Is padel tennis the next pickleball?

Club owners collect a combination of court time and membership fees, which creates a revenue stream, whereas pickleball struggles to charge. At the same time, the margins for padel business owners are more attractive than constructing a tennis court which costs double the amount.

Described as a hybrid game of squash and tennis and endorsed with big investments from famous athletes like the soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic and tennis star Andy Murray, padel, a racquet sport little known to Americans is vying to unseat pickleball as the US’s fastest growing sport.

Easy to pick up and played on a smaller court than traditional tennis, padel bears a number of similarities to pickleball. Nowprivate investors are spending big to build hundreds of courts across the nation and campaigning to see it become an Olympic sport for Los Angeles 2028.

First invented by Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera in 1969, padel is a big pastime in Spain, where there are over 20,000 courts. It’s caught on more recently in the Middle East and other European countries, for example, in France where it’s been the fastest growing sport in the last two years, according to the country’s sports ministry.It’s been steadily making its way into the European mainstream and last month, Roland Garros hosted a major padel tournament on its grounds for the first time.

In the US, it’s states with large Spanish-speaking populations like Florida and Texas that are paving the way.

“You cannot get a court in South Florida without booking three weeks in advance. Facilities have a waiting list of 100 to get lessons,” said the president of the United States Padel Association (USPA). The association estimates there are 25 million people playing globally in more than 170 countries.

Although in the US currently there are only around 180 courts, the USPA is forecasting exponential growth based on the uptake of the sport it has seen in other countries. It expects there will be 25,000 to 30,000 courts with 8 to 10 million people playing in the US by 2029. 

New York City recently welcomed its first padel club called Padel Haus. Opened by Santiago Gomez, the Williamsburg venue opened with four courts in July but the entrepreneur is set to open another eight in the city’s Financial District and 10 in Green point and Long Island City within the next year.

“New York City right now alone has enough demand for 50 courts and has room to grow,” said Gomez, who is also looking at expanding in Boston and Philadelphia. Although Gomez has been playing padel for years, he was inspired to invest in it after seeing its popularity rise during covid-19.

During the pandemic, European governments were not allowing team sports to play, but they were allowing padel,” he said. As a non-contact sport, the risk of germ exposure is lower, but the distance between players is still close enough that people can still converse readily. “People were doing that as their only way to exercise and socialize.”

ARTICLE By Tiffany Ap

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One Reply to “Is padel tennis the next pickleball?”

  1. Hi. I played on the ATP pro tennis tour for 10 years. I was one of the best tennis players in the world. I played Padel two weeks ago at AFC health club in Bala Cynwyd, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. So much fun. I live in Stamford, Connecticut. Wondered if there are any courts in CT, , or Westchester county NY.
    Also I am going to be in Palm Springs, California in February and March. Are there any courts in Palm Springs or anywhere in the desert out there?
    Rick Meyer
    RichardM518540@AOL.COM

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