Now padel takes step closer to Olympics
NAGOYA
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Carlos Alcaraz are all obsessed with it, and on Monday the fast-growing racquet sport of padel made its Asian Games debut with officials hoping a place at the Olympics is getting closer. Padel, a cross between tennis and squash on courts surrounded by glass walls, is played by an estimated 38 million people and has ambitions to become a major global sport.
It took another step towards that goal at the Asian Games in Nagoya after being added to the continent’s biggest sporting spectacular as a medal event. After winning her opening match with doubles partner Danna Abad, Philippines player Joshea Malazarte told media: “Padel in Europe is really big and it has just started here, so we’re just glad that they added padel.”
Padel originated in Latin America and has exploded in popularity in the last decade, notably in Europe. Officials say the sport is played in 170 countries and territories, with 85,000 courts around the globe. It is still relatively unknown in Games host Japan, and there was curiosity among some of the crowd at the modest Higashi Sports Centre.
Tickets for the event were free, and one spectator told media that she and her friend had dropped in to take a look before heading off for lunch. Another, 60-year-old Yuko Hiraiwa, said she enjoyed the action but thought the crowd was “a bit quiet”. “I play padel but this was the first time I’ve seen it live,” she said.
“It was really dynamic and exciting.”The sedate atmosphere in Nagoya was a far cry from padel’s popularity in other parts of the world. The sport has a professional tour circuit and an event held at the Roland Garros tennis stadium in Paris this month attracted over 80,000 people.
A galaxy of padel-playing sports stars including football icons Ronaldo and Messi and Formula One driver Max Verstappen have also given it a boost. Padel has already appeared at the European Games, and International Padel Federation (IPF) official Donatella Del Gaudio said the next goal is the Olympics.
