Beach Tennis vs Padel Compared Rule by Rule

Beach tennis is played without a bounce on a sand court with a high net. Padel is played with a bounce inside an enclosed court, and its walls are in play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) sets a beach tennis doubles court of 52.5 by 26.2 feet (16 by 8 m), with a net at least 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 m) high.

The International Padel Federation (FIP) sets a padel court of 65.6 by 32.8 feet (20 by 10 m). Its net is 34.6 inches (0.88 m) high at the center. Beach tennis gives the server one serve per point, and padel gives two. At Wildcard Sport, we research from these two rulebooks and link them.

Both sports use solid stringless rackets. The ITF and FIP set different size limits for them, so the difference between beach tennis and padel reaches the equipment too.

Other head-to-heads, such as padel vs tennis, sit in our sport comparisons, and our beach tennis guide covers that sport on its own.

Beach Tennis vs Padel Side by Side

The ITF and FIP rulebooks match on two racket limits and differ on the court, net, ball, serve and scoring. Imperial figures the rulebooks do not give are our conversions from their metric figures, and the beach tennis court area is our calculation (16 x 8 m).

Rule	Beach tennis (ITF)	Padel (FIP)
Court length	52.5 ft (16.0 m)	65.6 ft (20 m)
Court width	26.2 ft (8.0 m) doubles, 14.8 ft (4.5 m) singles	32.8 ft (10 m)
Court area (doubles)	About 1,378 sq ft (128 sq m)	About 2,153 sq ft (200 sq m)
Surface	Levelled sand, free of rocks and shells	Cement, synthetic material or artificial grass
Boundaries	Lines in the sand, reset before each point	13.1 ft (4 m) enclosure: 9.8 ft (3 m) of wall plus 3.3 ft (1 m) of metal fence
Net height	At least 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m), 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) for men at major ITF events	34.6 in (0.88 m) center, 36.2 in (0.92 m) ends
Net shape	Same height along its length	Lower at the center than the ends
Ball type	ITF Stage 2 (orange, low compression)	Rubber sphere
Ball weight	1.27 to 1.65 oz (36.0 to 46.9 g)	1.98 to 2.10 oz (56.0 to 59.4 g)
Ball diameter	2.36 to 2.70 in (6.00 to 6.86 cm)	2.50 to 2.67 in (6.35 to 6.77 cm)
Bounce in a rally	Ball must not touch the ground on your side	Ball bounces, walls in play
Serve action	Hand release, hit before the ball lands, from anywhere behind the baseline	Bounced, struck at or below the waist, diagonal into the service box
Serves per point	One	Two
Serve touching the net	In play, no let	A let on the second serve repeats the second serve
Racket length	Up to 19.7 in (50 cm) overall	Up to 17.9 in (45.5 cm), head plus handle
Racket width	Up to 10.2 in (26 cm)	Up to 10.2 in (26 cm)
Racket thickness	Up to 1.5 in (38 mm)	Up to 1.5 in (38 mm)
Other racket rules	ITF appendix lists size limits only	Holes 9 to 13 mm in the center, wrist cord obligatory
Deuce	No-Ad: one deciding point at 3-3	Advantage, Golden Point or Star Point (tournament options)
Sets	First to 6 by 2, tie-break at 6-6	To 6 games, tie-break at 6-6
Formats	Doubles and singles	Doubles only, per the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)

Court Size and Surface

The ITF's 16 by 8 m doubles court covers 128 square meters of sand, and the FIP's 20 by 10 m padel court covers 200 square meters inside an enclosure. By our calculation, 16 × 8 = 128 and 20 × 10 = 200. The beach tennis court is 64 percent of the padel court's area.

By our calculation, it is also 13.1 feet (4 m) shorter and 6.6 feet (2 m) narrower. The ITF adds a beach tennis singles court, 14.8 feet (4.5 m) wide and the same 52.5 feet (16.0 m) long.

The surfaces differ as well. The ITF calls for levelled sand free of rocks and shells. Lines move in the sand during a point and must be reset before the next one.

The FIP allows cement, synthetic material or artificial grass. Padel adds an enclosure 13.1 feet (4 m) high. The first 9.8 feet (3 m) are wall of glass, brick or another uniform solid material, topped by 3.3 feet (1 m) of metal fence.

The FIP requires those walls to give a uniform bounce. A return is good if it bounces in the opponent's court and then hits a wall or the fence. A player may also play the ball off their own wall before it crosses the net.

If you are planning space for a padel court, our padel court dimensions page and court space checker work through the footprint. Our padel court surface page covers the three allowed surfaces.

