Explainer
What is padel?
Padel is a racquet sport with similarities to tennis, squash, pickleball and others. It is mostly played with four players as two teams of doubles partners, with singles padel less popular. While its rules and scoring system are similar to tennis, the most obvious difference is the fact that padel must be played in an enclosed, often glass-walled, court. The International Padel Federation (FIP) state that a padel court should be 20 metres in length and 10 metres in width, making it roughly a third the size of a tennis court. Padel was formerly referred to as ‘paddle’ in the United Kingdom. It is now known globally as ‘padel’, likely to avoid confusion with the American ‘paddle tennis’ sport.
Where and when did it begin?
The sport has several possible origins in the 19th century, but is widely considered as being founded in Acapulco, Mexico by millionaire Enrique Corcuera in the 1960s. View a full historical map of padel below.
What are the rules?
Here’s the fun part. If a shot goes over the net and bounces on the court once, it can bounce off the wall before being returned by the opponents. Or, a player can hit the ball off the wall on their side of the court in order for it to land on the opponents’ side. This is what makes padel arguably more fast-paced and challenging than tennis. First of all, however, a padel serve should be played underarm only in order to begin a point. A shot that hits the net or any of the walls (glass or cage) without first bouncing once on the court is out, and the point is awarded to the opposing team. As in tennis, the player must return a shot with at most one bounce of the ball on their side of the court. For instance, if it bounces once on the floor of the court on your side and then bounces off the glass wall, you must hit the ball back to your opponent before it bounces on the court’s floor again (two bounces). Like tennis, backhand and forehand shots are common in padel. It is also scored just like tennis, with six games to win a set.
Why has it developed so quickly?
Padel is most widely played in Spain, where it is remarkably the country’s second most popular sport. There are many reasons for its rapid rise from obscurity to global interest. With less power used on shots and smaller courts in padel, the sport is perhaps more open to all ages than tennis. It is also a highly active sport and, thanks to its 4-player format, offers better social opportunities than tennis.
Can you play padel in Scotland?
Scotland’s first padel court opened at Edinburgh Sports Club in 2014. Today, there are padel facilities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Stirling, Fife and Aberdeen.
The difference between a padel court (left) and a tennis court (right).
An Adidas padel racquet.
Interactive map
It might seem easy to fall into the almost-infinite rabbit hole of seemingly minute differences between padel, paddle, pickleball, platform tennis and other niche variations of tennis. But it is testament to padel’s success that it has risen above these racquet sport alternatives to establish itself as a legitimate competitor to tennis. What was once the favourite pastime of Spain and Latin America’s wealthiest is now accessible to millions worldwide, leading to labels as the world’s ‘fastest growing’ sport.
Wherever padel has surged in popularity, its development has been led by just a few forward-thinking enthusiasts. Whether that be its creator Corcuera in Mexico, Julio Menditenguia in Argentina or the founders of the International Padel Federation in 1991, those leading the sport have been well aware of padel’s potential to grow.
In the UK, that responsibility has recently fallen on the shoulders of Tom Murray, Head of Padel at the LTA. Since starting in 2019, Murray has overseen yearly reviews of the sport’s progress in the UK and supported funding initiatives for new padel facilities.
“The demand for playing padel is very high and courts are often fully booked out at peak times, but we’re on the right track to get there,” he told the LTA’s website in 2023. “We want to keep building on this growth year-on-year and it will hopefully be a great stepping stone to continue on our trajectory.”
The number of courts in the UK has increased from 50 in 2019 to 350 in 2023. In Scotland, after the first padel court sprang up in Edinburgh in 2014, there are now 29 courts across the country. Tennis Scotland have indicated that they expect an additional eleven courts to be built by the end of 2024. Such a rapid rise in infrastructure for an entirely new sport is surely unheard of, particularly in a country where the popularity ranking for sports is so set in stone.
Despite increasing interest in padel across Scotland and the UK, no statistic can quite compare to those of many of our European neighbours. Padel is a late bloomer in the UK, with far greater awareness of the sport around the Mediterranean, Central Europe and Scandinavia. According to the International Padel Federation’s 2024 report, the UK remains well outside a list of the top 15 countries with most padel courts, while there are no British players in the top 100 men’s rankings.
Padel: A sport for the many or the few?
Across Spain and Latin America, the great success of padel is its accessibility. The one-time hobby of an elderly Mexican millionaire is now enjoyed by all in many of the Hispanic countries where padel is most popular, thanks in part to the construction of thousands of padel courts. These countries identified the potential prize of quickly meeting demand with supply. It is no coincidence that 66 of the top 100 professional men’s players are Spanish (16,000 courts), while 20 are Argentinian (7,000 courts). Even United Arab Emirates – a complete newcomer on the pro padel scene, where 950 courts have been built – counts three male players in the top 150. Aside from rankings, the sport’s market value is skyrocketing.
Scotland, and the United Kingdom as a whole, are playing catch-up. Its boom in popularity during the pandemic was largely limited to London and some other areas of England. But in 2024 alone, Scottish venues have opened a further ten courts – with more planned. In order to take the next step and generate national interest in padel, this trend should continue. Addressing the issue of booked up courts and expensive court fees are ongoing priorities for the LTA and Tennis Scotland. If padel is to challenge or even surpass the dominance of tennis in Scottish racquet sports, it must first be open to all – with yearly progress clearly being made.
Explore these interactive maps to view the location of current padel facilities in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
By 202022277
With thanks to David Lewis, Marketing & Communications Manager at Tennis Scotland
