The serve
How every point starts: bounce the ball behind the service line, strike it at or below the waist and send it diagonally into the receiver's box. This page covers the rules and the basic action; the serve pages linked from it cover the different types.
When to play it
At the start of every point. If the first serve is a fault, you get a second one. In each game the first serve goes from the right-hand side, then you switch sides after every point. Before every serve, once the receiver is ready.
How to play it
Stand behind the service line, inside your half of the court, and bounce the ball once in that same area. Let it drop and strike it at or below your waist, keeping at least one foot on the ground. Send it diagonally over the net into the receiver's box, then move up to the net with your partner.
Common mistakes
Stepping on the service line or the centre line before you hit the ball, which is a fault. Letting the ball rise above your waist at contact. Serving so hard that the ball bounces in the box and then hits the mesh fence before it bounces again, which is also a fault.
Rules for this shot
Questions
Is the saque legal in padel?
Legal when it follows Rule 6: feet behind the line, one bounce in your own area, contact at or below the waist with a foot on the ground, and a bounce in the diagonal box. Rule 7 lists the faults, and under Rule 9 a serve that clips the net and lands in is played again.