A comparison between padel and pickleball is inevitable. While padel is by far the fastest growing racket sport in the world, pickleball is the fastest growing racket sport in the USA. So how big is the overlap?
Although pickleball and padel may look similar at first glance, the truth is that they have evolved from completely different sports. Pickleball evolved from badminton, while padel evolved from tennis. This means very different court dimensions, scoring and rules of play.
In padel, the ball can be hit after it has hit the transparent glass walls, whereas in pickleball you play on an open court where there is no possibility of a ball bouncing off the glass.
Singles and doubles
If you like playing doubles, both games are ideal. In padel, however, doubles is played on a standard padel court. There are a few purpose-built singles courts for padel, but the vast majority are doubles courts. In contrast, pickleball is not restricted, you can play either singles or doubles on the same court.
Pickleball has a so-called non-volley zone, also known as the "kitchen". This zone is treated specially. Read about it here the rules of the game.
Racket
The striking surface of the padel racket is thicker and perforated, while the pickleball padel has a solid striking surface.
Ball
The ball used in padel is very similar to tennis, with the difference that padel balls have less pressure, so they bounce lower.
With the pickleball, you use a perforated plastic ball that moves much more slowly through the air.
Both sports tend to have long rallies. In pickleball, this is due to the slow wiffle ball, while in padel it is the surrounding walls that keep the ball in play.
Net
In both games, the court is divided by a net. In pickleball, there are lines on each side of the court that resemble badminton, while in padel the lines are similar to those used for the service blocks on a tennis court.
Field size
Pickleball 13.41 x 6.1 meters (like a badminton court) vs. paddle 20 x 10 meters.
Game feel
Playing pickleball gives you the feeling of standing on a large table tennis table, while padel feels like playing on a short tennis court.
Rules of the game
Are very different.