The various measures taken by European governments to fight against Covid-19 shut down the vast majority of sports activities in 2020 but some sports are doing better than others. This is particularly the case of padel which continued to gain ground throughout the Old Continent.

Europe, the engine of the expansion of padel

It is a real craze for the padel which we have witnessed in recent years and the growth of this accessible and friendly sport does not seem to be slowing down. If he is now present in 57 countries selon le World Padel Tour, it is indeed in Europe that he knows the greatest interest, with 11 new fields of padel built last year, if we believe the newspaper Columna Deportiva, which testifies to the importance that the padel in the lives of Europeans!

Note that we have tried to find out more about these 11.000 new sites. A figure to be taken with a grain of salt. As your journalist and player explains padel Alsatian, Jerome Arnoux, "that would make an average of 234 new sites in each of the 47 countries of Europe, that's too good to be true ...".

delta sports constructors

This growing interest has been accompanied by an exponential growth of a padel. And brands and investors alike have scented the right thing. Now, major brands are investing not only in sports equipment but also in facilities and infrastructure related to its practice.

While the market was still dominated by predominantly Spanish brands, we can see the considerable weight taken by brands historically focused on tennis like Head, Wilson, and Babolat.

A still very Spanish sport

The role played by Spain in the development of padel cannot be underestimated. As indicated above, a very large part of the brands that control the padel are Spanish and it is on the Iberian Peninsula that we find the greatest number of sites.

It is now common to see courts of padel of very high quality built in private collective residences. Le padel no longer only practiced in clubs, it is also played at home.

And if the padel was still considered a decade ago as a bourgeois sport, just like golf, it is now popular with the general population. Schools of padel flourish in the four corners of the country and the result of this development policy can be seen at the highest level since the Spanish players occupy the first places of the world ranking, only competed with by the Argentines.

Palau Sant Jordi WPT

It's obvious that Spain greatly participates in the development of padel in Europe and around the world, where we see more and more coaches exporting their talents all over the world.

Finally, it is remarkable to note that the World Padel Tour displayed live on Spanish TV during each tournament and audiences reach exceptional levels. Last year, for the Barcelona Master, nearly 10 spectators were present in the stands of the Palau Sant Jordi to watch the elite of the padel while lhis Youtube channel recorded more than 2 million views over the 4 days of competition!

Malick N'diaye padel chronicler

If tennis is a sport that drives you mad, then multiply that madness by 2 and you will get the padel.

An expatriate in Malaga, passionate about sports and photography, Malick immediately fell for the padel. If you can't find him on a short working his “bandeja”, He will probably be hiking, GoPro in hand.

On the same subject