Padel scoring, explained point by point

By Alejandro Portillo GuerreroUpdated 11 October 20268 min read

Padel is scored like tennis doubles: points go 15, 30, 40, game; the first pair to 6 games with a 2-game lead wins the set; at 6–6 a tie-break to 7 decides it; and matches are best of three sets. The one real choice is what happens at 40–40, where the official rules allow three methods: advantage, golden point or the new Star Point. Americano and Mexicano rounds are different again: there you simply count points to a total such as 24.

Points in a game: 15, 30, 40, game

Every game starts at 0–0. The first point won is called 15, the second 30, the third 40 and the fourth wins the game, as long as the other pair has not also reached 40. The same player serves the whole game, alternating sides: the first point from the right, the next from the left, and so on.

When both pairs have won three points each, the score is deuce (40–40). What happens next depends on which deuce method you agreed before the match. The FIP rulebook, revised for 1 January 2026, recognises exactly three.

Deuce: advantage, golden point or Star Point

1. Advantage

The classic method. The point after deuce gives that pair the advantage; if they win the next point too, they win the game. If they lose it, the score goes back to deuce, and so on until one pair wins two points in a row. There is no limit to how long the game can last.

2. Golden point (no advantage)

At the first deuce, one deciding point is played and whoever wins it wins the game. The FIP wording is precise: the receiving pair chooses whether to receive on the right or the left side of the court, and the receiving players may not swap positions to do it. In mixed doubles, the player of the same sex as the server receives the deciding point. Golden point is the norm in most club and social padel because it keeps court bookings on schedule, but clubs differ, so agree it before the first serve.

3. Star Point

The newest method, approved by the FIP in November 2025. Advantage is played at most twice: deuce 1, advantage 1, deuce 2, advantage 2. If the game reaches deuce 3, one deciding point, the Star Point, is played. As with golden point, the receiving pair chooses right or left, cannot swap positions, and in mixed the receiver is the player of the same sex as the server. Since 1 January 2026 it is used on the FIP professional and amateur circuits (Premier Padel, CUPRA FIP Tour, FIP Promises, FIP Beyond). In the UK, the LTA made it mandatory at Grades 1–2 and optional at Grades 3–5. Social play still mostly uses golden point. Full details and the official wording are in our Star Point guide.

Advantage vs golden point vs Star Point

The maximums are simple arithmetic: 6 points take a game to 40–40; golden point adds 1. Star Point adds up to 4 more before deuce 3, then the deciding point: 6 + 4 + 1 = 11.

A worked example game

Pair A is serving. The score is always called with the server’s score first. The first six points are the same under every method; after that, the three methods split.

Same rallies, three different outcomes: under golden point B won in 7 points, under Star Point A won in 11, and under advantage the game is still going.

Sets: first to 6 games, by 2

The first pair to win 6 games with at least a 2-game lead wins the set. At 5–5 you play on, so a set can finish 7–5. At 6–6 a tie-break decides the set, which is recorded as 7–6. A match is best of three sets. If both pairs agree beforehand, the third set can be played without a tie-break, so at 6–6 it continues until someone leads by two games.

Change of ends: pairs change ends whenever the total number of games played in the set is odd: after games 1, 3, 5 and so on. A set that ends 6–3 (9 games) ends with a change, and the count restarts at 0–0 in the new set.

The tie-break

At 6–6, points are counted in plain numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3… The first pair to 7 points with a 2-point lead wins the tie-break and the set; at 6–6 in the tie-break it simply continues until someone is two clear.

• The player whose turn it is in the set’s serving order serves one point, from the right.
• After that, each player serves two points, starting from the left, in the same order as the set.
• Pairs change ends every 6 points (after points 6, 12, 18…).
• The next set starts with a player from the pair that did not serve first in the tie-break.

Here is the serving pattern if Ana (pair A) is due to serve at 6–6, with the set’s order Ana, Marta, Luis, Javi:

Whoever wins it, pair B (Marta and Javi) serves first in the next set.

Shorter formats: super tie-break, mini sets and FAST4

When court time is tight, these sanctioned alternatives are common:

• Super tie-break to 10. At one set all, a tie-break to 10 points (2 clear) replaces the third set. This is the usual “two sets and a match tie-break” format in competitions.
• Deciding tie-break to 7. Same idea, but to 7 points.
• Sets to 4 (mini set). First to 4 games with a 2-game lead; at 4–4 a tie-break is played.
• FAST4 (LTA). First to 4 games, no 2-game margin needed; a tie-break to 7 at 3–3; a match tie-break to 10 at one set all; and no-ad scoring, where deuce is a sudden-death point. In the LTA’s FAST4 wording the receiving pair decides who returns that point, which is different from the FIP golden point.

How to call the score

• Server’s score first. The FIP rules call the game score with the server’s score first. “15–30” means the serving pair is behind.
• At 40–40 say “deuce” and, if you play Star Point, its number (“deuce 2”), so nobody loses count.
• In a tie-break, call plain numbers (“3–2”); keeping the server’s score first makes them unambiguous too.
• At each change of ends, say the games score aloud (“4–3”) so both pairs agree before play restarts.

Scoring in Americano and Mexicano rounds

Americano and Mexicano nights do not use 15-30-40 at all. Each round is a short match where every rally counts as one point, and players collect points rather than games. Clubs use three ways to end a round, so agree it before round one:

• Fixed total. The round ends when a set number of points has been played, most often 24. The two scores always add up to the total: 13–11, 15–9, or a 12–12 draw. It is the most common method in organiser guides and makes timing predictable (24 points take roughly 10–15 minutes).
• First to N. The round ends when one pair reaches the target. Some clubs mean this when they say “to 24”, so ask.
• Timed. Play for a fixed number of minutes and the score at the whistle counts.

The leaderboard ranks players by total points won, not by wins. Serving is usually done in blocks: for 24 points, a common rule is 3 serves per player, in the order A1, B1, A2, B2, changing ends at 12. Serve block sizes vary between clubs. The full set-up, including resting players and tie-breakers, is in how to organise an Americano, and the free Americano generator handles all three: fixed totals of 16, 21, 24, 28 or 32 points (24 by default), first to N, or timed rounds. In fixed-total mode you enter one score and the other fills in, and a rules card shows serves per player and when to change ends before round one. For the rules of play themselves, see the padel rules guide.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• FIP — Reglas del Pádel (rev. 01.01.2026): Regla 1, muerte súbita, métodos alternativos, Regla 5
• FIP — Introducing the Star Point (18 Dec 2025)
• LTA Padel — Competition Referee and Organiser Guide 2026 (Star Point by grade, FAST4)
• Bounce — Padel scoring (golden point in social play)
• padelcompass — Americano padel rules (24 points, draws)
• hostatourney — Americano padel rules (serves per turn, change of ends)

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