The Bandeja Lab

Home › Puzzle › You have missed the first serve. How many more do you get?

You have missed the first serve. How many more do you get?

Two serves. A second fault is a double fault and the point goes to the receivers.

YouPartnerOpponentsBall
beginnerrulesserve

Your first serve lands long. What happens next?

Two serves. A second fault is a double fault and the point goes to the receivers.

Why

Serving in padel follows the tennis pattern: two attempts, and if both are faults the point is lost. Because the serve is underarm and slow, double faults are rare, which makes them expensive when they happen, since a point given away on a shot you were guaranteed to hit is the worst kind of point to lose. The second serve should be the same swing aimed at a safer target, never a slower, weaker version of the first.

What this means at your level

Beginner

Land the second serve. Aim for the middle of the box and forget about anything clever.

Intermediate

Make the second serve the same motion as the first, aimed at the returner's body: big margin, and still awkward to return.

Advanced

A double fault is nearly always a rhythm fault. Take an extra second, bounce the ball twice, and serve the one you have hit a thousand times.

Rule of the gameThe server has two serves. If both are faults, the point is lost.

Common questions

Your first serve lands long. What happens next?

One more serve; a second fault is the point. Two serves. A second fault is a double fault and the point goes to the receivers. Serving in padel follows the tennis pattern: two attempts, and if both are faults the point is lost. Because the serve is underarm and slow, double faults are rare, which makes them expensive when they happen, since a point given away on a shot you were guaranteed to hit is the worst kind of point to lose. The second serve should be the same swing aimed at a safer target, never a slower, weaker version of the first.

Why not you keep serving until one of them lands?

That is a friendly warm-up convention, not the rule. In a match the second fault ends the point.

What should a beginner do here?

Land the second serve. Aim for the middle of the box and forget about anything clever.

How does this change for an advanced player?

A double fault is nearly always a rhythm fault. Take an extra second, bounce the ball twice, and serve the one you have hit a thousand times.

What do the rules say?

The server has two serves. If both are faults, the point is lost.

Puzzles like this one