Before becoming one of the best padel players in the world, Sofia Araújo had almost decided to retire from competition. A former tennis player, the Portuguese player recounts her story in the podcast. Bandeja how she discovered padel almost by chance, played her first tournament with her mother and then changed course after the 2016 World Championships in Cascais. 

There is something quite paradoxical about Sofia Araújo's career.

Currently ranked 8th in the world, formerly number 6 and three-time champion on the circuit Premier PadelThe Portuguese woman explains that at one point in her life, she  simply didn't want to hear about competition anymore .

To understand this story, we need to go back to the sport that preceded padel: tennis.

Tennis for ages 11 to 19

The interview takes place at the Foro Italico in Rome, a historic tennis venue that has also become one of the major events on the calendar. Premier Padel.

An ideal setting to revisit the origins of the Portuguese woman.

 What role does tennis play in your story? 

 Sofia Araújo:  "I started playing tennis when I was 11 years old and I played competitively from age 11 to 19."

But behind the travel, training and competition, Araújo also discovers a dimension that ends up weighing on him.

 Sofia Araújo:  "It's a very lonely sport. Even if you travel with your coach, with some girls or some boys, on the court you're very alone. You suffer more on the court."

Gradually, the pleasure disappears.

 Sofia Araújo:  "There came a point where I no longer enjoyed it. I also had some physical and health problems, and that definitely led me to stop playing tennis. Then I went to study."

We must respect the limits of his testimony here:  Araújo does not specify the nature of these physical or health problems in this interview. Therefore, there is no reason to extrapolate from them.

Tennis or padel? "Without a doubt, padel."

She absolutely does not disown her first sport.

But when asked which one he finds the most fun, the answer is immediate.

 Sofia Araújo:  "Without a doubt, padel."

Why?

 Sofia Araújo:  "Padel is a lot of fun, people enjoy it immensely. Of course, I really like tennis, it's also an amazing sport, but I think people have more fun with padel."

For her, the team format changes a lot of things.

 Sofia Araújo:  "It's a sport played in pairs, and that makes it easier to start with. So I think people get a lot of enjoyment out of it. And today, as I say, it's my life."

The contrast is striking: tennis had become a sport she could no longer enjoy; padel has become her life.

An uncle in Bilbao and a discovery made almost by chance

His first contact with padel was not, however, a professional project.

 How did you discover padel? 

 Sofia Araújo:  “I was still playing tennis. One of my uncles lived in Bilbao and played there. He said to me, ‘Sofi, do you want to go play in a padel tournament?’ And I replied, ‘But what is that?’”

The future world number 6 accepts.

And for her first tournament, she chose a rather unusual partner.

His first tournament with his mother

 Sofia Araújo:  "For this first tournament, I registered with my mother. So I went to play in the tournament with her. We won it, I think... I don't even remember! But I enjoyed it immensely."

Araújo is developing a taste for padel.

But not enough to immediately imagine making it his profession.

She initially pursued her studies and, above all, retained a form of rejection of competition after her experience in tennis.

"No, I don't want to play anymore."

When offered the chance to return to tournaments, his initial reaction was unambiguous.

 Sofia Araújo:  “I was saying, ‘No, I don’t want to play anymore, I don’t want any more competition in my life.’”

Then padel gradually returns.

 Sofia Araújo:  "That's how I started, little by little. And today, I'm here."

She competes in several tournaments in Portugal.

Her entourage then begins to understand something before she does: her level could allow her to go much further.

"People were telling me: try playing the circuit."

 At what point do you realize that you can actually become a professional? 

 Sofia Araújo:  “I was playing several tournaments in Portugal and people were telling me, ‘You play well, try to play on the tour, try to play on the tour.’”

But Araújo still refuses.

 Sofia Araújo:  "I kept saying no, no, I wasn't going to play."

It will take an event organized at her home to trigger the real turning point.

Cascais 2016, the turning point

 Sofia Araújo:  “I think it was at the 2016 World Championship in Cascais. I was offered the chance to play and I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll give it a try.’”

His performance then attracted attention.

 Sofia Araújo:  “That’s when people started noticing me, saying things like, ‘You play well,’ this, that… I tried it and that’s it. It happened just like that.”

No meticulously planned career path, then.

No more childhood dreams of becoming a professional padel player.

Araújo's career was built up gradually.

Virginia Riera and the confirmation

The association with Virginia Riera then represents a major step.

 What do your first quarter-final appearances with Virginia Riera represent? 

 Sofia Araújo:  "When I played my first shifts with Vir, I think that's when you realize that all your work starts to be recognized, that you're finally reaping the rewards of that work."

These performances gradually changed his relationship with elite sport.

 Sofia Araújo:  "Little by little, you persevere, you enjoy it too, you work believing that you can get there."

She, who no longer wanted competition, then began to want to know how far she could go.

Reaching 6th place in the world rankings and winning three titles Premier Padel

The rest of the story adds another dimension.

Araújo will reach the  6th place in the world , her best career ranking. She would go on to win two titles Premier Padel with Marta Ortega in 2024, in Genoa and NewGiza, then a third with Andrea Ustero in Bordeaux in 2025.

And she still considers that she has not yet completed her progress.

 Sofia Araújo:  "I think I still have something to offer padel. I think I can progress, I have a lot of things to improve and I'm going to try to give my all every day."

The story is ultimately quite unique.

Sofia Araújo had left tennis after losing the joy of competition. She discovered padel almost by chance thanks to her uncle, played her first tournament with her mother, then refused the idea of ​​returning to the top level… before being persuaded.

Ten years after the breakthrough in Cascais, she is among the best players in the world.

And when asked today how far she wants to go, her answer is no longer: "I don't want any more competition."

She now speaks of  to become world number 1 .

Comments taken from the podcast Bandeja de Premier Padel, during the BNL Italy Major 2026 in Rome.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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