Pere Valdivieso is the man who brought the padel Australia. Padel Magazine meet him at Madrid during the P1 of Premier Padel for an exclusive interview.

Working for exponential growth

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: Can you introduce yourself, explain what brought you to Australia, and what is your current position in Australia?

Father Valdivieso: “I am Pere Valdivieso, born in Barcelona and living since 2011 between Australia and Barcelona. In 2015, I had the idea of ​​introducing the padel in Australia because there was no club or field of padel. Thanks to the World Padel Club, we managed to set up the first club in Sydney and on the Gold Coast. In 2017, I decided to create my own company PADEL IN ONE which is dedicated to advising, building and managing sports clubs padel. "

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: How is the situation of the padel in Australia ? How many courts and players?

Father Valdivieso: “In Australia, there are currently 6 clubs padel (2 in Sydney, 2 in Perth, 1 in Gold Coast and 1 in Melbourne). We are working to open 6 more before the end of the year and in 2023 and 2024 the growth will be exponential.”

father galan australia

The Australian Open as a springboard

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: How does it work at the federal level at the moment?

Father Valdivieso: “Last January, we formalized the absorption of the federation of padel by the tennis federation with the aim of making stronger promotion and achieving faster growth throughout the country through the structure of tennis.”

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: We saw a short at the Australian Open last year. Will it happen again this year?

Father Valdivieso: “That's the goal and if possible to put a little more. We are working to ensure that the Australian Open 2023 is well promoted and that we can reach more people."

Olympic goal: Brisbane 2032

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: Luigi Carraro maintains that the goal is to be Olympic at Los Angeles 2028, but that goal seems difficult. The next opportunity would be Brisbane 2032. Is it conceivable that the padel be Olympic for the first time in Australia?

Father Valdivieso: “We know that the FIP is working in this direction and we hope that the padel will be present in 2028, but for us in Australia, in the years to come, we will fight for Australian institutions to support the padel as an Olympic sport and in my case it would be a dream come true that in Brisbane in 2032 the padel be Olympic for the first time.”

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: When will you invite me to cover an event in Australia? (Laughter)

Father Valdivieso: “I hope that at the Australian Open we can get as much coverage as possible and that people like you, who work every day to grow the padel, may be present. Just in case, get ready!” (Laughter)

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !