Padel is booming in Sweden. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened many centers, and huge clubs are built. The Sweden has become the Eldorado of padel brands. We meet Maria Agrell, member of the board of the federation Swedish to talk about this dream situation of Swedish padel.

Unprecedented growth

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: Padel is growing very quickly in your country, can you give us the latest figures?

Maria Agrell: "About 500 players have booked a court in the last year. 10 years ago, padel was a new sport in Sweden. The numbers are constantly changing with the rapid growth.”

This figure is simply spectacular and unimaginable a few years ago for a country of 10 million inhabitants. It's over 5% of the Swedish population booked a padel court in 2020 ! It is also a 185% increase compared to 2019 ! "

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: How can you explain this situation?

Maria Agrell: “Padel is fun and once you start, it’s hard to stop playing. During the pandemic, I think even more people have discovered this sport, since clubs have remained open and we can maintain physical distancing.”

Padel is booming in Sweden. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened many centers, and huge clubs are being built. Sweden has become the Eldorado of padel brands. We meet Maria Agrell, member of the board of the Swedish federation to talk about this dream situation of Swedish padel.

The influence of celebrities

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: What is the influence of big stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the development of padel?

Maria Agrell: “I think celebrities have made this sport more famous. We have both footballers like Zlatan and tennis players like Jonas Björkman, who launched padel structures.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened several centers at the cutting edge of technology all over Sweden. His "Padel Zenter ”have undoubtedly played an important role in this growth.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic plays padel racket

An independent federation

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez: In many countries (France, UK, Italy), padel is developed with tennis federations. In Sweden, you are an independent federation and it works very well. What is your relationship with the Swedish Tennis Federation?

Maria Agrell: “Our relationship with the Swedish Tennis Federation is excellent. They respect the fact that Padel is a sport in its own right and we can consider different possibilities of collaboration in the future. ”

Photo credit: Linda Carlson

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 him at various international competitions, but also at major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best padel photos!

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