“A sport a little more accessible for beginners”: padel never ceases to seduce

Camille Moreau / Photo credits: CARINE SCHMITT / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 7:12 a.m., March 10, 2024

A tennis court enclosed by four windows.

And in the middle, Philippe, 54, bounces the ball both on the floor and on the walls in this Forest Hill room in Paris.

This tennis teacher discovered padel last summer.

A sport halfway between tennis and squash, imported from Spain, particularly popular in France and which Philippe, one of the 500,000 practitioners in the country, plays every week.

A real addiction. 

"Physically, it's quite tough. We have to be constantly moving. I'm soaked all the time. You have to know how to play with the windows and there, it's another game, it's another sport. There's a lot of uncertainty and it's super pleasant. I think that in tennis, you need a little time to have fun, in padel, you can have fun very quickly", he assures. 

“We have more and more requests” 

Fun and friendly, this discipline, which is played by four people, appeals to snowshoe enthusiasts and novices alike.

“It’s a sport that is a little more accessible for beginners. We are on a smaller field, smaller rackets. From a motor point of view, that simplifies things,” explains Alexandre, padel teacher. 

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Here, in the middle of the week, at 2 p.m., the five courts are already taken.

Players even wait for their turn.

"It's really exponential. We have more and more requests. There is a real enthusiasm. We started with a rate which increased 20-30% in the space of four/five months", says Nathalie. Molmy-Ferro, director of the room.

Since September, the sports club has opened two new padel rooms in Paris.