Padel, Paddle Tennis, Pickleball, Platform Tennis & Paddleball: Every 'Paddle' Sport Explained
By Gary, founder of RacketRise. Covering padel and pickleball across the UK.
Last Updated: August 2026
Quick Summary
- "Padel", "padel tennis" and (usually) "paddle tennis" all mean the same sport in the UK — the glass-walled court game the LTA governs
- Actual paddle tennis (POP Tennis), platform tennis and paddleball are three different American sports with almost no UK presence
- Pickleball is its own sport entirely — badminton-sized court, plastic ball, kitchen rules
- In Britain your realistic choice is padel or pickleball — find courts for both near you
Five different sports share two words, and search engines, group chats and even venue listings mix them up daily. This is the untangling guide: what each sport actually is, how to tell them apart in ten seconds, and which one the person talking to you probably means.
Quick Answer: In the UK, "paddle", "padel tennis" and "paddle tennis" almost always mean padel — the enclosed glass-court sport governed by the LTA, with 1,000+ courts nationwide. The genuinely different sports are: paddle tennis / POP Tennis (American, small open court, depressurised tennis ball), platform tennis (American winter sport on a raised heated deck with wire screens), paddleball (American wall game on handball courts), and pickleball (badminton-sized court, plastic ball, kitchen rules — the one other sport with real UK coverage). If you're deciding what to actually play in Britain, it's padel vs pickleball.
The Ten-Second Identification Guide
| Sport | Court | Walls? | Ball | Where it's big | UK presence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padel ("padel tennis") | 20m × 10m enclosed | Yes — glass, in play | Tennis-style, slightly lower pressure | Spain, Argentina, now UK/Europe | 1,000+ courts |
| Paddle tennis / POP Tennis | Shrunk tennis court, open | No | Depressurised tennis ball | US (California, New York) | Effectively none |
| Platform tennis | Raised heated deck, ~⅓ tennis court | Yes — wire screens, in play | Sponge ball | US Northeast, winter | Effectively none |
| Paddleball | Handball wall courts | The wall is the game | Small rubber ball | New York playgrounds | Effectively none |
| Pickleball | 13.4m × 6.1m open (badminton size) | No | Perforated plastic | US, growing fast in UK | 449+ registered venues |
If the court has glass walls, it's padel. If there's a plastic ball with holes, it's pickleball. Everything else you will probably never see in Britain.
Padel (a.k.a. Padel Tennis)
The one you keep hearing about. Invented in 1969 in Acapulco, played on an enclosed 20m × 10m court whose glass walls are part of the game, almost always as doubles, with stringless perforated rackets and tennis scoring. The serve is underarm, rallies are long, and beginners have fun in their first hour — which is why it's the fastest-growing racket sport in the UK, with 1,000+ courts and the LTA as governing body.
On the name: "padel tennis" is not a different sport — it's the same game with "tennis" bolted on, common in the UK because the sport arrived through tennis clubs and the scoring is tennis scoring. Official name: padel. Full rules in how to play padel; court spec in padel court dimensions; new-player guide at what is padel?
Paddle Tennis / POP Tennis
The sport that causes most of the confusion, because its name is one letter from padel and it's decades older. Paddle tennis is American, dating back to the early 20th century: a shrunk tennis court with no walls, a solid paddle, and a depressurised tennis ball, playable as singles or doubles. It plays like a compressed, quicker version of tennis — no glass, no rebounds, one serve.
Around 2015 the sport rebranded as POP Tennis partly to escape this exact naming mess. It has pockets of popularity in California and New York and effectively no UK court stock. If a British venue listing says "paddle tennis", it is almost certainly using the phrase loosely to mean padel — check the photos for glass walls.
Platform Tennis
The most obscure of the family to British eyes — and, confusingly, the one whose American players actually call it "paddle". Platform tennis emerged in late-1920s New York as a winter sport: a raised aluminium deck about a third the size of a tennis court, heated from below so it can be played in snow, enclosed by taut wire screens the ball can be played off after it bounces — the same off-the-walls DNA padel has, four decades earlier.
