Test your padel balls in seconds.
BallCheck compares your ball with a new one on turf with sand, textured turf or concrete, and with the FIP 2.54 m rebound test.
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What to do with each ball.
FIP rules leave ball changes to the organiser: after an odd number of games, or at the start of a set. There is no fixed number of matches.
Demo with sample balls. Test a real one in the free web version.
Keep
Plays like new. Keep it for matches.
Pressurize or practice
Losing pressure. Move it to training, or give it a night in a pressurizer and test it again.
Retire
Too flat to come back. Time to open a new can.
What the official test says.
The FIP drops a padel ball from 2.54 m onto a hard surface and measures the rebound.
| Measure | FIP rule |
|---|---|
| Rebound from 2.54 m | 135 to 145 cm |
| High altitude ball, rebound | 121.92 to 135 cm |
| Diameter | 6.35 to 6.77 cm |
| Weight | 56.0 to 59.4 g |
| Change allowed after simulated wear (nine games) | 4.0 cm at most |
| Pressureless balls | No more than 7 kPa inside, acclimatised 60 days |
FIP documents give three altitudes for the high altitude ball: above 800 m, above 1,000 m and 1,219 m. The FIP pressure figure uses a garbled unit, so BallCheck does not quote a psi number for padel balls.
Source: FIP Rules of Padel and FIP Ball Certification Process
Every court you play on.
Sand piles up near the glass, so drop in the middle of the court, on the same spot each time.
- Artificial grass with sand
- Textured turf, little or no sand
- Concrete or acrylic court
- Hard floor off court, closest to the official test
Padel ball guides.
All guidesHow to tell if a padel ball is dead
How the official padel ball test works, the 135 to 145 cm rebound rule, and simple ways to check your padel balls at the court.
Read the guide PadelPadel balls vs tennis balls: the real differences
Padel and tennis balls look the same but are not. Size, weight, bounce and rules side by side, from the FIP and ITF specs.
Read the guide TennisDo tennis ball pressurizers work?
How tennis and padel ball pressurizers work, what the evidence says, and how to check whether yours is keeping your balls alive.
Read the guideQuestions
How do you know when padel balls are dead?
They bounce lower and feel soft. The FIP test drops a ball from 2.54 m and expects 135 to 145 cm back. BallCheck listens to the bounces and compares your ball with a new one on your court.
What pressure is a padel ball?
Padel balls are pressurised like tennis balls, but the pressure figure in the FIP rules uses a garbled unit, so there is no reliable psi number to quote. What the rules set clearly is the bounce: 135 to 145 cm from 2.54 m.
How long do padel balls last?
There is no official number. The FIP leaves ball changes to organisers, and retailer estimates such as 2 to 4 matches are opinion, not tests. Testing the ball tells you more than counting matches.
Can you use tennis balls for padel?
They are close but not the same. Both use the same 2.54 m drop test and weigh 56.0 to 59.4 g, but a padel ball is smaller (6.35 to 6.77 cm against 6.54 to 6.86 cm) and its top rebound limit is lower (145 cm against 147 cm).
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