Is This Sport the Next Pickleball? Here's Everything To Know About 'Padel'

It's one of the fastest growing sports in the United States.

If you like tennis, squash, pickleball or racquetball, you are going to love the newest paddle sport called padel. What is padel? The name says it all. Instead of using a racquet with strings, you use a rubber or foam paddle with holes. This sport is action-packed and fun. Because the sport is easy to learn, it's great for people of all ages and skill levels. It doesn't even require a lot of strength and endurance to play. And, since anyone can play the game, it's a lot easier to find people to play it with you.

Padel has been growing in popularity and competes in prevalence with pickleball. Although the two sports are fairly new in the U.S. and have similar characteristics, there are some differences that make padel intriguing to try as well. The sport has actually been around since the 1960s in other parts of the world and it has been quickly gaining traction everywhere in recent years.

Now that the game is popular in the United States as well, you may want to try your hand at the sport. We'll explain everything that you need to know about padel and why it has become the newest rage in sports.

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What Is Padel?

Padel is a cross between tennis, racquetball and squash. The court is much smaller than a tennis court. In fact, it's only about a third of the size. A padel court is also completely enclosed with glass or metallic mesh. The court includes a net like a tennis court, which makes it different than racquetball.

Padel uses a low-compression tennis ball and a short, lightweight racquet (without strings). The ball can bounce off any wall but can only hit the turf once before being returned. Points can be scored when the ball bounces twice on the opponent's side.

The scoring and rules are very similar to tennis. The biggest difference is that the serve in padel is underarm and that balls can be played off the glass walls in a similar way as in squash. Because you can use the back and sidewalls during play, the rallies are longer than in a tennis match.

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Why Is Padel So Popular?

Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports globally—the sport has grown to 10 million players and over 4000 padel clubs in the world as of last year! And the popularity is expected to increase.

There are several reasons that padel is growing more popular. It is both simple and less physically demanding than other paddle sports. However, it is still a great workout that feels more like fun than working out. The fact that the game is played in doubles also allows for more social interaction.

Because you can use the walls during the game, you can keep the ball in play for a longer period of time which makes the game extra enjoyable.

History of Padel

The inventor of padel, Enrique Corcuera, first introduced the game in Mexico. In 1969, he took the game of squash to a new level. He adapted the court in his home with features of platform tennis and the game of padel was born. Later, in 1974, a Spanish friend of Enrique's took the idea to a tennis club in Spain and made a few modifications to it. The game would continue to be modified over the next 20 years in Spain.

After those first padel courts in Spain, it took nearly 25 years to reach the whole Spanish region. In the early 2000s, there were more than 500 padel clubs and by 2005, that number grew to 1000 padel clubs.

Since 2010, this sport has been constantly growing and gaining in popularity—it is now considered to be one of the fastest-growing sports around the world.

Padel was brought to the U.S. in 1993 when the first U.S. Padel Association was formed in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It has been gaining interest since then with the most gain happening over recent years.

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How Popular Is Padel in the U.S.?

Padel is now the new buzzword in the United States. Over the past six months, the search word, padel, has grown by over 90%. According to the USA Padel Market Outlook, "Padel is in an unstoppable position already in the USA. The number of Padel locations is increasing all over the country, not only in Florida." It is predicted that padel will grow at an enormous rate in the U.S. over the coming years.

Where Can I Play Padel in the U.S.?

The United States Padel Association (USPA) is the governing body for padel in the U.S. They are responsible for organizing tournaments and promoting the sport and there are now several padel clubs throughout the country including the Wynwood Padel Club in Miami and Padel Haus in New York City.

Since the sport of padel is growing so much in the U.S., there are many new padel courts popping up all of the time. If you are looking for a padel court near you, you can download the padel finder app by Apple.

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