Padel 1v1 Rules: The Two Ways to Play Singles
There's no separate rulebook for padel 1v1. The scoring, serve mechanics, and faults are identical to doubles. What actually changes is the court, and there are two accepted ways to handle it.
OPTION 1: THE OFFICIAL REDUCED COURT (20m × 6m)
The International Padel Federation (FIP) defines an official singles court: same 20-meter length as a doubles court, but 6 meters wide instead of 10. This isn't something you tape onto a normal court. The side walls on a standard padel court are fixed panels of glass and mesh, bolted into the ground at a set 10-meter width, not a line you can move inward. A true 6-meter singles court is a separate, purpose-built structure with its own walls set at that narrower width from the start. The net height, service line distance (6.95 m from the net), and service box layout stay the same as doubles.
Dedicated courts like this exist mainly at competition venues and a handful of clubs; most padel clubs only build the standard 10-meter doubles court. If yours doesn't have one, this format simply isn't available to you on your usual court, and the workaround below is what most 1v1 matches actually look like in practice.
OPTION 2: DIAGONAL (CROSSED) SINGLES ON A FULL COURT
Since a dedicated singles court is rare, the common way players actually play 1v1 is what's usually called crossed singles: you play on a full 10-meter-wide doubles court, real walls and all, but both players agree to keep every shot within one diagonal half of the court, mirroring how cross-court-only drills work in tennis. Practically, that means using one service box and its diagonally opposite back corner as your shared playing zone, leaving the other diagonal empty. Nothing about the court itself changes, it's purely an agreement between the two players about which part of the existing 10-meter court is in play.
Which diagonal is in play isn't a separate decision you make, it just follows the serve. The serve always has to go diagonally, and the server switches sides after every point (right, then left, then right again). Point 1 is served from the right into the returner's right side, so that entire point is played right-to-right. Point 2 is served from the left into the returner's left side, so that point is played left-to-left. Since the serve alternates sides every single point, both diagonals get used evenly and automatically, nobody needs to agree on switching, it's just a direct result of the normal serving rotation.
The rule that actually matters: it's the second bounce that counts
The court gives you a clear reference for part of this zone: the central service line, the same line that splits the two service boxes in doubles, runs straight up to the service line and marks the middle clearly on that stretch. Further back, between the service line and the back glass, there's no line marking the center at all, and that's exactly where this rule matters: it's the second bounce that decides whether a shot is good, not the first. The first bounce can genuinely land on the wrong side and the shot still counts as in, as long as the ball stays live and its second bounce ends up inside the correct diagonal. A common example: a smash whose first bounce lands on the wrong side, catches the back glass, and comes down for its second bounce inside the correct diagonal, that's a good shot, not a fault. The only real judgment call left is when that second bounce itself lands too close to the center to call with confidence, since there's no line back there to check against. If the two of you genuinely can't agree on which side it landed, just replay the point instead of arguing it out. This entire rule only applies to open rally shots inside Option 2's informal zone. It does not apply to the serve, which has its own stricter rule regardless of format (see below).
SERVING IN 1V1 (SAME RULE AS DOUBLES)
The serve works exactly like it does in doubles, and it's worth being precise about it since this is where most confusion comes from:
- Each game starts with the server serving from the right side of their own court. After every point, the server switches sides, right then left then right again, for the rest of the game, exactly like the standard doubles rule.
- The server drops the ball and lets it bounce once on their own side, behind the service line. This first bounce has no diagonal requirement, it just has to happen behind that line.
- The server then strikes the ball underarm, with the racket never rising above shoulder height on the swing.
- After being struck, the ball must land beyond the service line, inside the service box diagonally opposite the server. This second bounce, the one that lands on the returner's side, is the one that must be diagonal. A serve that lands straight ahead instead of crosswise is a fault, regardless of which 1v1 format you're using. Unlike rally shots in Option 2, there's no second-bounce leniency on a serve: it has to land in the correct box on that first bounce on the returner's side, full stop.
COURT POSITIONING FOR SOLO PLAY
Whichever format you use, you're covering alone what two people would normally split, so positioning matters more than in doubles. The practical adjustment most players make: stay roughly on the center line of whichever zone you're playing (the full 6-meter width in Option 1, or your diagonal half in Option 2) rather than camping near one sideline, since you have no partner to cover the other side. Move up to take volleys when you get the chance, but don't commit to the net as aggressively as you would in doubles, since there's nobody behind you if a lob gets over your head.
SCORING AND FAULTS
Scoring (15, 30, 40, game, standard set and match structure) and fault rules (a ball going out against the real walls, double bounces, touching the net, stepping into the court on serve) are unchanged from doubles. There's no extra padel-specific fault to worry about in Option 1, since it's played on an actual 6-meter-wide court with its own walls, just a smaller version of a normal court. In Option 2, the one additional rule is the diagonal agreement itself: a shot that lands inside the real court's walls but outside the agreed diagonal zone is treated as a fault by mutual agreement between the players, even though nothing about the court's actual boundaries was touched.
Which format should you use?
If your club has an actual dedicated singles court, or you're training for competition, use the official 20m × 6m format. For everyone else playing on a normal 10-meter court, which is most players, crossed singles is the realistic setup: the diagonal follows the serve automatically, so just play the serve rotation correctly and nobody gets stuck defending their weaker side all match.
Quick recap
- Two ways to play 1v1: an official 20m × 6m court (rare, purpose-built with its own walls) or crossed singles on a normal 10m doubles court (what most players actually use).
- In crossed singles, the diagonal isn't a separate agreement, it follows the serve: right serve goes right, left serve goes left, alternating every point.
- On rally shots, it's the second bounce that decides if a shot is good, not the first. A ball can land on the wrong side and still count as in if its second bounce lands in the correct diagonal.
- The serve is stricter: it must land in the correct diagonal box on the very first bounce on the returner's side, no exceptions.
- Scoring, faults, and positioning basics are otherwise identical to doubles.
