{"id":22,"date":"2026-10-19T17:35:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T16:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/padelseat.com\/blog\/padel-vs-pickleball-lisbon\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T18:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T17:44:14","slug":"padel-vs-pickleball-lisbon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/padelseat.com\/blog\/padel-vs-pickleball-lisbon\/","title":{"rendered":"Padel vs pickleball: the differences, and which to play in Lisbon"},"content":{"rendered":"

TL;DR:<\/strong> Padel and pickleball are different sports, not two names for one. Padel is played on an enclosed 20 x 10 m court where the glass walls are in play, with a solid racket and a pressurised felt ball, scored like tennis. Pickleball is played on an open 13.41 x 6.10 m court with a lighter paddle, a perforated plastic ball and side-out scoring to 11. In Lisbon, padel has hundreds of courts and pickleball has a handful, so padel is the easier sport to play every week.<\/p>\n

Padel is not European pickleball. It started in Mexico in 1969, spread through Spain and Argentina, and is now the main racket sport in Portugal, while pickleball started in the US in 1965 and remains small here. The two share an underhand serve and a doubles habit, and almost nothing else.<\/p>\n

This post is for people who moved to Lisbon and know one sport, usually pickleball, and keep hearing about the other. By the end you will know how the courts, gear, rules and effort compare, what each costs in Lisbon, and which one you can actually get a regular game in. I moved here from the US this summer and built PadelSeat because the hard part of padel in Lisbon was never the sport. It was getting four people on a court at the same time every week.<\/p>\n

Is padel the same as pickleball?<\/h2>\n

No. The only things they share are an underhand serve, a diagonal service rule and the fact that most people play doubles. The court, the walls, the ball, the racket, the scoring and the tactics are all different.<\/p>\n

The confusion comes from the names. Spain’s sports council translates padel as “paddle tennis” in English documents, and some comparison articles still call padel “paddle ball”. The governing body calls it padel, and that is the word you will hear at every club in Lisbon.<\/p>\n

How do the courts compare?<\/h2>\n

A padel court is 20 x 10 m (65 ft 7 in x 32 ft 10 in), enclosed by glass or concrete back walls 3 m high topped with mesh to 4 m, and stepped glass side walls. The surface is usually sand-filled artificial grass. The net sits at 88 cm in the centre.<\/p>\n

A pickleball court is 13.41 x 6.10 m (44 x 20 ft), open on all sides, and often painted onto a tennis court. The net is 86 cm at the centre. A 2.13 m (7 ft) non-volley zone, the kitchen, runs along each side of the net. A padel court is about 2.4 times the area of a pickleball court, and both fit inside a tennis court.<\/p>\n

\"Neutral<\/p>\n

The walls are the real difference.<\/strong> In pickleball a ball that passes you is gone. In padel it comes off the back glass and is still live, so rallies last longer, players learn to wait for the ball instead of lunging, and placement beats power because a hard drive often rebounds into an easy ball for the other side.<\/p>\n

What gear does each sport use?<\/h2>\n

Padel<\/strong> uses a solid racket with a perforated foam or EVA face and no strings, at most 45.5 cm long and 38 mm thick, typically 340 to 375 g, with a mandatory wrist cord. The ball looks like a tennis ball and weighs the same, 56 to 59.4 g, but is slightly smaller and less pressurised, so it bounces a little lower.<\/p>\n

Pickleball<\/strong> uses a solid paddle with no holes, at most 43.18 cm long and typically 198 to 241 g, which is roughly two thirds the weight of a padel racket. The ball is hollow plastic with 26 to 40 holes and weighs 22 to 26.5 g, less than half a padel ball, so it slows quickly in the air.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

In Lisbon, Decathlon’s Kuikma padel rackets<\/a> run from \u20ac34.90 to \u20ac179, and most clubs rent one for about \u20ac4 (The One Padel<\/a>). Basic pickleball paddles start under \u20ac15 and good ones around \u20ac80 (Topgim<\/a>). Clay-court tennis shoes are the closest thing to padel shoes if you already own a pair.<\/p>\n

