After an explosion of interest in padel in European countries, the sport is no longer concentrated in Spain and Argentina.
After being a sport with broad popularity in Spain and Argentina, padel has become a success in several European countries. With newly established courts and clubs opening every week in many European countries, the sport is the fastest growing racket sport in Europe.
"The fastest growing sport in the world"
Padel is often referred to as the the fastest growing sport in the world and most certainly the most rapidly growing racket sport globally. Not only is it taking Europe and Latin America by storm, but it is also penetrating sports markets in places such as the Middle East, with the likes of the UAE and Egypt now hosting several padel courts and facilities. What is it that makes this sport so popular and exciting though?
Today, Padel is played by millions of people around the world, with number often stating more padel players globally, than squash players. That’s really something to say, considering squash and its 180+ year history. Spain, is by far the country with the most amateur and professional padel players in the world, with reports suggesting this number is around 4 million, and with 20,000 padel courts, it also consists of the most courts globally.
In Argentina these numbers range from 500,000 to two million, and the rapidly growing number of courts in Argentina and its surrounding Latin American countries means the game is only starting to boom. Other countries where the game has found popularity in recent years, include Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, India, UAE and Egypt.
Countries such as the UK have seen a growth in participation numbers due to exposure to the game via travel and tourism. And as such, the formalisation process of the game has continued to develop.
The Future of Padel
With more and more people coming out to play the game of padel, and awareness around the sport growing, it’s only a matter of time that a sport, which is easy to access, visible to the general public, relatively cheap, and easy to start off playing, finds a prominent place amongst its racquet sport cousins.
While there is still a lot of work required to formalise the game, and establish it as a watchable sport on sports media outlets, and for it to garner the attention of major global brands, padel is here to stay. This is being seen with the likes of courts being built in Australia, the participation levels significantly increasing in places like Egypt (known for its dominance in squash), and European nations like Sweden, seeing the game explode during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you have a court near you, grab a couple of friends and head on over, if you aren’t able to play sport just yet, tune into some highlights online and you can then witness first hand why padel is the fastest growing sport in the world!