Bouncing, catching and missing on the serve
Nothing counts as a serve until you hit the ball or deliberately swing at it. Swing and miss and it is a fault; bounce the ball and catch it without swinging, and nothing has happened yet.
When a serve starts
A serve takes place the moment you make contact with the ball, or the moment you make a deliberate attempt to hit it. Until then you are only getting ready.
Swinging and missing
If you try to hit the ball and miss it, that is a fault. On a first serve you go again with your second; on a second serve your pair loses the point.
Catching the ball
If the bounce goes wrong and you catch the ball without trying to hit it, there was no serve, so there is no fault. Start again, keeping within the 20 seconds allowed between points.
How many bounces
The rule is that you bounce the ball on the ground in the area you are serving from, without it crossing the service line or the centre line extension, before you hit it. It does not set a number of bounces while you get ready, but the time limit still applies.
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Perguntas
Is it a fault if you drop the ball when serving in padel?
Not if you do not try to hit it. A serve only happens when you make contact or deliberately try to hit the ball.
Is a missed serve a fault in padel?
Yes. Swinging at the ball and missing it is a fault.