Quick answer
A padel court is 20 metres long by 10 metres wide — a 200m² playing area enclosed by glass and mesh. The net is 0.88m high at the centre and 0.92m at the posts, the back walls are 3m of glass topped with 1m of mesh, and the service lines sit 6.95m back from the net. That makes a padel court roughly 25% smaller than a tennis court and more than twice the size of a pickleball court.
Padel court size at a glance
Every official padel court is built to the same International Padel Federation (FIP) specification, so the padel court size you play on in Cardiff is identical to the one used at Premier Padel. There is no "club size" variation — if it is a proper court, these are the measurements.
- Total playing area: 20m long × 10m wide (200m²)
- Each half: 10m × 10m
- Net height: 0.88m at the centre, 0.92m at the posts
- Service line: 6.95m from the net on each side
- Service boxes: 6.95m deep × 5m wide (split by the centre service line)
- Back walls: 3m of glass, plus 1m of metal mesh above (4m total)
- Side walls: stepped — 3m glass for the first 2m from the back, then 2m, with mesh above
- Minimum height clearance: 6m over the whole court (7m recommended for competition)
Because the court is fully enclosed, the ball stays live off the glass — you are playing in a box, not on a rectangle.
The measurements that actually change how you play
Three numbers matter more than the rest.
6.95m from net to service line. That is a short distance. Most rallies are decided in the few metres either side of the net, which is why padel is a volleying game far more than a baseline game. If you have come from tennis, this is the single biggest adjustment — and it is covered properly in our guide to padel vs tennis for tennis players.
3m of glass behind you. The back wall is not out of play — the ball rebounds and you play it. That means a large share of your shots are taken low, late, close to your body and moving backwards. It is an awkward contact point that punishes an unforgiving frame.
10m of width shared by two players. Roughly 5m each. You almost never sprint on a padel court. You shuffle, split-step, push off sideways and backpedal to the glass — dozens of times a rally.
Padel court size vs tennis, pickleball and badminton
The comparison people search for most is padel court size vs tennis court, and the gap is smaller than most expect.
- Padel: 20m × 10m = 200m²
- Tennis (doubles): 23.77m × 10.97m = 261m² — about 30% larger
- Pickleball: 13.41m × 6.10m = 82m² — padel is roughly 2.4× bigger
- Badminton (doubles): 13.4m × 6.1m = 82m²
A padel court is only modestly smaller than a tennis court, but it holds the same four players and adds walls. It feels far smaller than the numbers suggest, because the ball keeps coming back and your reaction time — not your court coverage — is the limiting factor.
What a 20m × 10m court means for the racket you buy
This is where most padel court dimension guides stop, because they are written by court builders rather than by people who sell kit.
On a court this size, handling beats mass. A heavy, head-biased frame that generates free power on a tennis baseline is a liability 3m from the net, where you may need to change direction twice in a second.
And because the 3m glass forces so many low, cramped, off-centre contacts, a round or teardrop head shape — sweet spot central and lower in the face — is far more forgiving than a diamond head. Diamond frames concentrate the sweet spot high for smashing, which suits an advanced player and quietly ruins everyone else's defence off the back wall.
The practical rule: in your first two seasons, buy a round-head frame between 355g and 370g from our padel rackets range and ignore the marketing about power. The court is too small to need it.
What the 10m width means for your shoes
Because movement here is lateral and repetitive rather than linear, running shoes and most tennis shoes are the wrong tool. You want a low-profile sole, reinforced lateral support to survive thousands of sideways pushes, and a tread that grips without gripping too hard.
That last point matters in the UK specifically. Most British courts are sand-dressed artificial turf. Indoors and dry, a tight full-herringbone tread is ideal. On a damp outdoor court the sand holds moisture, fine herringbone packs solid and goes slick — an open omni or mixed tread sheds it far better. If you play outdoors through a Welsh winter, buy for the mixed pattern. Our padel shoes range is split by tread type for exactly this reason.
Our picks at Central Tennis
Kit chosen specifically for the demands of a 20m × 10m enclosed court:
- Wilson Optix V2 Lite 2026 Padel Racket — £59.00. Light and easy to swing, with a forgiving face. The best first racket we sell for a net-dominated court.
- Aixo Sundae Padel Racket 3K Carbon — £84.00. Round head, central sweet spot, soft feel. Built for defending off the glass rather than smashing.
- Wilson Hurakn Lite Padel Shoe (Men's) — £58.50. Low to the ground with proper lateral reinforcement. Our best-value entry into a genuine padel-specific shoe.
- Adidas Courtquick Padel Shoe (Women's) — £58.99. Same brief, women's last, grippy on dry indoor turf.
- Wilson Premier Padel Balls (3-Pack) — £7.00. The official Premier Padel ball — lower pressure than a tennis ball, which is what the enclosed court demands.
Prices correct at time of writing. If you are unsure what suits your level, the team in store will put a frame in your hand rather than guess.
Padel court size FAQ
How much space do you need to build a padel court?
The playing area is 20m × 10m, but you need a plot of roughly 21m × 11m to allow for the structure and access gates, plus a minimum 6m of unobstructed height above the court (7m for competition). Indoors, ceiling height is usually the binding constraint rather than floor area.
Is a tennis court bigger than a padel court?
Yes. A doubles tennis court is 23.77m × 10.97m (261m²) against a padel court's 20m × 10m (200m²) — around 30% larger. But padel adds walls that keep the ball in play, so the padel court plays much tighter than the difference suggests.
Is a padel court bigger than a pickleball court?
Considerably. A pickleball court is 13.41m × 6.10m (82m²), so a padel court is about 2.4 times the size.
How high are the walls on a padel court?
The back walls are 3m of glass with 1m of metal mesh above, giving 4m total. Side walls are stepped: 3m of glass for the first 2m from the back wall, dropping to 2m thereafter, with mesh above.
How high is a padel net?
0.88m at the centre and 0.92m at the posts — slightly lower in the middle than a tennis net, which sits at 0.914m centre and 1.07m at the posts.
The short version
Twenty by ten, walls in play, every rally decided within a few metres of the net. The padel court size is designed to keep the ball alive rather than reward power, so the kit follows: a manoeuvrable round-head racket and a low, laterally-supported shoe beat anything heavier. Still learning the format? Read our padel rules and scoring guide next, then browse the full padel rackets range.
