Playing Outside the Court in Padel: When You May Chase the Ball Out

It is the most spectacular moment in padel. The ball bounces, flies out through the door, a player sprints after it and sends it back over the net from the corridor. But this is exactly where the questions start. When is it allowed, what happens at the back wall and what about that door post? Everything below comes from the official FIP rules in force since 1 January 2026. For the basic scoring, see padel rules.

Look at the court first, not the ball

Play outside the court is not automatic. FIP rule 16 says players may leave the court and play the ball outside only when the court meets the conditions for the safety zone and play outside the court. And those conditions are quite specific:

• each side of the court has two entrances;
• outside there is no obstacle in a space at least 3 m wide (4 m recommended) and 4 m long on each side, to a height of at least 3 m;
• the entrance is padded on three sides (the sides, the top and the post by the net) with a material such as rubber or neoprene at least 2 cm thick;
• the lights stand outside the court. If lighting poles intrude into the safety zone, play outside the court is not permitted.

In other words: if there is a bench or the fence of the next court behind the door at your club, nobody plays outside, because the court does not meet the conditions.

What is and is not allowed when play outside is permitted

Rule 13.1 e distinguishes two situations depending on where the ball leaves the court after a good bounce, and rule 7.1 f adds the serve:

• over the side wall or through the door: the ball stays in play. You lose the point only when the ball touches the ground a second time (the first bounce was on the court) or touches anything that is not part of the court;
• over the back wall: the point is over. The ball may not be played outside behind the back wall. Rule 13.1 lists this among the ways a player loses the point: it goes against the pair on whose side the ball bounced, because they did not return it;
• a serve that lands in the service box and then flies out through the door on a court without a safety zone is a service fault (rule 7.1 f).

A shot from outside is valid as long as it meets the other conditions of a good return under rule 14 (14.1 j). It must therefore cross the net and land in the opponents' half.

If the court does not allow play outside, rule 13.1 d applies: a ball that bounces and then crosses the marked boundary (side or back) or passes through the door is a lost point for the pair on whose side it bounced. Full stop, no running out.

Feet outside, ball inside

A common misconception: a player stands with one foot in the doorway and plays a ball that has not yet left the court. Rule 13.1 p is clear. Whoever plays the ball with one or both feet, or any other part of the body, outside their own court loses the point. The exception is precisely a court where play outside is permitted. There you can stand wherever you need to.

The door post is neutral

The vertical post that divides the entrance has a special status. Above a height of 0.92 m it is, under rule 13.1 b, a neutral zone for all four players. You may touch it and even hold on to it. What applies below that height, the rule does not say. Incidentally, 0.92 m is exactly the height of the net at the posts.

Typical situations on court

1. The ball bounces on the opponents' side, rebounds off the glass and flies out through the door. An opponent runs out and lobs it back over the net. It counts, as long as the ball has not touched the ground a second time (the first bounce was on the court) or anything that is not part of the court.
2. The ball bounces, rebounds and clears the back wall. An opponent is standing outside, ready. No play, the point is over (13.1 e; who loses it, the rule does not say).
3. A player returns the ball from outside, but before it lands in the opponents' half it hits something that is not part of the court. The player who hit the ball loses the point (13.1 g).

Did you know?

• A ball that, after bouncing in the opponents' half, gets stuck in the mesh or comes to rest on the top edge of the wall is a point for the player who hit it (rule 15.1 a, b).
• The ceiling, lights and other objects outside the court spoil nothing if the ball hits them only after a good bounce on the opponents' side (14.1 d).
• A single lighting pole in the safety zone is enough for play outside the court to be off on that court.
• The official FIP text uses no term like "por 3" or "bajada de pared". You will not find them in the rules.

How a ball that comes off your own wall or the mesh behaves is covered in the article on glass, mesh and net. The exact measurements of the safety zone and the doors are in the article on court dimensions.