How does padel scoring work?

Padel scoring works like tennis until 40-40: points go 15, 30, 40, game, and games build into sets. At 40-40 your match has to pick one of three rules, and that choice is what confuses most new players. This guide follows the International Padel Federation (FIP) rules, checked on 5 November 2026. We make Bajada, a padel score app, so the last section covers how it handles all of this.

How do points work in a padel game?

The first point won is called 15, the second 30, the third 40 and the fourth wins the game. The server's score is called first, so 30-15 means the serving pair leads. If both pairs reach 40, the score is deuce, also called 40-40, and one of the three rules below takes over.

What happens at 40-40 in padel?

The FIP rules list three options. Agree which one you are playing before the first serve.

• Advantage. The pair that wins the next point has advantage. Win again and the game is theirs; lose and it goes back to deuce. This repeats until one pair wins two points in a row.
• Star Point. The first two deuces play out as advantage. If the game reaches a third deuce, one deciding point called the Star Point ends it.
• Golden point. At the first 40-40, one deciding point ends the game.

On a Star Point or golden point the receiving pair chooses whether to receive on the right or the left, and the two players cannot swap positions for that point. In mixed matches, the player who receives is the same sex as the server.

Star Point is the newest option. The FIP uses it on its Promises tours, and Padel Addict reports its Premier Padel debut in the 2026 season. In your own match, whichever rule your club or group agrees applies.

How long can each 40-40 rule run?

We worked this out ourselves, because the rules describe the steps but not what they do to a game. The table counts the points played after the score first reaches 40-40. The average assumes both pairs have an equal chance of winning each point, and a run of 2 million simulated deuces matched the exact maths.

Star Point removes the long tail, not much of the average. With equal pairs, 1 in 4 deuces under advantage goes past 4 points, and only those games change under Star Point. Padel Addict quotes the FIP president on a first game that lasted 18 and a half minutes, and says Star Point would have ended it in just over four.

How do sets and matches work?

The first pair to 6 games with a two-game lead wins the set. At 5-5 you play on, so 7-5 also wins. At 6-6 a tie-break decides it.

A match is the best of three sets. If it is agreed beforehand, a third set can run without a tie-break, so the pairs play on at 6-6 until one leads by two games.

How does a padel tie-break work?

Points are called 0, 1, 2, 3 and so on. The first pair to 7 with a two-point lead wins the tie-break and the set, which ends 7-6. If nobody has that lead, it continues.

1. The player next in the serving order serves one point, from the right.
2. The other pair serves the next two points, the first from the left.
3. From then on each player serves two points in a row, keeping the order.
4. The pairs change ends after every 6 points.
5. The next set starts with a player from the pair that did not serve first in the tie-break.

What are the shorter formats?

The FIP lists these as alternatives, so they only apply if the match was set up that way:

• Mini set: first to 4 games with a two-game lead, and a tie-break at 4-4.
• Tie-break instead of a third set: at one set all, a tie-break to 7 with a two-point lead decides the match.
• Super tie-break: at one set all, a tie-break to 10 with a two-point lead decides the match.

When do you change ends?

After the 1st, 3rd and every later odd game of a set. After the first game of a set and during a tie-break, you change without a rest. Other changes of ends allow up to 90 seconds, and the break at the end of a set is up to 120 seconds.

How do you keep score without arguing?

Call the score out loud before each serve, server's score first. Agree the 40-40 rule and the third-set format before you start. An app does the counting if you would rather not.

In Bajada you tap the side that won the point on an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. It counts 15-30-40, deuces, tie-breaks and sets, shows who serves and from which side, and lets you pick golden point, advantage or Star Point. Sets can be 4, 6 or 9 games, one set or best of three, with a super tie-break if you want one. The padel score app comparison sets it against five other apps, and the Apple Watch comparison covers scoring from your wrist.

Three things it does not do:

• It always plays a tie-break when a set is level on games, so a third set with no tie-break is not an option.
• The final-set shortcut is the super tie-break to 10; the tie-break to 7 instead of a third set is not an option.
• On a deciding point the receivers choose their side, and Bajada's side marker does not know what they chose.

If that fits your matches, get Bajada on the App Store and play your first 3 matches free.

Questions

Sources

1. International Padel Federation: FIP Rules of Padel (Rule 1 and the rule on changing ends) (checked 5 November 2026)
2. FIP: FIP Promises rules from 2026 (Star Point on the Promises tours) (checked 5 November 2026)
3. Padel Addict: the Star Point scoring system for 2026 (checked 5 November 2026)