How Does Padel Tennis Innovation Work?

They say necessity is the mother of invention. In the s, Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera proved just how true that is with his creation of a new racket sport: padel. Also called padel tennis, it went on to take over Europe and parts of Latin America, gaining footholds in Spain and Argentina. Now, it's driving plenty of buzz in the United States, with courts quickly popping up in states like Florida, California, New York, Arizona, and Texas. Some are even saying it could be the next pickleball. 

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But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let's stop to answer: what is padel? What makes padel and the courts where it's played unique, and how has padel court design evolved and innovated over the years? 

We'll walk you through what you need to know about the origin of padel and the changing look of padel courts below. Then, we'll showcase some new padel court design trends worth imitating, whether you're looking for a fun, property value-boosting feature for your backyard or a new attraction for a recreation or fitness center.

Often described as a mix of tennis and squash, padel is played on an enclosed court that's smaller than a classic doubles tennis court but larger than a pickleball court. The size of these courts is important both to how the padel sport is played and why it was created. 

In , Enrique Corcuera, a prominent businessman living in Acapulco, Mexico, and his wife, Viviana, created the first padel court. On an earlier trip to the U.S., Enrique had discovered platform tennis, a s spin-off of traditional tennis played on a smaller court with a paddle instead of a tennis racket. According to their son, Enrique and Viviana didn't have space for a full-sized tennis court at home. So, they got creative; Enrique drew from his memories of platform tennis and adapted an existing squash court, adding cement walls for more dynamic play. (As with squash, rebounding is a big part of padel's strategy!) 

Per another memorable version of this story, the Corcuera's padel court was built on property Enrique had just purchased after Viviana, an avid tennis fan, noticed there wasn't room for a tennis court. Seeing this, Viviana is said to have effectively declared: 'No tennis, no Viviana.'

No matter the cause, Enrique and Viviana soon owned the world's first padel court. Though it'd been built for their amusement only, that changed when a friend of Enrique's ' who just so happened to be a Spanish prince and famous resort developer ' tried his hand at the game. An immediate fan, he imported padel back to Spain, where the sport found its first international audience. Soon after, an Argentinian tennis player discovered padel while vacationing at one of the prince's resorts, and the rest was history. 

Today, it's estimated that about 35 million people play padel in the U.S., and the sport is rapidly growing. As of fall , 600 U.S. padel courts have opened, with a growth potential of as many as 30,000 courts by . Gen Z padel players in particular are anticipated to be behind much of that growth.

So, now you know the evolution of padel's popularity. But how is the padel sport played? To answer that, it's helpful to draw comparisons between it and its more famous racket-sport cousin. Namely:

Padel tennis has strong similarities to classic tennis. For instance, with both padel and tennis, the scoring system is the same, the court's dividing net is the same height, a ball of similar size and material is used, and matches are usually played in best-of-three sets. 

So while many of the games' basic rules are the same, there are also some key differences. Padel paddles are solid, smaller, and feature a shorter handle than tennis rackets', for one. In padel, as with squash, you can also play the ball off the court walls, leading to longer rallies. And while tennis is sometimes played in doubles, padel almost always is, including at the competitive level. That's one reason it, like pickleball, attracts fans of social sports. 

Perhaps the biggest difference between padel tennis and tennis is the look and functionality of the courts. As we've already touched on, padel courts are smaller than tennis courts; padel court dimensions (20 meters x 10 meters) add up to 200 square meters (or 2,178 square feet) of playable surface, compared to a doubles tennis court's 261 square meters (2,808 square feet). And while tennis courts use an open design, padel courts are enclosed, with walls being a big part of how the game is played.

Finally, there's the (literal) foundation of the game ' or, the surface you play on. 

Tennis is typically played on a hard court made from asphalt or concrete with an acrylic coating. Less often, you'll see a clay court (as used in the French Open) or a natural grass court (as seen at Wimbledon). 

Padel courts, meanwhile, come with a few options for padel court flooring. But artificial turf (traditionally in blue) with a sand infill is the most popular, and for good reason. 

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First, the design possibilities for turf padel courts are near-endless, as they tend to invite more creativity than, say, your standard acrylic-topped tennis court. Particularly when using a coated sand infill like Envirofill that's color-matched to your turf ' and FYI, Envirofill comes in blue, red, green, and black, precisely the color palette of most popular padel courts! ' you'll get a modern, visually blended look that's free of the mess and visible streaks created by raw sand. 

