Cleo and Dev, and checks every step against the FIP Rules of Padel in force from 1 January 2026.

You can follow along in the point-by-point scoring practice: choose the same names and rules, tap the winner of each point and compare the tool with the tables below.

How serving works inside one game

One player serves for the whole game. The first point is served from the right-hand side of the court, diagonally over the net into the opposite service box. The next point is served from the left into the other box, and the side alternates after every point until the game ends. The server has two tries: bounce the ball, hit it at or below waist height with at least one foot behind the service line, and land it in the diagonal box. A serve that fails is a fault, and a second fault loses the point. (Rules 6 and 7.)

The receiver is whoever stands in the diagonal half, so the receiving side follows the serving side. When Ana serves from the right, the player on Cleo and Dev's right-hand side receives. When Ana serves from the left, the player on their left receives. In the tables below Cleo receives on the right and Dev on the left when their pair is receiving; for Ana and Ben it is Ana on the right and Ben on the left.

Who serves which game

Before each set the players choose who serves first, and that order cannot change until the next set begins (Rule 6, section 8). With two pairs the order alternates between the pairs and, within each pair, between the partners. If Ana serves game 1 and Cleo serves game 2, then Ben serves game 3 and Dev serves game 4, and the cycle repeats: Ana, Cleo, Ben, Dev.

The same table shows the change-of-ends rhythm. Players change ends after the first game, after the third game and after every odd game that follows (Rule 5). After game 1 there is no rest; after later odd games up to 90 seconds are allowed. A quick check that never fails: if the total number of games in the set is odd, the pairs have just changed ends.

A worked game with advantage scoring

Points are called 15, 30 and 40, and the fourth point wins the game unless both pairs have three points. At three points each the score is 40–40, called deuce. From deuce a pair needs two points in a row: the first gives them the advantage, the second wins the game. If the pair with the advantage loses the next point, the score returns to deuce. (Rule 1, Option 1.) The server's score is called first, which here means Ana's pair, because Ana serves the whole game.

Read the table once with the serve column covered and you can predict it: the side alternates every point (right, left, right, left), the receiver is always diagonal, and the score never drops below deuce once both pairs have reached 40. Notice point 5, where Cleo and Dev reach 40 while Ana and Ben are on 30; one more point would win the game for them, but Ana and Ben win point 6 and level it. Points 7 to 11 show deuce, advantage, deuce, advantage, and the game ends at point 12 when the same pair wins two points in a row.

The deciding point and who chooses the side

Many clubs play without advantage. The FIP rules describe this as a deciding point, often called the golden point, which is played at the first 40–40 (Rule 1, Option 3). The receiving pair chooses whether to receive on the right or the left, and the receiving players cannot swap places to do it. Whoever wins that single point wins the game. Rule 1 also lists an Option 2, in which two advantages are allowed and the deciding point follows the third deuce. Because these are options, the pairs should agree which one they are using before the first serve.

Here the score reached 40–40 at point 6, so point 7 is the deciding point. Cleo and Dev choose the left, so Ana serves from the left to Dev, and Dev's pair wins the game. Notice that the choice also decides which server's side is used: the serve follows the receivers' choice rather than the usual alternation.

Winning a set

The first pair to win six games with a lead of two games wins the set. At 5–5 the pairs play two more games to win 7–5. At 6–5 the leaders can win 7–5, but if the trailing pair wins the next game it is 6–6 and a tie-break decides the set. If you only remember one thing: 6–5 is not a won set, 7–5 is, and 6–6 means a tie-break. (Rule 1.)

Some formats shorten this. The rules include a mini set to four games, with a tie-break at 4–4, and a match can replace the third set with a tie-break to 7 or a super tie-break to 10. Each needs to be agreed before the match, and each is something a club may or may not use.

A worked tie-break

At 6–6 in games, a tie-break is played. Points are called as plain numbers: zero, 1, 2, 3 and so on. The first pair to reach 7 points wins it, as long as they are two points clear, and if necessary it continues until that margin exists. The set is then recorded as 7–6 (Rule 1, tie-break).

The serving order is different from a normal game. The player whose turn it is to serve starts, and serves only one point, from the right. The opponents then serve the next two points, starting from the left. After that every player serves two points in a row, always keeping the order of the set. The side still alternates after every point. In the example below, Ana is next in the order, so she starts the tie-break.

The serving sequence is Ana (one point), Cleo (two), Ben (two), Dev (two), then Ana again for two. Pairs change ends after every 6 points, without a rest, which happens after point 6 here. The tie-break finishes at 7–5 after 12 points. Because it counts as one game, the set finished with 13 games in total, an odd number, so the pairs change ends again before the next set and take their rest of up to 120 seconds.

What if it had been 6–6 in the tie-break? Then 7–6 would not be enough: the tie-break carries on until one pair is two points clear, such as 8–6 or 9–7. The score never goes back to zero.

Who serves first in the next set

The set that follows a tie-break is started by a player from the pair who did not begin serving in the tie-break (Rule 1). Ana's pair started the tie-break, so Cleo's pair serves first in the next set, and in our rotation that player is Cleo. Because the tie-break counts as one game in the order, the sequence simply carries on: Ana, Cleo, Ben, Dev, with the tie-break as game 13 and Cleo next.

A deciding set replaced by a match tie-break

When the sets are one all, the pairs may have agreed to play a tie-break instead of a third set. The match tie-break to 10 points still needs two clear points, so 10–9 is not a win and play continues. The original order of service continues, although the players may change who serves and who receives (Rule 1, alternative score methods, Note 1). Ends still change after every 6 points, and balls are not changed for a match tie-break even if a change is due.

Fixing mistakes during a match

Errors happen in friendly matches, and the rules are forgiving. If someone serves from the wrong side, the error is corrected as soon as it is noticed, and all points already played stand (Rule 6, section 7). If a player serves out of turn, the player who should have served takes over as soon as the mistake is found, and again the points already won are valid. If the game has finished before anyone notices, the order simply stays as it is for the rest of the set (Rule 6, section 9). If the pairs forget to change ends, they change as soon as they notice and the points stand (Rule 5, section 3).

Which rules is your club playing?

Everything above follows the FIP text, but clubs often adjust: one-set matches for tasters, a tie-break to 10 at 6–6, or a deciding point at every deuce. None of those is the only correct way to play. In the scoring practice, the line above the scoreboard names the exact variant being simulated and marks anything that is a club option rather than a FIP option. The printable rules reference repeats it for your bag, and the printable match score sheet gives you somewhere to keep the games and tie-break score on court.

If you are getting ready for a winter session, the indoor winter padel drills include a deciding-point drill that pairs well with this guide: play only the points that start at 40–40, and practise picking the side as the receiving pair.