When you start playing or watching a new sport such as Padel, it’s incredibly important that you quickly get to grips with the basic rules of the game. In Padel specifically, there are many rules relating to the serve that need to be understood if a player is to react to the serve in an appropriate way!
One of the questions I hear a lot of new spectators/players asking is ‘Once the ball is served, is it allowed to bounce twice before it is returned by the player on the other side of the net?’ the answer to this isn’t quite as straightforward as it may seem – so I thought I’d cover the question in this post to ensure there is no confusion! If this is something you have questions about – feel free to read on!
So, can a padel serve bounce twice?
No, a returner cannot allow a serve to bounce twice. If a serve is hit by the serving player & lands in the receiving box, the returner must hit the ball before it bounces on the ground a second time. If they don’t, they lose the point. If the ball hits the side/back wall of the court, this doesn’t count as a bounce.
I always like to explain rules like this with examples to make it slightly clearer, so here goes. Imagine you’ve just hit a serve, and your opponent is standing quite far back on their side of the court. Your opponent is quite an inexperienced Padel player, so as the ball is on its way to bouncing for the first time, they don’t react to the serve quickly enough. Just as they step forwards to attempt to strike the ball, it bounces for a second time, meaning that they lose the point.
This second example will be slightly more complex. Imagine you hit a beautiful serve across the court to the far side of your opponent’s receiving box. The ball bounces in the receiving box just before it hits the glass wall – this is the first bounce. Because the ball is so close to the wall, your opponent chooses to let the ball hit the glass wall first so they can hit it once it has bounced off. However, they misjudge the angle at which the ball will rebound from the wall and fail to hit it. As a result, the ball goes past their racket and bounces again on the ground just behind them – this is the second bounce. Here, your opponent would once again lose the point because the serve landed in the receiving box and bounced twice on the ground. Technically, the ball bounced three times because it hit the glass wall at the side of the court too. However, remember that bounces off the side/back walls don’t count towards the bounce total! Therefore, the point is only won when the ball hits the ground for the second time.
Can The Serving Player Bounce The Ball Twice Before Serving?
If you’ve ever watched Padel before, you’ll probably have seen the serving player bouncing the ball into the ground once before they hit it. This is one of the rules of serving in Padel – the player serving must always bounce the ball on the ground before they hit it to start the point. As I just mentioned, most professionals will only bounce the ball once – but are they allowed to bounce it twice?
There is nothing in the rules of Padel to stop a player bouncing the ball twice on the ground before they hit their serve, so if you feel like doing it – go ahead! Having said that, I don’t think it’s an optimal strategy. I think padel players (whether experienced or a newcomer) should always try to hit their serve after one bounce.
If you’re wondering why I think this, allow me to explain. Firstly though, you need to know another rule regarding the serve in Padel! This rule states that the ball must be equal to or below waist height when it is served by the serving player. So, in other words, the maximum height that the ball can be delivered from is in line with the serving player’s waist.
When we bounce the ball once into the ground before serving, the ball will rise up fairly high – possibly up near our waist depending on the force with which we propel the ball into the ground. If we were to allow the ball to bounce a second time, the ball would not bounce up as high as it did the first time. Each successive time we let the ball bounce; the bounce will be lower. Therefore, if a player hits their serve after the ball has bounced twice, they will be hitting the ball from a lower point than if they’d hit it after the first bounce. Serving from lower down like this actually makes it harder to hit an accurate serve – which is something that I’ve tried to demonstrate in the diagram below – and is why I believe you should always hit your serve after the first bounce.
How Many Times Can The Ball Bounce During Normal Play?
Just like when receiving a serve, during normal play the ball must be returned to the other side of the net before it bounces twice. If the ball does bounce twice, the team whose job it was to return the ball will lose the point. If the ball bounces once and is then returned to the other side of the net, the point will continue!
If you’d like to read more about this to ensure you understand it, then I’ve written a post with plenty of examples that you can read by clicking here!
Conclusion
As I mentioned at the start of this post, the serve is one of the most critical aspects of a padel match – so I hope this has helped you get a better understanding of what each set of players is allowed to do during this phase of a point. Stay tuned to the site for more tips that will improve your skills as well as your understanding of the sport!