Love Scoring in Padel: What It Means and How to Call It

Love means zero points in a padel game. If your pair is serving and leads by one point to none, you call “15-love.” If your pair has no points and the receiving pair has won two, you call “love-30.” Say the serving pair’s score first. The International Padel Federation’s rules list “Love” as the call for no points.

If you come from tennis, this part transfers directly. If you come from another racket sport, learn the sequence as labels—not numbers you add together.

From love to game

Both pairs begin each new game at love-love. Either pair can win a point, whether serving or receiving, and you and your partner share one score.

Points your pair has won	Your score
0	Love
1	15
2	30
3	40
4	Game if the other pair has fewer than three points; otherwise, see the deuce rules below

The progression is love → 15 → 30 → 40 → game, not 15 → 30 → 45. When both pairs reach 40, the score is deuce and the scoring format determines how the game ends. These point values and deuce options are set out in FIP Rule 1.

A game you can call aloud

Imagine you are serving throughout this game:

What happens	Score to announce
Your pair wins the first point	15-love
The receiving pair wins the next point	15-all
Your pair wins again	30-15
Your pair wins again	40-15
The receiving pair wins	40-30
Your pair wins	Game

“All” means the scores are equal: 15-all or 30-all. At 40-all, say “deuce.”

Useful checkpoint: at love-30, the serving pair is behind—not ahead. Keep the serving pair’s score first even when the receivers win the rally. When a new game begins, reset the points to love-love; games won are counted separately toward the set.

At deuce, check which format you are playing

Love scoring stays the same across the three game-scoring options in the FIP rules effective January 2026. What changes is the finish:

• Advantage: the next point gives a pair advantage. If that pair wins again, it wins the game; if it loses, return to deuce. Repeat until one pair wins two consecutive points.
• Golden point: play one deciding point immediately at deuce. Its winner wins the game.
• Star Point: allow two advantage cycles. If both advantages are lost, the score reaches deuce for the third time and you play one deciding Star Point. Its winner wins the game.

For golden point and Star Point, the receiving pair chooses the receiving side without swapping their established positions. In mixed matches, the player receiving the deciding point must be the same sex as the server.

Before your first game, ask: “Are we playing advantage, golden point or Star Point?” For an organised match, check the event’s format rather than choosing your own. Don’t assume every padel session follows traditional tennis advantage scoring.

A quick scoring practice

Before serving, say the score aloud. Have your partner confirm it, then play the point and update it together. Practise with the sample sequence above, checking that you use “all” for equal scores and reset the points after “game.”

In a tie-break, switch to ordinary counting—zero, one, two, three—rather than 15, 30 and 40, as specified in FIP Rule 1.

For the next rules to learn, see padel rules for tennis players, including the underhand serve and playable walls.