"Padel tennis" redirects here.
Not to be confused with Paddle tennisRacket sport
Padel (Spanish: pádel), sometimes called Padel Tennis, is a racket sport of Mexican origin, typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court.
[1][2] Although Padel shares the same scoring system as tennis, the rules, strokes, and technique are different.
The balls used are similar but with a little less pressure.
The main differences are that the court has walls and the balls can be played off them in a similar way as in the game of squash and that solid, stringless bats are used.
The height of the ball being served must be at or below the waist level.
History [ edit ]
The sport is thought to have been invented in Acapulco,[3] Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera in 1969,[4] after he modified his squash court to incorporate elements of platform tennis.[5]
Many well-known professional padel players have previously competed in tennis, including former WTA Tour players Roberta Vinci and Lara Arruabarrena.[citation needed]
Padel Vocabulary [ edit ]
Most of the Padel vocabulary comes from Spain due to the popularity in the country.
However with rapid growth in the Middle East and Africa more and more words are being added to the padel vocabulary.
Bandeja One of the most-used shots in padel, the bandeja is a crucial part of padel vocabulary.
In essence, it is an overhand shot hit with spin rather than power.
The bandeja, which is always taken out of the air without letting the ball bounce, is often used to slow a rally down or to bring down a lob without smashing.
Defensively oriented players, or players who are not great hard-hitters, will often rely on having a good bandeja.
While often seen as a safe option to tread water in a rally, well-placed bandejas can prove to be winners.
Víbora Next is the víbora, which is similar to the bandeja.
The main difference is the víbora is hit with a lot more power and spin than the bandeja.
A víbora is typically hit diagonally down.
It is meant to speed up a rally and take away initiative from the opponent, while the backspin on the ball prevents it from bouncing up and away from the wall.
Unlike a smash, a víbora is not perse an attempt to a winner, although it very much can be.
Bajada Another bit of lingo that is used often is the bajada.
In the most simple terms, it is when a ball takes a high bounce off the wall and is brought down with an overhand hit.
While usually the case, a bajada does not necessarily have to be hit with venom.
Any overhand hit that has the ball bouncing off the wall first falls under the umbrella of the bajada, which literally translates to 'the bringing down' from Spanish.""
Chiquita One of the more delicate shots in padel and one of the harder ones to get right is the chiquita.
A chiquita is similar to a drop shot, in the sense that you are putting the ball in the frontcourt and close to the net.
However, a chiquita is also hit from the frontcourt.
It is a very delicate shot, basically lifting the ball over the net very softly from close range and making it drop down right behind it.
The purpose of the chiquita, as it will bounce right in front of the net, is to leave the opponent in an awkward position.
As the ball drops down, it cannot be volleyed back with power.
Salida Salida translates to 'exit', and that is essentially what it is.
A player running off the court to save a ball that has bounced off the wall and out of the 20 by 10 court is a salida.
To be successful in a salida, you need to be excellent at anticipating a smash and then have the footwork to actually return the ball.
The likes of Alejandro Galán, Martín Di Nenno and Agustín Tapia are famous for their salidas in the men's Circuit, with players like Tamara Icardo, Gemma Triay and Ariana Sánchez doing so in the women's Circuit.""
Hammerfuck This describes a shot that is hit with immense power.
A mistimed Hammerfuck can give rise to a salida or a Bajada being returned.
There are two versions of the Hammerfuck, the first is the conventional hammerfuck that sees the net player smash the ball straight down bouncing it over the back wall, the second type of hammerfuck is more aggressive and is aimed directly at an opponent, usually the net player.
It's thought that the hammerfuck originated in the high altitude of Joburg where the ball travels much faster and the game is played at pace.
Cadete A more niche term but one worth knowing within padel vocabulary is cadete.
Most often, it is used by players who have more flair in their game like Paquito Navarro.
A cadete is a behind-the-back shot.
This means a shot is hit with the dominant hand going behind the back, rather than hitting a simple backhand.
Cadetes are mostly used when backed in the corner and having no space to hit a backhand, although it is not by any means a practical shot.
[6]Rules [ edit ]
Padel court dimensions
Players: Usually play doubles on a 10 by 20 meter court (32' 10" by 65' 7") Singles use a 6 by 20 meter (19' 8" by 65' 7") court instead.
