Both are fun, fast and addictive. But with Andy Murray and Leo Messi backing padel, and George Clooney and Kim Kardashian cheering for pickleball, the upstart racquet games are fighting it out for domination
"Have we got a serious player here?” asks Andrew Castle, the 59-year-old former No. 1 British tennis player and now the BBC’s voice of Wimbledon, looking me up and down. His gaze goes down my Richie Tenenbaum polo shirt and lands on my Veja trainers, which have solid eco credentials and non-marking soles but unmistakable weekend-dad energy, and he winces. “Hmm, I guess not.”
Castle covers the base of his Wilson racquet and asks whether the logo reads, “M” or “W”. “M?” I guess. Castle shakes his head, “W, fuck off!” He elects to receive serve and, to everyone’s surprise, Rose and I hustle into a 3-0 lead. At the change of ends, Castle brushes my shoulder and mutters, “I’ve had some tough losses in my career,” perhaps reflecting on the time he went down to Mats Wilander, the No.
Our match has given me a glimpse into why padel is on the rise. The familiar stress points of tennis — duffing your serve into the net, constantly crashing the ball wide or long — are largely removed from padel. The game suits children and older folk, because there’s less court to cover, and allows players of widely diverging abilities to share the same space. It would be ludicrous for me to step on a tennis court with Castle, but padel is a leveller.
All of which makes the rush to invest in padel not too surprising. There are currently just over 200 courts in the UK; that number is expected to double this year, according to the Lawn Tennis Association. Some of these new facilities will be in leisure centres, such as the Better Gyms chain, which has plans for more than 20 venues. But others will be in less expected places.
Pickleball and padel share some similarities, not least in their origin stories. Pickleball was born in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, the invention of three dads: future US congressman Joel Pritchard and businessmen Barney McCallum and Bill Bell, who came home after a game of golf and found their families climbing the walls. Pritchard’s garden had a badminton court, but no kit, so the men and their kids started hitting a perforated plastic ball over the net with ping-pong bats.
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Andy Murray sets new career target after finishing as Qatar Open runner-upAfter his incredible run at the Qatar Open, Andy Murray has set himself a new target of 800 career wins 🎾
Weiterlesen »
Carragher 'says things just to say things' insists Man Utd legend after Haaland nonsenseManchester United legend Andy Cole has taken issue with Jamie Carragher's assessment of Erling Haaland.
Weiterlesen »
£10 off when you spend £50 in store at The Food WarehouseThings are tough for us all at the moment - so why not save some money at one of Britain's fastest-growing supermarkets?
Weiterlesen »
£811 added to annual grocery bills as cost of food shopping hits new highPrices are rising fastest across milk, eggs and margarine. Rising grocery bills are the second most pressing financial issue for squeezed consumers, behind only energy costs kt_grant reports:
Weiterlesen »
The Race To Dominate The Green Hydrogen Industry | OilPrice.comThe green hydrogen industry has exploded in recent years, with countries around the world racing to develop their domestic industry and become global leaders for the new fuel.
Weiterlesen »