Padel is growing in popularity
Padel is a relatively new sport that is fortunately becoming increasingly popular. Padel is not yet as well known as tennis, but our sport has experienced incredible growth in recent years in the Netherlands and other countries.
The beginning
Padel originated in Mexico and quickly became popular in South America, particularly in Argentina. Padel has also been an extremely popular sport in Spain for decades. It is therefore not surprising that the world's best players currently come mainly from those parts of the world. If you would like to learn more about this, check out our blog about the World Padel Tour!
Spain not only has the best players, but also the largest market for padel; the country has more than 10,000 padel courts and more than 5 million players.
Padel in the Netherlands
However, padel has also spread rapidly to other parts of Europe and the rest of the world, including the Netherlands. In recent years, many padel courts have been built at a rapid pace. There are currently more than 500 padel courts in the Netherlands! In addition, more and more clubs are offering padel as a sport.
An important factor that has contributed to the growth of padel in the Netherlands is the accessibility of the sport. Padel is easy to learn and can be played by all ages and levels. This is one of the reasons why padel is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). If the sport continues to grow at this rate, it is only a matter of time before we can admire padel at the Olympic Games!
Padel has also grown thanks to its various physical benefits. It is an excellent cardiovascular workout that helps build strength, endurance, and speed. In addition, the sport is less stressful on the joints than tennis, for example, making padel ideal for people with injuries or older people looking for a fun and healthy way to stay active.
The origins of padel
Before we tell you more about the current state of padel in the Netherlands, you may be interested to learn more about the origins of the sport. "How did padel come about?" is a frequently asked question among padel players. Although many people think that padel originated in Spain, the sport was actually invented by a businessman from Mexico: Enrique Corcuera. In 1969, he was living in Acapulco, where he wanted to have a tennis court built in his garden. Because he didn't have enough space, he had a smaller cement court built in his backyard. This 10 by 20 meter court was too small, causing the ball to fly out of the court on all sides. Corcuera therefore had the court surrounded by walls, and that is how the padel court took shape.
Once the padel court had been created, it was necessary to find out which ball and which racket would be most suitable for it. It soon became clear that the squash ball was not suitable, so the game continued with a tennis ball. When Argentine friends visited Enrique, they enjoyed the game they played on his padel court so much that they brought rackets with them from Buenos Aires in 1970. The rackets were made of wood and had holes in them. In terms of shape, they were very similar to the padel rackets we know today.
Padel originated from the idea of bringing friends and family together. In 1969, Corcuera's eldest grandfather was already on the court with all his young nephews.
More and more wealthy friends and family of the Concuera family had similar padel courts built at their homes so they could play padel. Because Corcuera had not come up with a name for the game he played in his garden, his friend Manuel invented the name 'rebotenis', derived from rebound tennis. However, the Argentinians called the game 'paddle' and, because they wanted to use one universal name for the sport, they came up with 'padel'.
Originally, padel was mainly a recreational game, played at holiday parks or next to tennis courts. As its popularity grew, it developed into a real sport. Argentine players founded the first padel federation in 1988: the Asociación Padel Argentino. Spain followed three years later with the founding of the Asociación Espanola de Padel. The Netherlands followed in 2006, 37 years after Enrique invented padel.
Padel is also popular in Belgium, where the sport is even bigger than in the Netherlands in relative terms! Belgium has more than 300 padel courts. Germany has 1,500 padel courts. However, padel is relatively new in this country, so there is plenty of room for growth!
Want to know more about padel?
At JustPadel, we are happy to tell you more about our sport. Did you know, for example, that:
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Padel courts come in different sizes? Although most padel courts are 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, they can vary in size. However, the minimum dimensions are set by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and are 10 meters wide by 20 meters long.
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Padel rackets have holes in their surface? This is done to reduce the speed of the ball and make the game more tactical.
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Padel is considered one of the fastest growing sports in the world? According to the FIP, there are currently more than 20 million active padel players in over 80 countries around the world.
- Padel courts are usually made of artificial grass or acrylic? Unlike the clay or hard courts used in tennis.
- Padel is so popular in Argentina that there are more padel courts than tennis courts?
All in all, there are many more fascinating facts about padel to discover. Whether you are an avid padel player or just curious about our beautiful sport, it is definitely worth taking a look at our website from time to time .
We are happy to teach you not only about the origins and growth of our sport, but also about how to play padel. At JustPadel, we offer various training packages or individual lessons. Book a training session now and learn more about padel from our experts! View our training options here.