Of course, looks aren't all that matter. A turf padel court that uses a high-quality infill like Envirofill also plays better, since it makes for quicker footwork, sharper turning, and a more consistent and predictable ball bounce. Plus, with Envirofill, you get an infill that's ultra-durable and reusable, with minimal need for upkeep and built-in Microban technology to fight bacteria, mold, and mildew. Combined, that's going to enhance the looks and lifespan of your padel court. 

But let's get back to the fun stuff: padel court design. Below, we'll take a peek at some padel court design trends we're seeing today, how they've evolved, and what makes coated sand infill your secret design weapon.

Padel, a combination of tennis, squash and badminton, has been developing at breakneck speed since its creation in . Already very popular in Spain and South America, padel is fast becoming one of the leading racquet sports and could even overtake tennis in the next few years. And like every popular racquet sport, padel also has its own professional circuit. Deciphering the workings of a rapidly-expanding tour.

The World Padel Tour, the benchmark professional circuit since

In , the first international padel circuit was created: the Padel Pro Tour. It was held in Spain and helped the sport to develop. At first, most of the players were from Spain and Argentina, but the number of international players has continued to rise. In , the World Padel Tour, owned by Spanish company Damm, took the place of the Padel Pro Tour. Today, the World Padel Tour is the most-watched circuit, in which the world's best players compete. The WPT holds between 20 and 30 tournaments a year.

Just as in tennis, progressing through the rounds of these tournaments earns points which can be used to climb up the world rankings. The winners of the "Masters," the main tournaments on the WPT circuit, are awarded 1,700 points. There are five Masters every year: Abu Dhabi, Marbella, Valladolid, Madrid and Buenos Aires. The Master Final, held annually in Barcelona, is the equivalent of the ATP Finals. The top 16 players face off in what is considered the season finale. Added to this are the Opens, the and the 500, most of which are similar to ATP tournaments, and then the challenger tournaments. This ranking is largely dominated by Spanish and Argentinian players, in both the men's and women's categories. In fact, our champion Juan Lebrón has been working hard on this circuit for the past four years to maintain his world number 1 ranking while competing against the best players on the planet.

A1 Padel, a second independent international circuit

Alongside the World Padel Tour, the A1 Padel ' known as the APT Padel Tour before ' is a circuit which is completely independent of the WPT, which also has been holding around 20 tournaments each year since it was created in by Fabrice Pastor. The businessman from Monaco, a huge padel fan, had decided to launch a second professional circuit to bring padel to the rest of the world, with tournaments held ' for the most part ' outside Spain.

In , A1P will host 19 tournaments. The two "Grand Masters", the first in New York in August and the second in Italy in September, are the main tournaments of the year. These tournaments award 2,000 points to the winners. Then there are the "Masters", seven in , and finally the Master Final - similar to the WPT circuit final - which awards 1,500 points to the champions. Finally, the "Open" tournaments, nine in , are the 3rd category tournaments. Players earn points in these tournaments and can move up in the rankings. A second ranking - dominated by Argentinian and Spanish players - is also independent of the World Padel Tour ranking.

Premier Padel, an ambitious competitor to the World Padel Tour

The third and most recent professional padel circuit is without a doubt tomorrow's main round. Run by the Fédération Internationale de Padel, the Premier Padel has been financially backed, since its creation in , by Qatari businessman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, who is also the chairman and CEO of Paris Saint-Germain. After eight successful competitions held in ' four "Major" and four "P1" tournaments ' Premier Padel has done it again in with the same eight tournaments, unlike the other two circuits which constantly replace some tournaments from one year to the next. Premier Padel also has its own ranking, so there are four separate rankings: the WPT ranking, the WPT race ranking (which includes results between January 1st and December 31 of the year), the A1 Padel ranking and the Premier Padel ranking.

Towards a single main circuit starting in

This multiplicity of circuits will soon be a thing of the past, because Premier Padel has acquired a majority stake in the World Padel Tour. Premier Padel has now become the WPT's majority shareholder. Even if the future of padel in is still uncertain, players will be able to play in all these tournaments without any problem. The name of this new tour - perhaps it will simply be called Premier Padel -, has yet to be announced. So, beginning in , there will be just two professional circuits, the merger of Premier Padel and the World Padel Tour, which will have a single ranking, and A1 Padel, which will remain independent and have its own ranking.

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