Padel Tennis
Encyclopedia
Padel tennis is a racquet sport
played extensively in Spain and Latin America.
Padel is typically played in doubles on an enclosed court about half the size of a tennis court. The balls used and the scoring is the same as normal tennis, just with a little less pressure, and so the biggest difference is that the court has walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way as in the game of squash.
The sport was invented in Acapulco
, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera in 1969. It is currently most popular in Argentina, Mexico and some other Latin American countries and in Europe mainly in Spain, although it is now beginning to spread rapidly across Europe and other continents. The sport's huge popularity along the Costa del Sol in southern Spain has exposed it to a large number of British residents and holiday-makers and this is one of the reasons it is beginning to take off in the UK.
Padel is great for players of all ages and skills, as it is both quick and easy to pick up, and is less physically demanding than similar sports like squash. Most players get the grasp of it within the first 20 minutes of playing and find it easy to achieve a level of proficiency so that they can enjoy it because the game is not as dominated by strength, technique and serve as tennis (in fact, the serve in padel is under-arm).
Padel Pro Tour (PPT) is the professional Padel Circuit which was created in 2005 as a result of the agreement between a group of organizers of matches of Padel and Association of Professional Players of Pádel (AJPP) and the Spanish Feminine Association of Pádel (AFEP).
In 2006 the winners were Juan Martín Díaz and Fernando Belasteguín in the masculine category and Lisandre (Neki) Berwig and Iciar Montes in the femenine category. All of them won again in 2007. Both teams dominated the PPT during those seasons winning more than 80% of the tournaments.
Padel has recently been launched in the UK - a group of private investors have managed to get together and properly launch the sport in 2011 after many other unsuccessful attempts from others. It has proven to be very difficult classifying the sport even though it has always been recognised abroad. For an update on the developments visit the website of the Padel England Association.
- Serves: Both 1st and 2nd serves must be underhand.
- Score: Scoring method is the same as in tennis.
- Ball: Very similar to tennis balls. Tennis balls are sometimes used.
- Paddle: Solid with no strings. May be perforated.
- Walls: Walls are used as part of the game.
Racquet sport
Racquet sports are those where players use racquets to hit a ball or other object.-List of racquet sports:* Badminton* Ball badminton* Basque pelota** Frontenis** Jai alai* Beach tennis** Matkot* Bilbocatch* Frescoball* Lacrosse...
played extensively in Spain and Latin America.
Padel is typically played in doubles on an enclosed court about half the size of a tennis court. The balls used and the scoring is the same as normal tennis, just with a little less pressure, and so the biggest difference is that the court has walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way as in the game of squash.
The sport was invented in Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera in 1969. It is currently most popular in Argentina, Mexico and some other Latin American countries and in Europe mainly in Spain, although it is now beginning to spread rapidly across Europe and other continents. The sport's huge popularity along the Costa del Sol in southern Spain has exposed it to a large number of British residents and holiday-makers and this is one of the reasons it is beginning to take off in the UK.
Padel is great for players of all ages and skills, as it is both quick and easy to pick up, and is less physically demanding than similar sports like squash. Most players get the grasp of it within the first 20 minutes of playing and find it easy to achieve a level of proficiency so that they can enjoy it because the game is not as dominated by strength, technique and serve as tennis (in fact, the serve in padel is under-arm).
Padel Pro Tour (PPT) is the professional Padel Circuit which was created in 2005 as a result of the agreement between a group of organizers of matches of Padel and Association of Professional Players of Pádel (AJPP) and the Spanish Feminine Association of Pádel (AFEP).
In 2006 the winners were Juan Martín Díaz and Fernando Belasteguín in the masculine category and Lisandre (Neki) Berwig and Iciar Montes in the femenine category. All of them won again in 2007. Both teams dominated the PPT during those seasons winning more than 80% of the tournaments.
Padel has recently been launched in the UK - a group of private investors have managed to get together and properly launch the sport in 2011 after many other unsuccessful attempts from others. It has proven to be very difficult classifying the sport even though it has always been recognised abroad. For an update on the developments visit the website of the Padel England Association.
Summary
- Players: Played in doubles only.- Serves: Both 1st and 2nd serves must be underhand.
- Score: Scoring method is the same as in tennis.
- Ball: Very similar to tennis balls. Tennis balls are sometimes used.
- Paddle: Solid with no strings. May be perforated.
- Walls: Walls are used as part of the game.
External links
- Official website of the International Padel Federation
- Official website of the Swedish Padel Association (Swedish)
- Official website of the German Padel Association (German)
- Official website of the Swiss Padel Association (German)
- Official website of The Padel Federation (United Kingdom) (English)
- Official website of the Swiss Padel Federation (Switzerland) (German)
- Official website of Padel Pro Tour (Spanish)
- Official website of the Padel Association of Canada
- Information about Padel in The Netherlands (Dutch)
- All about Padel Raquets (Palas de Pádel) (Spanish)
- padelcenter: general Padel Tennis information (Spanish)
- padel.info: general Padel Tennis information (Spanish)
- padelspain: general Padel Tennis information (Spanish)
- Padel Tennis Community Andalucia (English)
- Website of Padel Tournaments (Spanish)
- English Padel Forum (English)
- Padelbarcelona.es All information about padel (Spanish)
- retospadel.com Social network and biggest community of padel players (Spanish)
- Pádel Fórum - Largest online Padel community in Brazil. (Portuguese)
- Information about padel in Sweden. (Swedish)
- Information about padel in Sweden. (Swedish)
- Information about padel in Sweden. (Swedish/Spanish)
Blogs
- PadelCentrum.nl:
- Padel Tennis Blog
- doblepared (Spanish)
- SportPadel (Spanish)
- sobrepadel (Spanish)
- Punto Padel (Spanish)
- Information about padel in Sweden. (Swedish)