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Padel scoring rules explained: points, games, sets and the golden point
Padel borrows its scoring from tennis, but on court the confusion always lands in the same three places: what happens at 40-40, what happens at 6-6, and whose serve it is. This article starts from zero and settles all three with examples.
Scoring has three layers: points, games, sets
A padel match is made of sets, a set is made of games, and a game is made of points. The point is the smallest unit: four points make a game, six games make a set, and two sets (usually) decide the match. The score is read in the same order — sets first, then games, then the current point.
Unlike tennis, padel is always doubles: four players on court, two teams of two. Scoring is per team; the two players on a side share the same score.
Points: love, 15, 30, 40, game
Within a game the points run 15, 30, 40; zero is called love. A team on 40 that wins one more point takes the game — unless the other team is also on 40.
The score is always called with the serving team’s points first. If the servers have 30 and the receivers 15, the score is “thirty – fifteen”; the other way round it is “fifteen – thirty”. This is where most courtside arguments start: both sides say “30-15”, but one of them is putting their own score first.
| Points won | What you call |
|---|---|
| 0 | love |
| 1 | fifteen |
| 2 | thirty |
| 3 | forty |
| 4 (and at least 2 clear) | game |
40-40: advantage or golden point?
When both teams reach 40 the score is deuce (iguales in Spanish), and how the game ends depends on which rule you are playing. There are two common ones; agree on yours before the match starts.
The advantage rule (classic)
After deuce, the team that wins the next point has the advantage. If that same team wins the following point too, the game is theirs; if they lose it, the score goes back to deuce. The game only ends once a team wins two points in a row. This is the rule that produces the long, hard-fought games — a game can run eight or ten points past 40-40.
The golden point (punto de oro)
At deuce, a single point is played and whoever wins it takes the game. There is no advantage. One detail matters: on a golden point the receiving team chooses which side (right or left) they receive the serve from. The professional tour (Premier Padel) uses the golden point, and it is spreading through club matches and tournaments because it saves time. Most amateur matches are still played with advantage.
Which is better? If you have booked a court for a fixed slot, the golden point makes the match predictable. If you enjoy long rallies and games that swing back and forth, advantage is more satisfying. Whatever you choose, do not switch rules mid-match.
Games and sets: 6 games, 2 clear
A set goes to the team that wins six games with a margin of at least two: 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 and 6-4 all close the set. At 5-5 the set continues; 7-5 closes it. If it reaches 6-6, a tie-break is played (see below).
The match usually goes to the team that wins two sets out of three. Some tournaments play a single set, and many replace the third set with a super tie-break.
The tie-break: what happens at 6-6?
The tie-break is a separate mini-game, and its points are counted 1, 2, 3 rather than 15-30-40. The first team to seven points with a margin of at least two wins the tie-break and takes the set 7-6. If it reaches 6-6, play continues until one team is two clear (8-6, 9-7, 10-8…).
Serving works differently in a tie-break:
- The player whose turn it is serves the first point on their own.
- After that, the serve changes hands every two points; each player in turn serves twice.
- Ends are changed every six points (6, 12, 18…).
The team that wins the tie-break wins the set, but the next set is opened by the team that did not serve first in the tie-break.
Super tie-break (match tie-break)
In club tournaments and time-limited leagues the third set is often replaced by a super tie-break: the rules are the same, but the target is 10 points (still two clear). The winner is recorded as having taken the third set 1-0. Ask “is the third set a super tie-break?” before you start — most arguments about it break out at one set all.
Serving: who, from where, and how
The padel serve is underarm: the ball is bounced first, struck below waist height, and must land in the diagonally opposite service box. There are two serves on every point; if both are faults, the point goes to the receivers. If the ball clips the net and lands in the service box, it is a let and the serve is replayed; if it hits the wire fence or the glass inside the box before the second bounce, it is a fault.
The serve rotates through all four players
The serving team changes every game, and the order within each team is fixed: a player from team A serves the first game, a player from team B the second, then the other player from team A, then the other player from team B. This four-game cycle continues for the whole set; in a new set the order is chosen again, but each team keeps its internal order. You start serving from the right and alternate right–left on every point: when the points add up to an even number (0-0, 15-15, 30-0…) you serve from the right, when odd from the left.
The receiving team is fixed as well: one player always receives in the right (deuce) box, the other always in the left (advantage) box, and they cannot swap until the set is over.
Changing ends
Teams change ends after odd-numbered games: whenever the total number of games is 1, 3, 5, 7… In other words, straight after the first game of the set and then every two games. Inside a tie-break, every six points. Sun and wind matter less on an indoor court, but the rule is the same — the classic “we forgot to change ends” moment usually comes after 2-1.
A short example match
- The score is 0-0. The serving team wins the first three points: 15-0, 30-0, 40-0. They lose the fourth: 40-15. They win the fifth: game, and the set score is 1-0. Change ends (odd game).
- In the second game the other team serves. It reaches 40-40. Playing golden point, a single point decides it: the receivers choose which side they receive from, and whoever wins the point wins the game. Playing advantage, someone has to get two clear.
- The set reaches 6-6: tie-break. The player whose turn it is serves one point, then everyone serves two at a time. 7-5: the set goes 7-6.
- The other team takes the second set 6-3. Instead of a third set, a super tie-break: the first to 10 (two clear) wins the match.
Points that get mixed up most often
- Who calls the score? By tradition the server, before every point, with their own team’s score first. Saying it out loud cuts the arguments in half.
- Reading games and points together. For 5-4 in games and 40-30 in points: “five four, forty thirty”.
- The ball off the glass. After bouncing once on the opponents’ side, the ball may hit the glass or the wire fence and play continues; if it bounces twice, the point is over. This has nothing to do with scoring, but it is the source of more point disputes than anything else.
- If a serving-order mistake is spotted, it is corrected the moment it is noticed; the points already played stand.
In the app
Everything above — golden point or advantage, tie-break and super tie-break, the four-player serving rotation, the right/left service box and the change-of-ends reminder — is a single tap when you set up a match in ScoreSay; the ScoreSay app calls the score out loud, shows whose serve it is and undoes a wrong tap. On court you put the phone down and enter points from your watch or a Bluetooth remote; the details are in the article on ways to keep score.