Net Height Gap

The beach tennis net is about twice as high as the padel net. The ITF minimum is 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 m) for women's, mixed and junior events. The FIP sets the padel net at 34.6 inches (0.88 m) at the center, and 1.7 ÷ 0.88 is about 1.9 by our calculation.

Men play over 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) at major ITF categories. Those include World Tour BT100, BT200 and BT400 events, the Sand Series and the World Cup. They also include the World and Regional Championships.

At that men's height, 1.8 ÷ 0.88 is about 2.0 by our calculation. At men's BT10 and BT50 events, the net may be raised to 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) with ITF approval.

The two nets differ in shape too. The ITF requires the same height along the whole net, and that height cannot change during an event. The FIP padel net is 34.6 inches (0.88 m) at the center and 36.2 inches (0.92 m) at the ends, so by our calculation it sits 1.6 inches (4 cm) lower in the middle.

Rackets and Balls

Beach tennis and padel rackets share their width and thickness limits and differ on length. Both rulebooks cap width at 10.2 inches (26 cm) and thickness at 1.5 inches (38 mm). Beach tennis allows up to 19.7 inches (50 cm) overall, while padel caps head plus handle at 17.9 inches (45.5 cm).

By our arithmetic, the beach tennis maximum is 1.8 inches (4.5 cm) longer. The ITF also caps the beach tennis hitting surface at 11.8 by 10.2 inches (30 by 26 cm). The FIP racket rule goes beyond size.

The FIP requires a padel racket to have cylindrical holes 0.35 to 0.51 inches (9 to 13 mm) across in the center area of the hitting surface. A non-elastic safety cord on the wrist is obligatory. The ITF appendix cited here lists size limits only.

Neither rulebook addresses using one sport's racket in the other. On length, width and thickness, the FIP maximums are equal to or smaller than the ITF maximums. That arithmetic does not make a padel racket legal at a beach tennis event, since the ITF text sets size limits and says nothing on cross-use.

Going the other way, a beach tennis racket longer than 17.9 inches (45.5 cm) would exceed the FIP length cap. Weight limits and prices are not part of the rule figures cited here. Our padel racket guide covers what padel players shop for.

The beach tennis ball is lighter than the padel ball. The ITF approves Stage 2 balls, which are orange and low compression, at 1.27 to 1.65 ounces (36.0 to 46.9 g). The FIP padel ball is a rubber sphere of 1.98 to 2.10 ounces (56.0 to 59.4 g).

By our arithmetic, the heaviest beach tennis ball (46.9 g) is 9.1 g (0.32 oz) lighter than the lightest padel ball (56.0 g). The sizes overlap: the ITF range runs 2.36 to 2.70 inches (6.00 to 6.86 cm), and the padel range of 2.50 to 2.67 inches (6.35 to 6.77 cm) sits inside it.

The FIP also sets a bounce test. A padel ball dropped from 100 inches (2.54 m) must bounce 53 to 57 inches (135 to 145 cm). For more on the padel ball, see our padel balls guide and padel ball vs tennis ball.

Serve and Return Rules

The ITF gives a beach tennis server one serve per point, and the FIP gives a padel server two. Under the ITF rules, the server may stand anywhere behind the baseline. The ball is released by hand and hit before it touches the ground.

In mixed doubles, male players serve underarm. A beach tennis serve that touches the net and goes over is in play, and the ITF has no let rule. Either receiver may return the serve.

The FIP sets its own conditions for the padel serve. The server must bounce the ball, strike it at or below waist level, and keep at least one foot on the ground. The serve goes diagonally into the service box.

The FIP rules give padel a second serve. A net or let on that second serve repeats only the second serve.

Rallies also split the two sports. Under the ITF rules, a team loses the point if the ball hits the ground on its side, so every shot is taken before the ball lands. Touching the net with your body or racket while the ball is in play also loses the point.

In padel, the FIP rules have the ball bounce and keep the walls in play. The Santa Monica Daily Press described beach tennis in 2015 as "one-serve, volley-only tennis with sudden-death deuces and playable lets." Our padel rules page covers the padel side in full.

Scoring and Match Format

The ITF and FIP both play sets to 6 games with a tie-break at 6-6, and they settle deuce differently. ITF beach tennis games are No-Ad. At deuce (3-3 in points), one deciding point wins the game.

By our arithmetic, a beach tennis game can therefore never run past 7 points (3 + 3 + 1). Under the ITF rules, a beach tennis set needs a 2-game margin. The tie-break game goes to 7 points, won by 2.

The ITF makes a beach tennis match best of 3 sets. At one set all, a match tie-break to 10 points, won by 2, replaces the third set.

