Padder Tennis Rules

Padder tennis, also known as "paddle tennis" was first invented over a century ago in New York City. Padder tennis is very similar to its "big brother," lawn tennis, but is played on a smaller court, and with a paddle instead of a tennis racket. The game is played around the world.

In padder tennis, players use a paddle to hit the ball over the net. The appropriate paddle consist of solid material, and doesn't have any strings. The dimensions of the paddle must be 18 inches in length and 9.5 inches in width. The ball used is a standard tennis ball, which is punctured, in order to reduce its internal pressure. This is done to reduce the ball's bounce, as the padder tennis court is relatively small.

A padder tennis court measures 50 feet from baseline to baseline, and the serve line is located three feet inside the baseline. The court is 20 feet wide, and the net is 31 inches high. The restrict line, which the players must not cross until the other player receives the serve, is placed 12 feet away from the net. Paddle tennis can be played on any given surface, however the most commonly used is rubberised asphalt.

The game can be played both in singles and doubles. The serve can be underhand or overhand, but the player must stick with whichever style he chooses throughout the set. No repeat serve is allowed. A match consists of three sets, which consist of six games of four points. Points are scored 15, 30, 40, game. If the players get to a tie at 40, a player must win two consecutive points to win the game. Players need six games to win a set, with the obligatory two game difference. If the players don't reach the two game difference by the time they have played six games, an additional game is played. The winner of the additional game takes the set.