It's played with a solid perforated paddle and a dense sponge ball, almost always as doubles, mostly at private clubs in the US Northeast. UK presence: essentially nil.
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Paddleball (and the Toy)
Paddleball the sport is an American wall game: one-wall or four-wall handball courts, a solid paddle, a small rubber ball, and a game that's closer to squash-without-rackets than to anything on this page. It's a New York playground institution.
Paddle ball the toy is the thing you had as a kid — a rubber ball stapled to a wooden paddle by a length of elastic. A surprising number of "paddle ball" searches mean this. If that's you: no court required, godspeed.
Neither has anything to do with padel, and neither is played meaningfully in the UK.
Pickleball
The other sport with genuine UK momentum, and a completely separate invention — Bainbridge Island, Washington, 1965. Badminton-sized open court (which is why UK leisure centres adopted it so fast — the lines are already nearly there), solid paddles, a perforated plastic ball, underarm serve, and the sport's signature rule: the no-volley kitchen zone at the net (explained here).
Pickleball is slower-paced, cheaper and lower-impact than padel, with 55,000+ UK players and 449+ registered venues. Start with what is pickleball? and the rules handbook.
Why the Names Got So Tangled
Blame a century of independent inventors all reaching for the same word. "Paddle" just means a solid, stringless bat — so when paddle tennis (1900s), platform tennis (1920s), paddleball (mid-century), pickleball (1965) and padel (1969) were each invented, the same vocabulary got reused every time. Padel's own name is simply the Spanish spelling of "paddle" — full origin story here — and Spanish-speaking countries re-exported it to Britain with the accent dropped.
The UK skipped the American paddle sports entirely and imported padel and pickleball directly — which is why, in Britain, the ambiguity almost always resolves to one of those two.
Which One Should You Actually Play in the UK?
Practically: padel or pickleball. They're the two with real court coverage, active national governing bodies, and sessions you can book this week.
- Choose padel if you want pace, wall play and a tennis-like game — start with what is padel?
- Choose pickleball if you want the cheapest entry, the gentlest learning curve and the most sociable format — start with what is pickleball?
- Torn? The full head-to-head is at padel vs pickleball, or take the padel-or-pickleball quiz
Either way, the RacketRise Court Finder shows every venue for both sports across the UK.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are padel and paddle tennis the same sport?
No. Padel is the enclosed glass-walled court sport; paddle tennis (POP Tennis since around 2015) is an older American game on a smaller open court with a depressurised tennis ball. In the UK, though, people saying "paddle tennis" almost always mean padel.
What is padel tennis?
Another name for padel — the 20m × 10m glass-walled doubles sport with tennis scoring, governed in the UK by the LTA. The "tennis" gets added informally; the official name is padel.
What's the difference between paddle tennis and pickleball?
Paddle tennis is compact tennis — shrunk court, depressurised tennis ball, tennis rules. Pickleball uses a badminton-sized court, a plastic perforated ball, an underarm serve and the no-volley kitchen. Pickleball has real UK coverage; paddle tennis doesn't.
What is platform tennis?
An American winter sport from late-1920s New York: a raised, heated deck a third the size of a tennis court, wire screens in play, sponge ball, almost always doubles. Its US players confusingly call it "paddle".
What is paddleball?
In US sport, a wall game played on handball courts with a solid paddle and rubber ball. In toy-shop English, the elastic-and-rubber-ball paddle toy. Neither is padel or pickleball.
Which paddle sport should I try in the UK?
Padel or pickleball — the only two with real UK court coverage. Padel for pace and wall play, pickleball for cost and accessibility; compare them at padel vs pickleball or take the quiz.
The Tuesday brief — UK padel + pickleball
New courts as they open, honest gear reviews, and the best reads of the week. One email every Tuesday.
No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Tools & Quizzes
Ready to play? Find padel & pickleball courts near you — 1,600+ UK venues with booking links.
Unfamiliar term? Look it up in the Padel Glossary or Pickleball Glossary.