Padel scoring: agree the format before you play

“Are we playing advantage or a deciding point?” Ask that before your first service game. It is easier to agree a format now than argue about it at deuce.

Start with the point score

A conventional game moves through love, 15, 30 and 40. Call the server’s score first. Under advantage scoring, a pair must win two consecutive points from deuce to take the game: one for advantage and the next for the game.

Deuce does not always work the same way

The 2026 FIP rules include advantage, Star Point and golden-point options. Star Point allows two advantage cycles; a deciding point is played if the score returns to a third deuce. Golden point uses a deciding point at the first deuce.

These are different formats. A social booking, coached session and competition may not use the same one. Confirm the format with the organiser, including who receives any deciding point.

Keep a small scoreboard in your head

During your first sessions, separate three questions:

• Points: what is the score in this game?
• Games: how many games has each pair won?
• Match format: what has this group agreed to play?

For a timed social booking, ask how the organiser handles an unfinished game when the session ends. Do not assume that your group needs to finish a full match within the booking.

Make score calls a shared habit

Say the score out loud before serving. If someone disagrees, resolve it before the next point. In a friendly practice, a quick check after each rally can stop a small memory lapse becoming a lengthy reconstruction.

If you are new, volunteer to call a practice game while another player checks you. That lets you learn the pattern without trying to remember both the score and a new service motion at once.

Before joining an event

Read the event’s format and ask about tie-breaks, deciding sets and deuce scoring. Those details belong to the organiser’s instructions; this page explains the first questions to ask.

Next: start each point with a legal serve.

For the game around the score, start with our beginner guide to padel. For a first booking, keep the first-match checklist handy.