Serves: Serves are always underhand.
Balls that hit the walls around the court after bouncing on the ground are still in play.
Balls: Padel balls are required in official matches; these are similar to tennis balls but are slightly smaller.
Padel is usually played casually with regular tennis balls.
Rackets: Padel rackets are made of a composite material without strings.
The hitting surface is perforated.
The racket is similar to the one used in platform tennis but has its own specifications.
Court: The court has a floor made of concrete, plastic or artificial grass.
It is designed similarly to a tennis court, only smaller - measuring 10x20 m, with a 0.88m (34.
6 inches) high net in the middle.
The court is surrounded by 4 meter high walls made of glass or brick, or a fence when outsideScoring [ edit ]
Padel follows the same scoring as the tennis scoring system with the following exception:
In the 2020 season, World Padel Tour introduced the "Gold Point" or "Golden Point", a new scoring method for main tournaments (Master Final, Master, Open and Challenger) organized by the World Padel Tour.
[7] This method of scoring has been widely adopted throughout non-professional tournaments as well.
The golden point in Padel: The golden point occurs when the score reaches deuce during any game.
The receiving team chooses whether the service will come from the right or left of the court.
The team that wins that one single point will win the game.
This method of scoring has been widely adopted throughout non-professional tournaments as well.
Court [ edit ]
Padel area at ISPO 2014
The padel rules state that the playing field should be a rectangle 10 metres (32 ft 10 in) wide (back wall) and 20 metres (65 ft 7 in) long (side wall) (with a 0.
5% tolerance), enclosed by walls.
At the middle of the playing field there will be a net dividing the court in two, the net has a maximum height of 88 cm in the center raising to 92 centimetres (36 in) at sides (with a 0.
5 centimetres (1⁄5 in) tolerance).
The superstructure is made from connecting 3m high x 2m wide panels, with an additional 1m mesh height over the glass back walls (10m walls).
This additional 1m height is continued for 2m from each corner over the side walls also.
This means that the back walls and service corners are actually 4m in height, with the remaining side walls are 3m in height.
Glass panels make up the back walls and service side walls (closest 2 side panels to back walls), whilst metal mesh panels occupy the sides.[10]
The service lines are placed 3 metres (9 ft 10 in) before the back wall and there will be also another line in middle that divides the central rectangle in half.
All lines have a 5-centimetre (2 in) width and should be clearly visible.
The minimum height between the playing field and an obstacle (for e.g.
the ceiling) is 6 metres (19 ft 8 in).
Adoption [ edit ]Europe [ edit ]
Padel Pro Tour (PPT)[11] was the professional padel circuit which was created in 2005 as a result of the agreement between a group of organizers of matches of padel and Association of Professional Players of Padel (AJPP) and the Spanish Feminine Association of Pádel (AFEP).
Nowadays, the most important padel circuit is World Padel Tour [es] (WPT),[12] which started in Spain though it has already reached international expansion.
In 2014 WPT has travelled to Portugal, Argentina and Dubai.
The sport's popularity along the Costa del Sol in southern Spain and the Algarve in southern Portugal has exposed it to a large number of British visitors, leading to an increased popularity of the sport in the UK and a launch of the UK Padel Federation in 2011.[13]
In 2021, there were approximately 700 Padel Courts in Sweden.
[14] The Swedish Padel Association (Svenska Padelförbundet) was included as a member of the Swedish Sports Confederation (Riksidrottsförbundet) in 2021.[15]
Despite being a game born in Spanish-speaking countries, the number of padel players and clubs built in the northern part of Europe is growing.
Sweden is the country with the second highest number of searches for the term "padel" in Google after Spain, according to the report presented by Playtomic and Monitor Deloitte.
And while countries such as Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway mainly opt for building indoor padel clubs because of their climatic conditions, Belgium, Italy, France and Germany prefer outdoor courts.
The Americas [ edit ]
The US Padel Association[16] was founded in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1993, and opened two courts in the Chattanooga area.
The American Padel Association was formed in 1995 and built its first courts at a private club in Houston, Texas for exhibition games.
[citation needed]Asia [ edit ]
In 2014, the Swiss Club in Singapore opened the first padel court in Singapore.
[17]See also [ edit ]Notes [ edit ]
