Pickleball and padel: how they're alike, how they differ, and what changes for your body
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Many players arrive at pickleball from padel or tennis. And the first reaction is usually the same: "this is padel in miniature." Then you play three matches and realize it isn't.
They look alike in the obvious ways —two pairs, a net, a paddle— and differ in almost everything else. I'll go through it in parts, and at the end comes what really matters: what happens differently to your body in each.
The court: less than half the surface
A padel court measures 20 by 10 meters (66 by 33 feet). A pickleball court, 13.41 by 6.10 meters (44 by 20 feet). That is a bit over a third of the space.
That changes the whole game. In padel you have room to run, to recover position, for a cross-court ball to make you cover five meters. In pickleball you never really run: you take two or three steps and you're already where you need to be.
And there's something padel doesn't have: the kitchen. It's the zone of 7 feet (2.13 meters) on each side of the net where you can't hit the ball out of the air. It makes you spend a lot of time standing just behind that line, in a low position, waiting.
The other big difference: in pickleball there are no walls. A ball that goes away is gone. In padel the rebound is part of the game and gives you a second chance; here the point is over.
The paddle: rigid and with no strings
A padel racket has rubber, holes and some flex. A pickleball paddle is a rigid slab, usually polypropylene or fiber, with no holes and nothing to cushion it.
They weigh a similar amount (between 7 and 9 ounces / 200 and 250 grams for pickleball, a bit more for padel), but the feel in the hand is completely different. The padel racket "forgives": it absorbs part of the impact. The pickleball paddle transmits.
The ball: the difference least talked about
And for me it's the key to everything.
A padel ball is pressurized rubber and felt. When you hit it, it deforms, grips the strings and returns a damped vibration.
A pickleball is hard perforated plastic, about 26 grams (0.9 oz), with 26 to 40 holes depending on whether it's outdoor or indoor. It barely deforms. The impact between two rigid objects —rigid paddle, rigid ball— returns a sharp vibration that travels straight up the forearm.
That's why pickleball has a reputation for punishing the elbow more than its apparent pace would suggest. It isn't the power: it's the nature of the impact.
The pace: less intense, more repetitive
An average padel point lasts less and has more explosiveness. A pickleball point, especially between decent players, goes into long rallies of cross-court drop shots at the kitchen.
That means pickleball is less demanding cardiovascularly but much more repetitive. And repetition is exactly what generates overuse aches.
A one-and-a-half-hour doubles match in pickleball can contain hundreds of deep knee bends in the ready position, hundreds of short lateral plants and hundreds of paddle impacts. None of that leaves you out of breath. All of it adds up.
The rules that most confuse padel players
- The serve is underhand, below the waist and diagonal. No power serve.
- The two-bounce rule: after the serve, the receiving side must let it bounce, and the return must bounce too, before anyone can volley. It's designed precisely so the point doesn't end in two shots.
- Only the serving side scores in the traditional format, and games go to 11, win by two.
- The kitchen: you can't volley with a foot inside it, not even from momentum after the shot.
And now the important part: what changes for your body
If you come from padel, your body is used to one pattern. Pickleball asks for another.
The feet work differently
In padel you make longer movements, with more stride. In pickleball everything is short: two steps and a stop, a pivot on the ball of the foot, a lateral push toward the sideline. It's more stop-and-go and less running.
The heel takes more stops per minute of play, and the arch works harder on lateral plants, which is where it is least supported.
It is also the reason the stock insoles in shoes fall short: they're designed for a runner's linear pattern. If you want the detail, we go into it in why your feet hurt playing pickleball.
The knees spend more time bent
The kitchen forces you to be half crouched for a good part of the point. In padel you move more, but spend less time in a sustained low position.
The elbow takes a sharper impact
We've said it: rigid paddle plus rigid ball. Every off-center hit sends that vibration up the forearm to the elbow attachment.
The ankles go sideways almost all the time
On such a short court, lateral movement dominates. It's the movement in which the ankle has the least margin for error.
So, is pickleball gentler than padel?
Cardiovascularly, yes. In terms of joint overload from repetition, not necessarily. It's different, not easier.
Many people come to pickleball looking for something more manageable and are surprised by the next day. Not because the sport is hard, but because it asks the body for a new pattern with gear designed for another.
What I would do if you come from padel
- Don't assume your shoes are fine. Padel shoes work reasonably well in pickleball, but look at the insole inside.
- Count hours, not intensity. If you go from two hours of padel a week to five of pickleball because "it's less tiring," your body will notice the volume.
- Watch the elbow from the start. It's the most typical ache for someone arriving at pickleball, and it shows up sooner than you expect.
- Work on centered-hit technique. It's what reduces the vibration reaching you most. More than any gear.
And if you've already noticed any of those aches, we have a guide to know what protection you need depending on where it hurts.
Keep reading
Related guides
- Pickleball kit for beginners
- Doubles: positions and strategy
- What the dink is and how to practice it
About paddles and sets
If you fancy giving it a go, in our shop you'll find the ACE paddle and the STRIDE insoles.
