When we think of padel in France, we often imagine that the majority of players come from tennis. However, a study conducted by Doinsport on a sample of 10 players from 50 clubs over the last 12 months sheds surprising light on the reality of this rapidly expanding sport.

Football, a real breeding ground for padel players

Contrary to popular belief, it is not tennis that provides the most players to padel. According to Doinsport, 44% padel players in France actually come from Football. A natural transition, especially for those who practiced the 5-a-side football, a sport which shares common values ​​with padel: friendliness, team competition et collective spirit. These two practices often coexist in the same sports complexes.

“It’s quite funny to watch.”, testifies one of the founders of Doinsport, himself a former 5-a-side football player. He explains that many of the players he played football with have now become padel enthusiasts.

Tennis still well represented

Of course, the tennis remains a significant base of practitioners with 38% padel players from this discipline. The transition is logical on a technical level, but it is ultimately less massive than one might imagine.

Squash, badminton and other disciplines

Other racket sports such as squash and badminton represent 8% practitioners. A proportion which is undoubtedly explained by the search for a complementary sport, less physically intense but just as strategic.

10% players come from totally different universes like the Rugby, running,climbing… This diversity shows that padel attracts people well beyond racket sports, reinforcing its image as a sport federator et user-friendly.

A trend that is transforming multi-sport clubs

Analysis of Doinsport highlights an interesting phenomenon: in sports centers historically dedicated to football, the transition to padel is taking place gradually but surely. Football fields are gradually being replaced by padel tracks, and some complexes are even becoming mainly dedicated to this new sport.

This observation underlines that padel is not simply a alternative to tennis, but that it redraws the sporting balances in the multi-sport complexes.

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !

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