Padel vs pickleball vs tennis: the differences – and which sport suits you
Three racket sports, three worlds – and they get mixed up all the time. Everyone knows tennis. Padel is the sport with the glass walls that is getting new halls in Germany every week. Pickleball is the sport from the USA with the plastic ball that millions now play over there. This comparison shows what separates the three, which one is quicker to learn, what they cost – and who takes the most with them when switching.
Three sports in three sentences
Tennis is the origin: since the 1870s, big courts, strung rackets, a high-pressure felt ball – power and technique over long rallies. Padel was born in Mexico in 1969 and became a mass sport in Spain and Argentina: a smaller court with glass walls, a racket without strings, a ball with less pressure, almost always played as doubles. Pickleball was invented in 1965 in Washington State: a badminton-sized court without walls, flat paddles, a perforated plastic ball, an underarm serve and a scoring system in which only the serving side scores.
The comparison at a glance
| Padel | Pickleball | Tennis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court | 20 × 10 m, glass and mesh walls | 13.41 × 6.10 m, no walls | 23.77 × 10.97 m (doubles), no walls |
| Racket | Stringless racket with perforated face, approx. 45 cm | Flat stringless paddle, approx. 40 cm | Strung racket, approx. 68 cm |
| Ball | Felt ball, 10–11 psi | Perforated plastic ball, pressureless | Felt ball, 12–14 psi |
| Serve | Underarm, after one bounce, at hip height | Underarm, without a bounce or after one | Overhead |
| Walls | Yes – the ball stays in play off the walls | No | No |
| Scoring | Like tennis (15, 30, 40), usually with golden point | To 11, win by 2; traditionally only the serving side scores | 15, 30, 40, advantage |
| Singles / doubles | Almost only doubles | Both | Both |
| Typical point | Long rallies, lobs, net play, wall defence | Short, flat exchanges at the net (dinks) | Baseline, topspin, serve and return |
| Cost per hour | €24–48 per court, €6–12 per person | Often free (parks, multi-purpose halls) up to €20 | €10–30 per court |
| Learning curve | First match after an hour | First match after 20 minutes | First rallies after weeks |
Which sport is easier to learn?
Pickleball is playable fastest: small court, slow ball, underarm serve – after 20 minutes a rally is running. The subtleties (the dink game at the net, the kitchen rule) come later. Padel is the second fastest: the underarm serve and the big racket take the frustration out of the first hour, the walls keep the ball in play. After an hour you play a match, after ten hours you can defend. Tennis takes longest: overhead serve, topspin, long distances – it takes weeks before a rally goes past ten shots. If you want fun quickly, padel and pickleball are right; if you want the most depth, all three deliver.
Which sport is more strenuous?
Tennis has the longest distances and the hardest shots, padel the longest rallies (in doubles points often go beyond 20 shots), pickleball the most changes of direction in a tight space. In calories per hour all three land at roughly 400 to 600 depending on intensity. The difference is in the load: tennis taxes shoulder and back (the serve), padel knees and ankles (stops, sideways steps), pickleball reactions and calves. If you have joint issues, padel and pickleball offer the friendlier entry – shorter distances, no overhead serves.
Switching: what carries over, what do you relearn?
- From tennis to padel: You bring volleys, feel and tactics. You relearn almost everything about the ball after the wall – the reflex to take the ball before the wall is the most common beginner mistake. Plus: less topspin, more slice, the bandeja instead of the smash. Tennis converts are usually at Playtomic level 3 after three months.
- From tennis to pickleball: Volleys and reactions help immediately. Relearn: the flat dink game, the kitchen rule (no volleys from the zone at the net), the scoring.
- From pickleball to padel: The net game is familiar, the walls and the felt ball are new. The biggest leap: defending lobs and reading the ball off the glass.
- From padel to tennis: The hardest switch – the overhead serve and long baseline strokes have to be learned from scratch.
Why padel is winning in Germany right now
In Germany the ranking is clear: tennis with over a million federation members is the base, padel is growing fastest – Padelradar now counts more than 2,300 padel courts at over 600 venues, with new ones every week – and pickleball is still a niche with a few hundred courts, mostly in multi-purpose halls. The reason for the padel boom: it's immediately playable as doubles, sociable, weatherproof indoors and bookable via apps. Want to try it? The court finder shows free courts near you, the tournament calendar beginner tournaments, and the padel rules explain the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Is padel the same as pickleball?
No. Padel is played on a court with glass walls, with a felt ball and a perforated racket, almost always as doubles, with tennis scoring. Pickleball has no walls, a perforated plastic ball, flat paddles and its own scoring to 11. All they share is the underarm serve and the short learning curve.
What is the difference between padel and tennis?
The court: padel at 20 × 10 metres is much smaller and surrounded by glass and mesh walls off which the ball stays in play. The racket has no strings, the ball less pressure, the serve is underarm. Scoring is the same as in tennis; it is almost only played as doubles.
Which is easier to learn: padel, pickleball or tennis?
Pickleball is playable after 20 minutes, padel after an hour, tennis after weeks. Padel and pickleball take the frustration out of the first hour with the underarm serve and the slow ball; tennis demands an overhead serve and long distances.
Which is more strenuous: padel or tennis?
Tennis has the longer distances and harder shots, padel the longer rallies and more stops. In calories both land at roughly 400 to 600 per hour. Tennis loads shoulder and back more, padel knees and ankles.
Can I play padel with a tennis racket?
No. Padel is played with a stringless racket whose face is a foam core with a carbon or fibreglass surface. A tennis racket is too long and too fast for the small court and not permitted under the rules. Which rackets suit beginners is explained on our racket pages.