Padel

Racket sport

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"Padel tennis" redirects here. Not to be confused with Paddle tennis

Padel (Spanish: pádel), also sometimes called padel tennis, is a racket sport of Mexican origin, typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court.[1][2] Although padel shares the same scoring system as tennis, the rules, strokes, and technique are different. The balls used are similar but with a little less pressure. The main differences are that the court has walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way as in the game of squash and that solid, stringless bats are used. The height of the ball being served must be at or below the waist level.

As of , according to the International Padel Federation (FIP) there are more than 25 million active players in more than 90 countries.[a][4] Padel is worth about &#;2bn a year and growing fast.[5]

The Padel World Championship is held every second year since , with Argentina or Spain reaching the final in every competition.

History

The sport is thought to have been invented in Acapulco,[6] Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera in ,[7] after he modified his squash court to incorporate elements of platform tennis.[8] Initially, the walls and the surface were concrete. Spectators could not watch the game. Over time, glass walls and artificial turf replaced concrete.[9]

Many well-known professional padel players have previously competed in tennis, including former WTA Tour players Roberta Vinci and Lara Arruabarrena.[citation needed]

Padel remained a niche sport for decades but its popularity soared during the COVID-19 pandemic as it could be played outdoors and didn't involve physical contact.[10][3]

Padel was included in the European Games.[4] The International Padel Federation (FIP) wants to have 75 national federations for padel to become an Olympic sport for the Summer Olympics.[5][4][10]

Three padel courts can fit in one tennis court so many tennis clubs are converting tennis courts to padel courts as it is more profitable for business owners.[11][10][12][3] In the U.S., padel courts cost between $60,000 and $80,000 to build.[9]

Deloitte estimates the number of padel courts to reach 84,000 by .[4]

Rules

• Players: Doubles is the most common format, using a 10 by 20 metre court (32' 10" by 65' 7"). Singles uses a 6 by 20 metre (19' 8" by 65' 7") court instead.
• Serves: Serves are always underarm and hit below waist level. Balls that hit the walls around the court after bouncing on the ground are still in play.
• Balls: Padel balls are required in official matches; these are similar to tennis balls but are slightly smaller. Padel is usually played casually with regular tennis balls.
• Rackets: Padel rackets are made of a composite material without strings. The hitting surface is perforated. The racket is similar to the one used in platform tennis but has its own specifications.
• Court: The court has a floor made of concrete, plastic or artificial grass. It is designed similarly to a tennis court, only smaller&#;&#;&#;measuring 10×20 m, with a 0.88m (34.6 inch) high net in the middle. The court is surrounded by 4 metre high walls made of glass or brick, or a fence when outside.

Scoring

Padel follows the same scoring as the tennis scoring system with the following exception:

• In the season, the World Padel Tour introduced the "Gold Point" or "Golden Point", a new scoring method for the main tournaments (Master Final, Master, Open and Challenger) organised by the Tour.

  [

  13

  ]

  This method of scoring has been widely adopted throughout non-professional tournaments as well.
  • The golden point in padel:
    • The golden point occurs when the score reaches deuce during any game.
    • The receiving team chooses whether the service will come from the right or left of the court.
    • The team that wins that one single point will win the game.

Court

The padel rules state that the playing field should be a rectangle 10 metres (32 ft 10 in) wide (back wall) and 20 metres (65 ft 7 in) long (side wall) (with a 0.5% tolerance), enclosed by walls. At the middle of the playing field there will be a net dividing the court in two, the net has a maximum height of 88 cm in the centre raising to 92 centimetres (36 in) at sides (with a 5-millimetre (1&#;5 in) tolerance).

The superstructure is made from connecting 3m high x 2m wide panels, with an additional 1m mesh height over the glass back walls (10m walls). This additional 1m height is continued for 2m from each corner over the side walls also. This means that the back walls and service corners are actually 4m in height, with the remaining side walls are 3m in height.

Glass panels make up the back walls and service side walls (closest 2 side panels to back walls), whilst metal mesh panels occupy the sides.[16]

The service lines are placed 3 metres (9 ft 10 in) before the back wall and there will be also another line in middle that divides the central rectangle in half. All lines have a 5-centimetre (2 in) width and should be clearly visible.

The minimum height between the playing field and an obstacle (e.g. the ceiling) is 6 metres (19 ft 8 in).

Style

Padel tennis distinguishes itself not only through its gameplay but also through its unique style and atmosphere. Emerging from a blend of traditional tennis and squash, Padel offers a more relaxed and social environment compared to other racket sports. Unlike the formality often associated with tennis, Padel is characterised by its laid-back atmosphere, where players frequently enjoy casual wear and the presence of music on the courts. This casual ambiance contributes to the sport's growing popularity, attracting players of all ages and skill levels. The fast-paced nature of Padel, combined with its shorter court dimensions and the use of walls, fosters exciting and engaging gameplay, characterised by lengthy rallies and spirited crowd participation. The sport's allure lies not only in its accessibility but also in its ability to provide a fun and lively experience for players and spectators alike.[17]

Adoption

Europe

The Padel Pro Tour (PPT)[18] was the professional padel circuit created in as a result of the agreement between a group of organisers of padel matches and the Association of Professional Players of Padel (AJPP) and the Spanish Feminine Association of Pádel (AFEP).

