The padel ball
The padel ball's own specification — diameter, weight, bounce and internal pressure — and the separate altitude ball the rules provide for above 1,000 metres.
Overview
A padel ball is a rubber sphere with a uniform exterior surface, in white, yellow or another colour with clear contrast against the court surface. Its diameter is between 6.35 and 6.77 cm and its weight between 56.0 and 59.4 grams.
A new ball must have a bounce between 135 and 145 cm when dropped onto a hard surface from a height of 2.54 m, and an internal pressure between 4.6 kg and 5.2 kg per 2.54 square cm.
The altitude ball
When play is at an altitude of more than 1,000 m above sea level, another type of ball may be used: its bounce should be more than 121.92 cm and less than 135 cm from the same test.
The altitude ball is therefore specified to bounce LESS than a standard ball. Thinner air at altitude means less drag and a livelier ball, so a lower-bouncing ball is what restores normal play — the adjustment runs in the opposite direction to most people's intuition.
Approval and changes
Balls used in official competitions are those approved by the FIP for the game of padel. Competition organisers must announce in advance the brand and type of balls, the number to be used in the match (two or three), and the ball change policy if any.
If a ball is lost or damaged during a match, another must be put into play as soon as possible; play does not continue with only one ball available, and the chair umpire provides replacements of the same type.
Good to know
- A padel ball is 6.35–6.77 cm in diameter and weighs 56.0–59.4 g.
- A new ball bounces 135–145 cm when dropped from 2.54 m.
- Above 1,000 m altitude, a lower-bouncing ball may be used.
- The altitude ball bounces less, not more, to compensate for thinner air.
- Competition balls must be FIP-approved and the type announced in advance.
Where it’s used
Sports that use the padel ball:
Related equipment
Padel racket
A solid, stringless racket perforated with holes, used to play padel. The lack of strings gives padel its distinctive shorter, flatter shots.
The padel net
The net that divides a padel court — its two different heights, the maximum post height, the white strip that tops it, and why the posts sit at the lateral limits.
The padel racket
What the FIP rules fix about a padel racket — the maximum length, width and thickness, the mandatory cord, and the perforation limits that define the hitting surface.
Sources
The rules, dimensions and specifications on this page were read from these documents.
- Rules of Padel — International Padel Federation (FIP), application review 01.01.2026, The Ball; Rule 17 — Change of balls (read 2026-09-12)
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place The padel ball in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Frequently learned together
Taught side by side in the same stage of a learning path.
- Padel racketBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Padel learning path.
- The padel netBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Padel learning path.
- The padel racketBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Padel learning path.
- Padel courtBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Padel learning path.
- Padel court dimensionsBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Padel learning path.
Used with
Turns up alongside this across the same sports.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect The padel ball to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Facilities
- Padel courtAn enclosed court, much smaller than a tennis court, walled with glass and mesh so the ball can be played off the walls.
- Padel court dimensionsThe exact size and markings of a padel court under FIP rules — the 10 by 20 metre rectangle, the service lines, the line width, and the free height the rules require above it.
- Padel walls and enclosureThe feature that makes padel its own sport — the glass and mesh enclosure, the two permitted side-wall layouts, and why the wall material is specified by how the ball bounces off it.
Rules
- Ball in play and the wallsWhat counts as part of the court in padel and how the walls change a rally — which surfaces the ball may use, the order it must use them in, and the returns the rules explicitly permit.
- Out-of-court play in padelThe rule that lets a padel player leave the court to keep a rally alive — when it is authorised, what the court must provide for it, and why it depends on the safety area.
- The padel servePadel's underarm serve, set out exactly — the bounce before the strike, the waist-height limit, where the server's feet must be, and the wire-mesh fault that has no tennis equivalent.
- Continuous play and the time between pointsWhat the ITF Rules say about pace of play — 25 seconds between points, 90 seconds at a changeover, 120 at a set break — and why tour rulebooks are a separate document.
- How a point is lost in padelThe actions that end a padel rally — the second bounce, touching the net, direct contact with the opponent's enclosure, and the neutral-zone exception on the court doors.
Learning paths
Techniques
- Playing the walls in padelThe skill that separates padel from every other racket sport — reading a rebound off glass, positioning behind the bounce rather than at it, and using your own back wall to attack.
- Spin in table tennisWhy table tennis is a spin sport before it is a speed sport — how topspin, backspin and sidespin change a ball's flight and its bounce off an opponent's bat.
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Everywhere else on the platform that covers The padel ball — assembled from what actually references it, so nothing here is a dead end.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Equipment
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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