How do the rules and scoring differ?<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rule<\/th>\nPadel<\/th>\nPickleball<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Serve<\/th>\nBounce the ball, hit it at or below the waist, diagonal, two attempts; a serve that clips the net and lands in is replayed<\/td>\nUnderhand volley or drop serve, diagonal past the kitchen, one attempt, no lets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scoring<\/th>\nTennis scoring, sets to 6 games, best of three sets<\/td>\nSide-out scoring to 11, win by 2, only the serving side scores<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Net play<\/th>\nVolley anywhere; taking the net is the main tactic<\/td>\nNo volleys from inside the 2.13 m kitchen; ball must bounce once on each side first<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Walls<\/th>\nIn play after the ball bounces on the floor<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Padel is a doubles game. Pickleball is played as singles or doubles on the same court, though doubles is the norm socially. One padel rule trips up every newcomer: your shot must bounce on the floor on the other side before it touches their glass, or you lose the point. After that bounce, anything goes, including hitting the ball off your own back wall to get it over the net.<\/p>\n

Match length<\/strong> differs too. An amateur padel match averaged 57 minutes in one study, and Lisbon clubs book courts in 90-minute slots. A single pickleball game to 11 runs around 14 minutes in one analysis of 800 games (not peer reviewed), and open play rotates partners after each game.<\/p>\n

Which is easier to learn, and which is the better workout?<\/h2>\n

Both are easy to start. The LTA calls padel easier to learn than tennis because of the smaller court, underarm serve, slower ball and walls that keep the ball alive. Pickleball coaches say a complete novice can play a first game within a couple of hours. No controlled study compares the two, so treat both as expert opinion.<\/p>\n

Tennis players<\/strong> will feel at home in padel: same scoring, same forehands, backhands, volleys and lobs, with the glass as the one new skill. Pickleball players<\/strong> bring soft hands and net instincts, which help, and will need to adjust to a heavier racket, a pressurised ball and tennis scoring. The glass takes a few weeks either way.<\/p>\n

On intensity, studies of padel put amateurs at around 124 to 130 bpm, which is moderate with short bursts. Studies of pickleball in players aged 62 to 65 measured 109 to 112 bpm, about 4.1 METs and roughly 354 kcal per match. The padel studies used younger players, so the gap is partly the samples. Neither sport appears in the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities, so any “official” calorie figure you read is not official.<\/p>\n

Which is safer for knees, shoulders and backs after 40?<\/h2>\n

Neither sport is injury free, and the injury patterns differ. In padel, the elbow leads, followed by the calf and Achilles, knee, shoulder and lower back. A Portuguese survey of 426 players with an average age of 42 found 69% had been injured at some point, and age was not a significant factor once other things were accounted for. A French survey found the opposite on age, with over-40s at four times the odds, so the question is open.<\/p>\n

In pickleball, the US data is about falls. People aged 60 to 79 made up 74% of emergency visits, falls caused half of them, and fractures were a quarter. In a survey of 1,758 players with an average age of 63, the knee was the top complaint. The one piece of good news for people with joint replacements comes from pickleball: 77% of recent players returned to the sport after a knee or hip replacement. There is no equivalent padel study yet.<\/p>\n

The practical advice is the same for both: proper court shoes, a gradual start, one other weekly activity (protective in the French study), and a word with a clinician if you have an existing joint problem.<\/p>\n

What do padel and pickleball cost in Lisbon?<\/h2>\n

A weekday padel court in Lisbon costs about \u20ac40 to \u20ac52 for 90 minutes, which is \u20ac10 to \u20ac13 each when four people split it, and more at weekends. Suburban clubs can be cheaper: Lisbon Sports Club in Belas<\/a> charges visitors \u20ac6 a head. Add \u20ac4 if you rent a racket.<\/p>\n

Pickleball is cheaper per hour but harder to find. Lisboa Racket Centre charges \u20ac8 a person with paddles included, Nave in Marvila has the first covered court at \u20ac24 an hour, and Oeiras Padel Academy lists sessions from \u20ac2 a person. Clube Pickleball Lisboa<\/a> charges a \u20ac25 joining fee plus \u20ac40 a year and organises games on TeamReach. Those prices date from 2024 and 2025, so check before you go.<\/p>\n

Which one can you actually play every week in Lisbon?<\/h2>\n

Padel, by a wide margin. Directories count well over 150 padel courts in the city and several hundred across the district, and Portugal’s federation reported 17,960 registered players, 335 clubs and 1,434 licensed courts in September 2026. The registered number badly understates casual play. Pickleball has about a dozen courts in Lisbon and a community of around 1,500, mostly foreign residents.<\/p>\n

