Padel is mostly similar to platform tennis, played within an enclosed structure made of clear walls instead of the platform’s wire mesh walls.
Pickleball is the miniature version of tennis, played on a smaller court and with a plastic ball.
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Both sports require similar skills, such as being quick on one's feet, utilizing ground strokes, volleying, power and accuracy, and the ability to change direction quickly.
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A padel racket is perforated with a pattern of holes and is made of either carbon fiber or fiberglass. Pickleball, however, uses a thin plastic racket with a rectangular-shaped head.
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Padel uses a less pressurized tennis ball, whereas pickleball uses an entirely plastic ball with between 26 and 40 holes in it so that it doesn’t bounce as high.
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The padel court is slightly bigger than the pickleball court. The layout of a padel court is similar to a tennis court with 2 serving boxes, whereas in pickleball the service boxes are connected to a baseline.
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Pickleball has a no-volley zone (‘The Kitchen’) that is the full width of the court and is 7 feet on either side of the net.
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The biggest difference is the wall. A padel court is surrounded by glass walls and a metal cage, with a door on either side of the court. And pickleball has no walls surrounding it.
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Padel is traditionally played as doubles, while pickleball is played as singles & doubles. The ball can only bounce once in court in both sports.
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In padel you can hit the ball off the walls or let the ball hit the wall to make a return. When you play a shot, it should bounce on the opponent's side of the court before hitting the wall.
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