Can You Play Padel Singles?

Yes, padel singles exists. Scoring, underarm serve, and wall rules match doubles. What changes is court width and how much ground you cover alone.

This guide is about format and venues. If you are trying to organise a casual game with one friend, read playing padel with two people for booking and cost split first.

Standard doubles court singles (20m × 10m)

Most UK clubs only have full-width courts. Two players can use one legally: same diagonal serve, same glass and cage rules, same 15–30–40 scoring.

The catch is fitness. You chase every alley, every lob to the back glass, with no partner to plug gaps. Rallies shorten and heart rate spikes. Plenty of players use it deliberately for conditioning.

Dedicated singles courts (20m × 6m)

IPF-spec singles lanes are 6 metres wide. They play more balanced because you are not covering double the width alone. The UK still has relatively few compared with Spain, but new centres add them for training blocks.

Format	Size	Common in UK?
Doubles	20m × 10m	Yes (default)
Singles (dedicated)	20m × 6m	Growing
Singles on doubles court	20m × 10m	Recreational

See official court dimensions for wall heights and net specs.

Rules that stay the same

• Underarm serve, one bounce before strike, diagonal into service box
• Walls live after the bounce
• Tie-break at 6–6 in club matches unless you agree a timed format

No separate singles rulebook at recreational level.

Singles vs doubles difficulty

Singles demands more endurance, lateral speed, and defensive wall reads. Doubles shares court coverage and keeps rallies going with less sprinting per player.

Beginners usually learn faster in doubles, then try singles when footwork improves.

Professional padel is doubles

Premier Padel and the World Padel Tour focus on pairs. Singles does not feature on major broadcasts. Treat singles as training or club sport, not a pro pathway.

Finding singles courts in the UK

Filter venues that list singles lanes on the singles court directory. If none appear near you, book a standard court and play recreational singles on the full width.

Indoor centres in Manchester, London, and Birmingham are where dedicated lanes show up most often on the directory, though the list changes as new sites open.

Quick takeaway

Padel singles is real, legal on full courts, and better balanced on 6m lanes where installed. Same rules, more running, fewer UK-specific courts than doubles. Find a singles lane near you or accept the extra metres on a standard booking.