The FIP gives padel tournaments three deuce options: Advantage, Golden Point or Star Point. Padel sets also go to 6 games, with a tie-break at 6-6. Our padel scoring guide explains how each deuce option plays out.

Which Sport to Pick

No source we cite ranks beach tennis or padel as easier, harder or better for beginners. Pick by the rules you want to play under.

Pick beach tennis if:

You want to play on sand.
You want a singles option, which the ITF sets on a court 14.8 feet (4.5 m) wide.
You want every shot taken before the ball lands on your side.
One serve per point suits you, with net-cord serves kept in play.

Pick padel if:

You want walls in play, including shots off your own wall.
You want a second serve.
You want a cement, synthetic or artificial grass court.
You want a sport the United States Padel Association (USPA) counts at just over 1,000 US courts across 31 states as of April 2026.

Padel is the wrong pick for a player who wants singles, because the LTA describes it as doubles-only. Beach tennis is the wrong pick for a player who wants a second serve, because the ITF rules give none.

The LTA calls padel generally easier to learn than tennis. It credits the smaller court, the underarm serve and the slower ball. That comparison is against tennis, so it does not settle beach tennis vs padel.

These picks would change if the ITF or FIP rewrote its net, racket or serve rules. We update our comparisons when either federation publishes a new rule edition. To start on the padel side, read how to get started playing padel, or try our new sport quiz.

Governing Bodies and Origins

The ITF governs beach tennis, and the FIP publishes the Rules of Padel. The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) states: "The International Tennis Federation recognises Beach Tennis as one of its disciplines." Beach tennis is on the programme of the ANOC World Beach Games and was contested at the 2019 Games in Qatar.

The USPA reports that 1,073,000 Americans played padel in 2025. Our sources publish no beach tennis participation count.

ANOC traces beach tennis to Italy in the early 1970s. Vacationing tennis players at Lido degli Estensi played on the beach using rackets and existing volleyball nets.

Padel's own story is in our page on where padel originated. If you are weighing a third option, see platform tennis vs padel. To find a court and play, start with our guide to finding a padel court near you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is beach tennis the same as padel?

No. Beach tennis is played on a 16 by 8 m sand court over a net at least 1.7 m high, with no bounce allowed on your side. Padel is played on a 65.6 by 32.8 foot (20 by 10 m) enclosed court over a 34.6 inch (0.88 m) net, with the bounce and the walls in play. The ITF governs beach tennis, and the FIP publishes the padel rules.

Is a beach tennis racket the same as a padel racket?

No, though the two are close. Both rulebooks cap width at 26 cm and thickness at 38 mm. Beach tennis allows 50 cm overall length against padel's 45.5 cm, and padel requires center holes and a wrist cord. Neither rulebook addresses using one sport's racket in the other.

Which court is bigger, beach tennis or padel?

The padel court is bigger. The FIP sets it at 65.6 by 32.8 feet (20 by 10 m), or about 2,153 square feet (200 square meters), against about 1,378 square feet (128 square meters, by our calculation) for an ITF beach tennis doubles court. By our calculation, the beach tennis court is 64 percent of the padel court's area.

Can you hit the ball off a wall in beach tennis?

Wall play belongs to the FIP padel rules. In padel, a ball may bounce in the opponent's court and then hit a wall, and a player may play off their own wall. The ITF beach tennis rules describe a sand court marked by lines, and a team loses the point if the ball touches the ground on its side.

How many serves do you get in beach tennis and in padel?

The ITF gives beach tennis one serve per point, and the FIP gives padel two. A beach tennis serve that clips the net and goes over is in play, with no let. In padel, a let on the second serve repeats only the second serve.

Is beach tennis harder than padel?

No source we cite ranks the two on difficulty. The LTA calls padel generally easier to learn than tennis, but that comparison is against tennis. Pick by the rules you prefer, such as sand and one serve, or walls and two serves.

Does beach tennis use the same ball as padel?

No. Beach tennis uses an ITF Stage 2 ball, orange and low compression, weighing 1.27 to 1.65 ounces (36.0 to 46.9 g). The FIP padel ball is a rubber sphere of 1.98 to 2.10 ounces (56.0 to 59.4 g). The diameter ranges overlap between 2.50 and 2.67 inches (6.35 and 6.77 cm).

How is beach tennis scored compared with padel?

The ITF and FIP both play sets to 6 games with a tie-break at 6-6. Beach tennis uses No-Ad games with one deciding point at 3-3, and a match tie-break to 10 replaces the third set. Padel tournaments choose Advantage, Golden Point or Star Point for deuce.