❔ Question ❔

Padel tennis - IN or OUT

Please give views on below The court I played today had a plastic divider which separated the court from tiled flooring outside, today someone did a drop shot which in fairness was on the edge but since it hit the edge the ball bounced in the way towards the court (strange bounce which dramatically changed the direction of ball) I called out and he called in as he claims it was on the edge and technically on the line but I believe it compromised the natural bounce of the ball. There was definitely a plastic sound on the bounce We replayed the point but wondering the thoughts of the community, picture attached for reference

https://i.redd.it/c8ih64osflqg1.jpeg

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Comments (23)

u/MikeLittorice1w ago

Think about how you would call it if the fence had been there. It'd probably have hit the fence, so it's out.

u/nucc4h1w ago

Indeed I imagine that's why the black strip. So there's no debate - it altered the trajectory of the ball.

u/Calm_Strength3266OP1w ago

I agree that was my point on the matter, the ball trajectory was altered so I thought it was out… similar to serving at the glass point where cage meets

u/Fibonacci112358131w ago

That makes zero sense, if you were playing on a premier padel court and the ball just barely touches the court, the ball is in, even though it would probably have been out if there would have been a fence there (since it would hit the fence before hitting the court) IMO on courts like this if there’s doubt just replay the point, at amateur level I cannot imagine this situation would occur more than once per match

u/MikeLittorice1w ago

You're right about replaying the point, or if it was a nice shot I'd even give the point to the opponent. But the official rule is like I described it, no matter what court you're playing on.

u/FlatulistMaster1w ago

Replaying sounds like the only logical solution, and I'm not sure the rules properly cover a marginal case like this.

u/gurebu1w ago

Replaying points that are 100% yours just to avoid conflict really gets to you after a while. People will call all kinds of bullshit. This is out, plastic strip isn't part of the playable court, it's the same thing as hitting a lighting post or any other construction even if it looks within court bounds.

u/FlatulistMaster1w ago

I'm open to that interpretation as well, and wouldn't argue much if we were playing. I just don't think anything properly defines whether a plastic strip is fully part of the court or not, but of course I can be wrong. And honestly, I don't really share the sentiment that replaying gets to me. Marginal stuff is marginal stuff, and potentially losing half a point in a sport where you have to make tight calls and you play \~100 points per match just doesn't register as all that much trouble to me.

u/mkultra3271w ago

I dont know man, because of the plastic strip, But Normally it would be in.

u/Calm_Strength3266OP1w ago

It’s a difficult one and certainly not an issue found on many courts… the foam around the cage entrance even though it protrudes is considered out of the ball touches it yea? Now the floor divider is not even out as far as that but still the court technically is still there… if you look at facts probably the ball touched both the court and divider when it bounced but the fact the trajectory changed was why I thought out

u/cmc_9201w ago

I would say out if it definitely touched the black bit first (or at the same time as the court). If it was court first then black thing, it would be in. If it causes an argument just replay it.

u/aladdin_d1w ago

Padel One in DIP?

u/Calm_Strength3266OP1w ago

Yes correct!

u/schuine1w ago

Definitely out. As soon as the ball hits an object that's not part of the court, it is out.

u/Professional_Cap_2851w ago

It won't happen very often. I'd say it's a corner case and repeat the point.

u/eggplantpot1w ago

Out

u/iguivi1w ago

In, and since you are not playing out of court rules you lost the point, it’s like a x3 , you can’t get it even if you go out of court getting the ball.

u/iksportnietiederedag1w ago

Out-of-court-play is irrelevant here. The outside of the court, the walls, the lighting, the ceiling, *anything* but the field/ground/carpet of the court is *out*. So, that means if it bounces on the edge, it's out, because it touched any of these objects.

u/Observation23021w ago

No, it’s a replay of point. This is the infrastructure problem, not an issue from the player as the ball is technically in, it’s a replay of point because of the trajectory of the ball due to the surface of the court.

u/Gweledigaeth1w ago

padel\*

u/asmdsr1w ago

If it's on the line usually should be in? However I heard that if out of court play is not allowed then the door line might be out... Not sure about if it hits an extra fixture under the door...

u/nucc4h1w ago

I'm going with them installing it on purpose to settle the debate without paying out for rolling fence doors. They don't want out of court play for any given reason - which some places must adopt because e.g. different flooring type, courts too close together, etc. If out of court play is not allowed, the door line is a fence (some places have sliding doors for this purpose).

u/zemvpferreira1w ago

This is one of those cases where people's ideas from tennis bleed into padel wrongly. That line is not part of the court surface in padel. The playable surface is defined as the area inside the inner faces of the fence and glass walls. That particular line is outside the playable perimeter, so any ball that touches it (or that plastic bit there) is automatically out. It shouldn't even be a painted line, all it does is confuse people.