Padel is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Reports state that an estimated 10 million people around the world play the sport, and several celebrities from David Beckham to MS Dhoni have tried their hand at this unique sport that borrows traits from both tennis and squash. However, what is now played by so many people around the world, has its origins in a house in Mexico.
Where Did Padel Originate?
Padel first orginated in the Mexican beach resort town of Acapulco in the year 1969. Enrique Corcuera, who is known as the founder of padel, was a billionaire who resided in this town. He was a tennis enthusiast, but did not have enough space in his home to build a full fledged tennis court. Hence he came up with a new sport. He established a court which is 10 by 20 metres in size and surrounded by 3-4 metre high walls. A net divided the court into two equal halves. Since the courts were smaller he decided to use wooden racquets instead of traditional tennis racquets.
Expansion In Spain And Argentina
Initially, padel was only played by the Mexican elite. It was Alfonso De Hohenlohe, who was a Spanish friend of Enrique Corcuera, decided to take it to his own country. He introduced the sport in, Marbella, where the first European padelclub was founded in 1974. It was initially restricted to the Spanish elite. However, padel started gaining popularity among the general public when Spanish King Juan Carlos and ex-Wimbledon champion Manolo Santana started promoting the sport.
Julio Menditengui, a friend of Alfonso De Hohenlohe, then brought the game back to Argentina, where the sport rose to quick prominence. Now there are 10,000 courts and more than 1 million padel players in the South American nation.
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