In the World Padel Tour [es] (WPT) was founded by Spanish brewery Estrella Damm with the approval of the AJPP, whereas the PPT was shut down.[19][20] The WPT was based in Spain but also included tournaments in other European countries as well as Argentina, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.

In the Premier Padel was founded in a partnership between the FIP and Qatar Sports Investments. In August it acquired the rival World Padel Tour to create a new global circuit, starting in .[5]

Despite padel's origins in Spanish-speaking countries, the number of padel players and clubs in the northern part of Europe is growing. Sweden is the country with the second highest number of searches for the term "padel" in Google after Spain, according to the report presented by Playtomic and Monitor Deloitte. And while countries such as Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway mainly opt for building indoor padel clubs because of their climatic conditions, Belgium, Italy, France and Germany prefer outdoor courts.

In Spain, Sweden and Portugal there are more people playing padel than tennis.[21]

Spain

Padel is the second most popular participation sport in Spain behind football. As of , there were five million players in Spain and more than 20,000 courts.[10][22]

In October , the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) invested in Hexagon Cup, a Madrid-based padel competition involve six franchise teams owned by celebrities.[12]

Sweden

The Swedish Padel Association (Svenska Padelförbundet) was included as a member of the Swedish Sports Confederation in .[23] The number of courts in Sweden grew from 560 in to more than 4,000 in , exceeding demand at some point.[4][24] From August to August , over 120 Swedish padel courts have gone bankrupt as the fad has ended, according to the SVT news.

UK

The sport's popularity along the Costa del Sol in southern Spain and the Algarve in southern Portugal has exposed it to a large number of British visitors, leading to an increased popularity of the sport in the UK and a launch of the UK Padel Federation in .[25] Padel is competing with tennis and squash, whose popularity is declining.[10]

As of , there were 210 courts in the UK, four times more than in .[26]

As of , according to the Lawn Tennis Association, there were 90,000 padel players in the country, compared with 915,000 tennis players.[4] The Lawn Tennis Association expects 400 courts in the UK by .[26]

North America

The US Padel Association[27] was founded in Chattanooga, Tennessee in , and opened two courts in the Chattanooga area. The American Padel Association was formed in and built its first courts at a private club in Houston, Texas for exhibition games.[citation needed]

As of , there were 180 padel courts in the US,[4] and according to The Padel State, there are now padel clubs or courts in at least 20 U.S. states.[28] The A1 Padel tour is based in the US.[4] The US Padel Association forecasts 30,000 courts in the US by .[12]

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Asia

Southeast Asia

In , the Swiss Club in Singapore opened the first padel court in Singapore.[29]

Since -23, The Indonesian tourist island of Bali has become a padel hotspot. Jungle Padel is one of Bali's earliest and leading padel clubs with branches in Canggu and Ubud. Padel is popular for both long-term residents and increasingly among short-term visitors.

Middle East

In Gulf countries, the number of courts soared from 20 in to 1,850 in , mostly in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.[4]

Oceania

Uptake of padel in Oceania has been limited. It was not until January, that the first padel courts in Oceania were opened in Sydney.[30]

Australia

As of late- there were just seven registered padel clubs in Australia, with two in Sydney, two in Melbourne, one in Perth, one on the Gold Coast, and one in the regional town of Albury, with a combined total of 25 courts.[31] The governing body is Padel Australia.[32]

Padel has also been supported by Tennis Australia which aims to grow its popularity. At the Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam tournament a pop-up padel court was erected for public access and exhibition games, while in the first "Australian Padel Open" was held alongside the Australian Open tennis near to the tennis centre court at Rod Laver Arena.[33]

New Zealand

The first padel club in New Zealand was opened in October, , with a single court in Auckland at a suburban sporting and tennis club.[34] A court at a second club in Auckland was also under construction, with plans for courts in other cities.[35] A national governing body, Padel New Zealand, was also established, with plans to run national and international competitions.[34]

Africa

The first padel courts in South Africa opened in late in the Western Cape.[36] As of this had grown to around 400 courts nationwide.[37]

Padel vocabulary

Most of the padel vocabulary comes from Spain due to the popularity in the country. However, with rapid growth in the Middle East and Africa, more and more words are being added to the padel vocabulary:[38]

• Bandeja

  : An overhand shot hit with spin rather than power, taken out of the air without letting the ball bounce.

• Víbora

  : Similar to the

  bandeja

  but hit with more power and spin, typically diagonally down.

• Bajada

  : When a ball takes a high bounce off the wall and is brought down with an overhand hit.

• Chiquita

  : Similar to a drop shot.

• Salida

  ('exit'): A player running off the court to save a ball that has bounced off the wall and out of the 20 by 10 court.

• Cadete

  : A behind-the-back shot.

• Boast

  : A shot hit against the rear or side wall.

See also

Notes

References

Sources

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