Travelling Through Time with Padel
Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world as of today. But one of the most common questions we get from those are still trying to get the hang of padel is this: How did padel start?
In this issue let’s talk about how padel started and where the sports is going in the future.
Humble Begginings
Padel-Tennis, also known as Padel or Paddle, has its origins in a not-so-popular variant of enclosed tennis called platform tennis. This shouldn’t come as quite a shock given the similarities between padel and tennis.
Enrique Corcuera in 1969 decided to adapt his Squash court at his home in Acapulco (Mexico) with elements of Platform Tennis creating what he called “Paddle Corcuera”. He is considered the inventor of padel. Enrique’s Spanish friend Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg tried this new invention at Enrique’s home and instantly felt in love.
This was a game that was meant to captivate people from the get-go and that still stands even until now.
Immediately after, he decided to create the first two Padel courts in a Tennis club in Marbella (Spain), this was 1974. Nevertheless Alfonso included few modifications from Enrique’s original designs to make it more competitive, being this the first of many iterations padel will have in the following 20 years in Spain.
In the meantime in 1975, Julio Menditeguy an Argentinian member of Alfonso’s Tennis club in Marbella felt the same passion and decided to import the sport to Argentina.
These men didn’t know that decades later, this sport would boom into popularity reaching the hearts of millions worldwide.
Padel today: a global sensation
Nearly 25 years after the first Padel courts were established in Spain, the sport has spread across the country. There were more than 500 Padel clubs in the early 2000s and Padel Courts in several Spanish hotels.
Padel has more than 1000 clubs in Spain by 2005, making it a well-established sport. As a result, the International Padel Championship was established in Spain, where it would be held for the first time. The Padel Pro Tour began here and ran until 2012.
Many people believe it to be the world’s fastest-growing sport since 2010 when it was first popularized in Japan and China.
There are good things in store for this sport in the near future
The World Padel Series was established in 2013 as the most significant, prestigious, and professional Padel tournament globally, replacing the Padel Pro Tour, which brought together the Padel elite from across the world.
With the addition of tournaments outside of Spain’s borders in 2014, the new Championship has now visited countries like Andorra and Argentina and Portugal and the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.
For the time being, the World Padel Series has been ranked as the world’s top male and female players. More than 20 events are held each year, culminating in the season-ending Master Series.
