Weeks before controversy erupts with world number one Ale Galan, the South American promoter of World Padel Tour Lisandro Borges gave an interview to La Tercera to give his vision on the rise of the padel and the place that discipline takes in relation to tennis.

After talking about the next Chile Open which will take place this week in Santiago, Lisandro Borges said about the evolution of the padel in relation to tennis: “I think tennis at the amateur level is on its way to extinction. Last year, in Chile, 1 plots of padel were built. This year there will be 1. I guarantee you that not even 300 tennis courts have been built, unless they were built in someone's private home."

Lisandro-Borges-padel-Argentine

"At the amateur level, the padel ate tennis because of its ease, its inclusive and dynamic nature, but above all the ease with which one can start playing it. To play tennis you have to take lessons for a year and it will always cost you something. Today at padel, four people who have never held a racquet in their life hit the track on day one and they are having fun, they are having a good time and it is priceless."

“Rivalries don't exist here. Tennis is a wonderful sport with a lot of history and the padel still has many years ahead of it before it becomes what tennis is, but at the amateur level, thanks to what I have just told you, it has already surpassed it in practically all the countries of the world, except for the States -United."

Find the full interview with Lisandro Borges on the website of La Tercera.

Martin Schmuda

A competitive tennis player, Martin discovered the padel in 2015 in Alsace and appeared in a few tournaments in Paris. Today a journalist, he deals with current affairs padel while continuing its rise in the world of the little yellow ball!

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