Padel: the world’s fastest-growing racket sport loved by the likes of David Beckham and Andy Murray

In the searing warmth of the Middle East, a Spanish workforce clashes with an Argentinian one in the remaining of the World Cup, with the Argentines storming to a 2-1 victory.

This will not be some prophetic predication of the winner of the Fifa World Cup in Qatar – the globe should wait one other 18 days for that. 

Instead, it’s the end result of one of the world’s fastest-growing racket sports activities which counts the likes of David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Andy Murray and Zlatan Ibrahimovic amongst its 25 million-strong military of fanatics.

Padel, a hybrid of tennis and squash, staged its sixteenth world championships earlier this month in Dubai – simply days earlier than the lovely sport’s sporting spectacle kicked off on the reverse facet of the Persian Gulf. 

And it is a sport that’s rising in recognition in Britain, with Team GB even sporting a squad at this yr’s world championships, inserting a decent 14th. 

Now a brand new world tour goals to take the sport past its standard heartlands of Spain and Argentina – the place solely soccer is extra standard in phrases of participation – to in all places and everybody, with plans afoot to spice up its presence in the UK, too. 

England soccer legend David Beckham is a padel fan. He is pictured taking part in the sport in Miami in March 2021

Ex-Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray, left, and retired England striker Peter Crouch, proper, additionally take pleasure in the sport – which is a hybrid of tennis and squash 

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What is padel and how is it performed?  

Padel is a mixture of each tennis and squash. It is normally performed in doubles on an enclosed court docket roughly 25 per cent smaller than a traditional tennis court docket.

As in squash, the ball might be performed off the glass partitions, creating longer and extra thrilling rallies and some extraordinary photographs. 

With much less distance to cowl, Padel is much less bodily demanding than odd tennis, making it accessible to extra individuals.

The goal of the sport is to win not less than two out of three units, with the scoring system precisely the identical as the one utilized in tennis. 

Each match begins with a serve diagonally throughout the court docket – however in contrast to tennis, that is completed underarm.

Points in the fast-paced rallies might be bagged by the opposition if the ball bounces twice on the court docket, the ball strikes you or a teammate or the ball hits the wire fencing or one other fixture earlier than over the web. 

Padel might be performed indoors or outdoor and normally in doubles format in an enclosed court docket

Which well-known faces are followers of the sport? 

Former England and Manchester United icon David Beckham is among the fanatics to love the sport. He tried out Padel whereas in Miami final yr and was apparently a pure.

Retired French footballing tremendous star and World Cup winner, Zinedine Zidane additionally loves the sport, opening the ‘Z5’ Padel centre in Provence in November final yr with the public capable of guide a court docket for 90 minutes for round £10 every.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray additionally loves the sport and took on former footballer Peter Crouch at Padel in a humorous Comic Relief video in 2020. 

Fellow tennis royalty Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic additionally see the worth in both taking part in or investing in the rising sport.

Liverpool FC supervisor, Jurgen Klopp had a padel court docket put in at the membership’s coaching floor after his employees and gamers found the sport whereas on a coaching camp in Tenerife. 

Getting concerned: David threw himself into the sport, which is usually performed in the United States, after admitting it was his first try

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba tries his hand at the sport of Padel – a cross between tennis and squash that’s loved by thousands and thousands round the world

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened a quantity of specialist Padel centres throughout Europe 

His assistant Pep Lijnders joked that Klopp is ‘fanatical’ about taking part in and ‘begins to stroll round like Conor McGregor’ if he wins too many video games.

Swedish star Ibrahimovic has poured his personal money into opening a collection of Padel Zenters throughout Europe having been himself transformed to the sport.

His erstwhile Manchester United team-mate Paul Pogba even gave him a hand at one of the centres.

Also followers of the sport are Dragons’ Den Peter Jones, ex-England striker Peter Crouch and British actor and comic, Bradley Walsh. 

Where and when did padel start? 

The first-ever padel court docket was constructed by Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera in his vacation dwelling in Acapulco in 1969.

But the roots of the exercise date again to the nineteenth century, when passengers on British cruise ships performed an analogous sport with tennis rackets. And in 1910, a sport of ‘platform tennis’ grow to be standard in New York and Washington, with paddles changing custom tennis rackets.  

But when Mr Corcuera invented his model of the sport, he surrounded his court docket with partitions and a metallic fence of as much as 4 metres excessive (13.1ft). 

However, the sport began its world journey in 1974, when Spanish entrepreneur Alfonso de Hohenlohe, a buddy of Enrique’s, determined to import it to Spain’s Costa del Sol, constructing two courts at the unique Marbella Club.

A yr later, and the sport was found by Argentine millionaire Julio Menditenguia – who performed it whereas visiting Marbella. 

He took it again to his dwelling nation the place padel exploded in recognition. It now has greater than 10,000 courts. While in Spain, the sport is one of the nation’s hottest, boasting 20,000 courts and an estimated six million lively gamers. 

Smaller racquets are used to these in tennis and gamers can fireplace photographs off the glass partitions 

What about in the UK? Where is padel performed? 

Padel is booming in recognition in the UK, with courts dotted round England, Scotland and Wales.

There are 210 court docket unfold throughout 80 venues. But the Lawn Tennis Association – which is the sport’s governing physique and runs Wimbledon – has plans to spice up the quantity of courts to 400 by the finish of subsequent yr, up from 90 in 2020. 

Latest information reveals that there are greater than 89,000 lively gamers, with about 15,000 taking part in each month. Tom Murray, head of padel at the LTA – which took over working the sport in 2019 – mentioned these figures had been promising.

‘Given the stage of growth we’re at on this nation versus padel on the continent, participation numbers are wholesome, however are additionally reflective of the quantity of courts accessible,’ he mentioned. ‘In the Netherlands, for instance, there are presently 600 courts and a month-to-month participation participant base of 100,000, which helps to reveal the potential that exists for continued development.’ 

He added: ‘Padel is an thrilling and revolutionary sport that’s enjoyable, versatile and simple to play. The reality that you’ve got celebrities taking part in padel helps brings elevated visibility and consciousness to the sport in Britain.’

An interactive map displaying the place the sport is performed is out there here.