Padel is becoming a worldwide phenomenon in the sports world as many people are taking to the padel court and having fun As a result, many clubs have formed in the UK and padel is becoming easier to access as a result of investment in state-of-the-art padel courts. Starting a new sport can be daunting at first, but we can assure you that starting padel is not as hard as you may think.
Players who are familiar with tennis will find that the skills used in padel are the same as tennis, apart from the presence of the walls that surround the court. However, if you are completely new to racquet sports, padel can serve as a great introduction because it’s accessible to beginners of all ages and it doesn’t require years of practice. If you are looking to get into the sport, but don’t know where to start? Why not begin your journey into padel by taking a look below at our beginners guide to starting padel.
The History Of Padel
Before you start your journey into padel, you might want to ground yourself in its rich history. The origins of the sport started on 19th-century cruise ships because a form of padel was played by the British whilst on board. Moving on to more recent history, the Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera created the first recognised padel court with four walls as a way to stop the ball from landing on his neighbour’s premises. His friend Alfonso de Hohenlohe introduced the sport to Spain, which, from there, enabled the sport to grow on an international level. In regards to padel’s history in Britain, the game was imported from Marbella, Spain by British expats which has allowed the game to flourish back home. It also has allowed us Brits to compete internationally with padel.
What Equipment Do You Need For Padel?
Padel is low-maintenance when it comes to equipment. This is why the sport is so accessible because of the ease of just picking up a padel racquet to play. Once you have access to a padel court, the rest of the equipment is up to you. You must have a padel racquet and a suitable ball for padel, which can be purchased at all your high-street sports shops.
Another convenient way of getting the equipment for padel if you just want to try the sport is to go to a club and hire them. This way you don’t need to invest money into the sport if you are unsure if the sport is right for you. It would also be a good idea to use a court that is pay as you play, which allows you to play if you are unsure of making any financial commitments. One more aspect you have to consider when starting padel is your clothing. Depending on the rules of the club you are playing at, you might need to wear court shoes to prevent the marking of the court and as the game is usually played in doubles, you will need to play in similar coloured clothing as your partner.
Basic Rules Of Padel
The rules are very similar to tennis, so similar in fact that if you know how to play tennis, the rules of padel will come naturally to you. The only real difference is that you can score points using the walls of the court, a bit like squash. Here are a few rules that you may want to consider when starting out in padel:
- When you serve a ball it must bounce once on the floor then hit from below, or at, waist height
- You can volley the ball during a rally however the ball is determined as “out” should it hit a wall directly
- Players can bounce the ball off a wall on their side of the court
