Padel: discover the racket sport that has been gaining ground in Brazil –

On the court, four players divided into two pairs. Rackets in hand, they hit the ball and rely on the help of the walls to put it into play. The description of the game can confuse the reader: after all, is this tennis or squash? Neither. It’s about the paddlea racket sport that has been gaining more and more fans in Brazil.

Officially appearing in Mexico at the end of the 1960s, the sport took shape in Argentina, where it had four million practitioners, and is currently experiencing a fever in Spain, where there are more than five million fans. In Brazil, due to its proximity to Argentine territory, padel is very strong in the South, but there are already courts and tournaments spread across other regions of the country.

Despite being similar to tennis, the modality has some differences in the rules and material used to play. The serve, for example, is done at waist height and after the ball touches the floor once. Another specificity: the game always takes place in pairs and the racket is usually made of carbon fiber.

If these distinctions cause some strangeness in those who read, those who understand the subject claim that it is easier to learn than tennis.

“While in tennis it is much more time consuming and difficult to learn to change balls, in padel, as the racket is smaller and is closer to the hand, people manage to have fun much more easily”, says Marcelo Russowsky, coach of the Brazilian Women’s National Team of Padel, in an interview with .

Paddle court environment

The glass walls (or cement, in some cases) make padel a very dynamic game, involving constant movement on the part of the practitioners and a high level of concentration – the ball can come from all sides, which requires a spatial notion sharp!

“Soon after you learn to play the basics, the ball exchange increases. So, people interact a lot more because the points are longer, with a much higher caloric expenditure”, says Marcelo. According to the trainer, the cardiovascular part is also developed a lot, in addition to the improvement in reflexes and motor coordination.

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Benefits of padel for women

Rita Abrahão is 56 years old and has been playing padel for at least 20. Before being a tennis player, she switched to sport because of the ease of playing and the sociability that padel provides. “Tennis is a sport full of technique, a solitary sport, that huge court… In padel, in six months you are changing the ball. The teachers themselves make this possible, as they make a point of giving the class and quickly inserting the new student into a class”, she says.

Present at the Santo Padel academy, in São Paulo, from Monday to Friday, she does not give up her hours on the court. And, according to her doctor, she really shouldn’t give up playing.

“I went to the gynecologist thinking I was entering the menopause and she told me this: ‘Your body isn’t even thinking about it! Don’t stop physical activity’. The practice is good for my physical and mental health because my body is staying young, it de-stresses and I experience socialization”, concludes Rita.

Clothes and accessories to practice padel

where to practice padel

São Paulo – Academia Santo Padel (Rua Castro Verde, 137) Porto Alegre – Nika Padel (Av. Prof. Cristiano Fischer, 620) Curitiba – Clube Curitibano (Rua João Parolin, 1 090) Bento Gonçalves (RS) – Padel Pro (Rua Juliet Sassi Dreher, 524)