The fence in padel, when can you hit it?
Whether you are allowed to hit the fence in padel will be determined by where you are in your game. There are times when hitting against the fence is considered in and other times when it is considered to be out.
Because of the mesh structure the bounce off of the fence is unpredictable. Knowing the rules about when to use the fence gives you a great opportunity to make use of the fence as an attacking play on the padel court.
To make the explanation easy we will divide the play it into 3 sections regarding the fence.
1. The serve
2. Your side of the court
3. Your opponent’s side of the court
1. The serve
You cannot hit your own fence or your opponents side of the fence when you are serving.
When you take your serve you will bounce the ball and then hit the ball into the opponent’s’ box opposite to yours. The ball must bounce at least once in your opponent’s box. After bouncing once it cannot hit the fence, that is considered a fault.
If your service hits yours or your opponents fence directly without bouncing that is considered a service fault.
The ball may bounce twice (or more) and then hit the fence, in this scenario the serve is good and you win the point due to the ball bouncing more than once in the opponent’s’ side of the court.
When you serve the ball, it may bounce once in the opponent’s box and then hit the glass, that serve is considered good and play can continue.
It also helps to know when a ‘let’ needs to be played (the ball brushes the net before going over). More on the let rules can be found here.
If you are unsure about the service rules you can get more information here.
2. Your side of the court
You cannot hit the fence on your own side of the court when returning the ball. That is considered out and your opponent wins the point.
You may return the ball off of your own glass, but it cannot hit your own fence before crossing the net, otherwise it is considered out.
3. Your opponent’s side of the court
You may play the ball into your opponent’s’ side of the fence, provided the ball bounces in their side of the court before hitting the fence. That is considered in. As long as the ball bounces once before hitting the fence or glass on the other side of the court your shot is good and play can continue.
If your return the ball off your own glass and it hits the opponents fence before bouncing it is also considered out and you lose the point.
If the ball bounces twice or more before hitting the fence or glass on your opponent’s side, you win the point.
Any shot that is played directly into your opponents’ fence or glass is considered out and you will lose the point.
Why use the fence in padel?
Balls played against the fence are unpredictable for your opponents to return, making for a great attacking shot. Due to the mesh structure the ball does not bounce off the fence as consistently as it does off the glass.
Knowing how and when to use the fence can give you a serious upper hand on the padel court!