5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Padel Sport

If you love football, our guess is that you can’t resist falling in love with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Love baseball? Mike Trout’s the guy.

And while these players are loved by hundreds of millions of people globally, chances are that you may not have heard of Paquito Navarro, Fernando Belasteguín, or Maxi Sánchez?

Not many people have, even though they are the most popular Padel players out there.

You’ll be shocked to know that they are just as popular as legends like Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Trout, Lebron James in the eyes of people based in Spain, Argentina as well as other parts of Europe, all thanks to Padel’s immense popularity in Europe.

And while Padel is adored by millions of Europeans, it’s not just a European sport anymore. Padel is turning out to be one of the fastest-growing sports across the globe.

If you’re wondering what makes this sport so popular, don’t forget to read our “What is Padel & Why is it So Popular” blog post.

And if you already adore the sport and are already on the lookout for more information, look no further.

We’ve put together this blog post to help Padel enthusiasts like you dive deeper into the realm of Padel. Here, we’ll be talking about the five things most people probably don’t know about the sport.

We’re so excited to share this with you. So, without further ado, let’s get into it straight away.

5 Things Most People Don’t Really Know About Padel

Following are the five things you probably don’t know about the sport:

• Lionel Messi Loves Padel and Has a Dedicated Court in His Garden
• Padel Was Invented in Mexico Out of Nothing
• Padel Balls are Smaller Than Tennis Balls
• Padel is a Doubles-Only Sport
• Padel is the Second-Most Popular Sport in Spain and Has a Dedicated World Tournament

Let’s touch down on each of these points one at a time.

Lionel Messi Loves Padel and Has a Dedicated Court in His Garden

That’s right.

One of the most popular football players – someone who’s adored and loved by millions of people worldwide has a thing for Padel.

In fact, he loves Padel so much that he has a dedicated Padel court in his garden.

Argentinians love Padel. In fact, it’s played by nearly two million people in the country. And if you are a Lionel Messi fan, you may already know that he was born in Rosario, Argentina.

Not only does he have a court in Barcelona, Spain but he practices Padel regularly against his former teammate Luis Suarez.

Padel Was Invented in Mexico Out of Nothing

While an almost similar sport just like Padel was played in Washington and New York as well as on British Cruise ships around 1910, it was named “Platform Tennis.”

But the game that we know today is somewhat different from this one.

And it wasn’t until 1969 when a popular Mexican businessman named “Enrique Corcuera” set up the world’s first-ever Padel court by building walls around his holiday-home garden based in Acapulco.

And the thing is – he didn’t even know he was inventing a completely new game.

Trust me– Padel originated out of nothing.

The reason Enrique Corcuera built walls around his garden was to stop the ball from hopping onto his neighbor’s garden while he was playing tennis.

This led to the origination of one of Europe’s fastest-growing sport that’s adored and loved by people based in Spain, Argentina, France, Netherlands, Brazil, etc.

Padel Balls are Smaller Than Tennis Balls

When you first look at Padel balls, you’ll be under the impression that they are almost similar to tennis balls. In fact, you’ll end up assuming that both balls are exactly the same.

However, there’s a huge difference.

While Padel balls look and feel almost similar to tennis balls, they’re not. They’re slightly smaller. When it comes to weight, the weight of tennis balls is around 59.4 grams, whereas Padel balls weigh about 56 grams. That’s not a huge difference but Padel balls definitely feel lighter. At the same time, Padel balls have less pressure – which is why they don’t bounce as much as tennis balls do.

Want to know more about Padel Balls?

Don’t forget to read our detailed “What Makes a Good Padel Ball” guide to know more about Padel balls.

Padel is a Doubles-Only Sport

Unlike some other sports like tennis, four-wall paddleball, and many more, Padel is a doubles-only sport. While you can go ahead and play singles while training, it’s not just as fun.

Even though Padel courts are one-third or half the size of tennis courts, they are dedicatedly built for four players.

Considering the speed and style of the game, playing Padel in singles is extremely difficult. Padel courts are designed around a fast-paced game that’s played off the glass walls. And as a result of the nature of the game, it requires extensive tactical and technical skills from players.

While there exist Padel courts that have been designed for a singles game, about 90% of them are doubles specific. While you can train in singles, at a professional level, you’ll find this game to be played in doubles.

Padel is the Second-Most Popular Sport in Spain and
Has a Dedicated World Tournament

With over 20,000 Padel courts and about four million players, Padel is the second most popular sport in Spain behind football. And for those who don’t already know this, Padel has a dedicated world tournament in which some of the world’s best players compete from countries, including Italy, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, and Portugal.

While it’s not as popular as tennis tournaments, Padel is growing in popularity and as it grows so will the world tournament’s prestige in the coming years.

Click HERE to learn more about Padel World Championship.

Conclusion

Padel is adored by millions of people in Europe. And all thanks to its rising popularity, the sport has been predicted to dominate the entire world in the coming years.

While it’s not an Olympic sport yet, there have been numerous calls for it. With Padel being played in more than 115 countries worldwide by increasing number of almost 30 million people it has a strong point of view to become included in the Olympic Games programme When the sport wants to be qualified as an Olympic sport, it needs to be played by people in more than 75 countries, on four continents and by women in not less than 40 countries and three continents. 

And with Padel going global, we’ll soon see our favorite players chasing the Olympic gold in Padel.