Learn the padel serve properly: the rules (waist height, diagonal), clean technique in 4 steps, common faults and where to place the ball.
The padel serve is underhand: you let the ball bounce once, hit it at or below waist height and play it diagonally into the opponents' service box. That is what the International Padel Federation (FIP) rules say [1].
The honest answer: the padel serve is easier than in tennis, but also less of a weapon. If you serve underhand you cannot simply swing through. Among elite players the serving pair's advantage is used up after about 8 shots for women and 12 for men [2]. And in 1089 points from eight men's professional matches (World Padel Tour 2020), most tactical parameters showed no significant differences in serve efficiency; serve direction also did not significantly affect the second shot after the return [3].
For you that means: your serve does not need to be spectacular. It needs to be in, reasonably deep, and help you get to the net afterwards. In an analysis of 2756 professional rallies, wins were closely tied to time at the net [4] – an association, not proof of cause and effect. Realistically you learn the basic form in one session – it takes longer to hold up under pressure.
You stand with at least one foot behind the service line, inside your service area, and may not touch the line until you have hit the ball [1]. The ball must bounce once on the ground before you hit it, and at contact it may be no higher than waist level [1]. At least one foot stays in contact with the ground [1].
Milestone: you can state the four rules (foot, bounce, waist, diagonal) without thinking.
Hold the ball to the side in front of your body, drop it and swing from low behind to forward. Make contact just in front of your hip and follow through toward the target. The arm swings, not the wrist. Start without a target – the main thing is solid contact.
Milestone: 8 of 10 balls bounce cleanly and are hit below the waist.
The ball has to fly diagonally over the net into the opponents' service box and land there [1]. So first choose a target in the middle of the box. When you hit 10 out of 10, move the target: toward the glass wall or toward the T. Among men on the Premier Padel tour, the glass was the most popular serve direction (64.83 % of serves) [5].
Milestone: 10 of 10 serves in the box, only then vary direction.
After contact, take two or three steps toward the net and reach the ready position before the ball comes back. That is the part many forget: the serve opens the point, but wins were closely tied to net time in pro rallies [4].
Milestone: after the return, you are in the net ready position on every third serve.
This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Play your second serve just like the first. If you suddenly slow down on the second chance, your opponent reads it and attacks the return. Better: one target, one rhythm – and vary pace only slightly.
A practice check (no study): film yourself once from behind while serving. You see immediately whether your foot starts on or in front of the line and can fix the fault before it costs a point in a match.
You let the ball bounce on the ground, hit it at or below waist height and play it diagonally into the opponents' service box [1]. One foot stays behind the line until you hit the ball. The ball must land in the opponents' box and may not touch the fence there before its second bounce.
No. Under the FIP rules the ball must be at waist level or lower at contact and must have bounced on the ground before [1]. An overarm serve is a fault. That is why the underhand serve is the rule at every level.
As a beginner: safely into the box, as deep as possible and without too much risk. Once that works, try the direction toward the glass or the middle. A study of men's pros found no significant effect of serve direction on the second shot after the return [3] – so what matters more is getting to the net afterwards.
You get a second serve. Two faults in a row lose the point [1]. Faults include: the ball lands outside the box, you touch the line, or you hit above waist height.
Padel Forehand (Drive): Compact, Controlled, Repeatable