\"Photoreal<\/p>\n

The catch with padel is not finding a court, it is finding your three other players. Each club runs its own WhatsApp groups by level, peak slots from 18:00 to 21:00 book out weeks ahead, and newcomers on Reddit and in the Expats Lisbon group keep asking the same question: “how do I find people at my level?”<\/p>\n

Padel or pickleball: which should you pick?<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • You played tennis:<\/strong> padel. Same scoring and strokes, one new skill, and far more games to join.<\/li>\n
  • You play pickleball at home:<\/strong> do both. Join Clube Pickleball Lisboa for the familiar game, and start padel for the bigger pool of courts, people and English-speaking leagues.<\/li>\n
  • You are over 55 with knee concerns:<\/strong> no evidence favours either sport. Pickleball has the most data on older adults and the highest fall-fracture risk; padel’s injuries cluster at the elbow and calf. Start gradually in whichever you enjoy.<\/li>\n
  • You want the most social option:<\/strong> padel on numbers alone, with Americano tournaments, Meetup leagues and club groups. The challenge is getting into the right group at the right level.<\/li>\n
  • You are on a budget:<\/strong> pickleball per hour if you can reach the cheap venues; padel off-peak or in the suburbs gets close at \u20ac6 to \u20ac10 a head.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n

    Is padel the same as pickleball?<\/strong>
    \nNo. Padel is played on an enclosed 20 x 10 m court with glass walls in play, a solid racket and a felt ball, scored like tennis. Pickleball uses an open 13.41 x 6.10 m court, a lighter paddle, a plastic ball with holes and side-out scoring to 11. They share only the underhand serve and the doubles habit.<\/p>\n

    Padel vs pickleball, which is easier?<\/strong>
    \nBoth are easy to start, and no study compares them directly. Pickleball coaches say a novice can play a game within a couple of hours. The LTA calls padel easier than tennis because of the small court, underarm serve and walls, though the glass takes a few weeks to read well.<\/p>\n

    Is padel played with a tennis ball?<\/strong>
    \nAlmost. A padel ball is a pressurised felt ball of the same weight as a tennis ball, 56 to 59.4 g, but slightly smaller and with a little less pressure, so it bounces lower. Tennis balls work for a casual hit but regulation play uses padel balls.<\/p>\n

    Is a padel ball the same as a pickleball ball?<\/strong>
    \nNo. A pickleball is hollow plastic with 26 to 40 holes and weighs 22 to 26.5 g, less than half a padel ball. It slows quickly in the air, which is why pickleball rallies stay short and close to the net.<\/p>\n

    Padel vs pickleball, which is more popular?<\/strong>
    \nIt depends where you stand. Pickleball has 24.3 million US players by the SFIA’s 2025 count. Padel has somewhere between 19 and 35 million players worldwide depending on the report, and in Portugal pickleball draws about 3% of the search interest that padel does.<\/p>\n

    Where can I play pickleball in Lisbon?<\/strong>
    \nLisboa Racket Centre in Alvalade, Nave in Marvila, which has the first covered court, and Oeiras Padel Academy. Clube Pickleball Lisboa organises games across these venues through the TeamReach app. Games fill quickly, so join the club group early.<\/p>\n

    How much does padel cost in Lisbon?<\/strong>
    \nAbout \u20ac10 to \u20ac13 per person for a 90-minute weekday court split four ways, \u20ac15 to \u20ac20 at weekends, plus about \u20ac4 for a rental racket. Off-peak slots and suburban clubs such as Lisbon Sports Club in Belas bring it down to \u20ac6 to \u20ac10.<\/p>\n

    Is padel bad for your knees?<\/strong>
    \nNot especially. Padel injury studies put the elbow first, then the calf and Achilles, knee and shoulder. Nobody has studied padel in people with knee osteoarthritis or replacements, so if that is you, start gradually and talk to a clinician.<\/p>\n

    Can you play padel if you have never played tennis?<\/strong>
    \nYes. Most people in Lisbon’s beginner groups never played tennis. The underarm serve, small court and walls make the first session playable, and clubs rent rackets for about \u20ac4 so you need nothing but court shoes.<\/p>\n

    Your weekly game<\/h2>\n

    The sport you pick matters less than whether you have a standing game. PadelSeat exists so that four people at the same level play at the same club, same day, every week, with the court booked and everyone paid before you walk on. If you are new to Lisbon and want that without the group-chat chase, start a Crew or take an open seat at padelseat.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n