The legal sequence: box, bounce, return
FIP Rule 8 requires the receiver to wait for the serve to bounce inside the receiving service box and hit it before a second ground bounce. A line counts as in. If the served ball hits you or your racket before that first bounce, the serving pair wins the point. This applies even if you were standing behind the service line: moving back does not give you permission to volley a serve.
Where can the receiver stand?
Under FIP Rule 3, the receiver and their partner can stand anywhere on their side of the court. The Padel School’s return lesson suggests starting roughly two or three feet behind the service line and adjusting to the serve. Adjust to the incoming serve: leave enough room for the bounce and a glass rebound.
Glass or fence: decide whether the serve is still live
A legal first bounce followed by glass can remain in play. You can take the ball after the bounce but before it reaches the glass, or after the glass rebound while there is still only one ground bounce. If a serve bounces in the box and then hits the receiving metallic fence before its second bounce, it is a service fault instead. Do not apply the more permissive rally fence rule to a serve.
Choose a return target you can actually control
The Padel School distinguishes three situations in its return-target lesson. Against a difficult serve into the glass, it recommends a simple block back toward the server. Against a good serve down the T, it suggests a lob to buy time; a softer ball toward the server’s feet is an advanced alternative. An easier central serve gives more room to aim at the feet or try a lob. Use the target that gives you time to recover your position. For a first session, ask the instructor to practice the simple return before adding the harder options.
Keep the receiving order for the set
Before the first game in which your pair receives, decide who takes the first return. FIP Rule 8 keeps the chosen order through the set, including its tie-break. You may change the order at the start of a new set, not whenever a particular opponent serves. Golden Point and Star Point let the receiving pair choose the receiving side for the deciding point, but do not permit the partners to swap receiving positions; the mixed-match same-sex receiving condition also applies.
A first-session practice sequence
Our suggested progression is to ask an instructor or partner for gentle serves into the correct box, call the first bounce, and return directly across the net. Then rehearse the difference between a glass rebound and a fence fault. Keep the playing area clear and do not attempt out-of-court retrievals unless the facility permits them.