Padel originated in Mexico in 1969 and quickly became popular in countries such as Spain and Argentina. The game was created by Enrique Corcuera, who wanted to create a new sport that was easy and accessible to people of all ages and abilities. The first padel court was built on Corcuera's estate in Acapulco, Mexico.
Padel has become increasingly popular in the Netherlands and around the world in recent years. The game is played on a smaller court than tennis, for example, and rackets that are slightly smaller than tennis rackets are used.
We would like to tell you more about the history of this beautiful sport. In addition, a piece about how this sport has developed in recent years.
It didn't take long for padel to cross the ocean to Europe and the sport was introduced to Spain in the 1970s. Padel quickly became popular here and many new courts were built. Spain is now the country where padel is played the most and where many professional padel players come from. The country has the largest padel community in the world and there are thousands of padel courts all over the country.
In the 1980s, padel also began to spread to other parts of Europe, such as Portugal, Italy and France. In the Netherlands it took a little longer for padel to become popular, but the sport has experienced enormous growth in recent years. There are now many padel courts in the Netherlands and more and more tournaments and competitions are being organized. At the end of September 2022, the WPT itself came to the Netherlands for the annual tournament. In addition, the sport is also increasingly being introduced to schools and associations as part of their sports programmes.
The International Padel Federation (IPF) was founded in 1991 and has been organizing world championships and other international tournaments ever since. The Dutch Padel Association (NPB) is also active in organizing tournaments and promoting the sport in the Netherlands.
All in all, padel has undergone considerable development in recent decades and has become a popular and accessible sport for people of all levels and ages. With the growing popularity of padel, many more padel courts and tournaments will undoubtedly be organized in the Netherlands and around the world.
