Winner of the Australian Open in 2002, former coach of David Goffin,  Thomas Johansson has been the General Manager of the APT since last December Padel Tour . For Padel Magazine and just before the start of the Paraguay Open, the Swede spoke at length about the growth curve of padel as well as his ambitions for this circuit which aims to be more international than the World Padel Tour.

 “The containment created a huge exposure” 

 What is the situation of padel in Sweden at the moment? 

“Padel in Sweden is spreading faster than COVID-19! It’s impressive to see.  I think Sweden is the country in the world where padel is growing the fastest. . It is booming. It started 6 or 7 years ago, especially with Jonas Björkmann and others in the south of the country. Many structures have been opened. It has become one of the most popular sports because it is very social. If you have a minimum of coordination through playing tennis, football or ice hockey, you can reach a good level quickly. Another important aspect: you are not dependent on the level of other practitioners. For example, you can play are 3 with a good level and a beginner, you will still have a good time. In tennis, that is not possible. ”

 Has the fact that padel is a sport that respects social distancing contributed to its recent growth? 

“Indeed, because the structures were allowed to open in Sweden. Not all the time, but most of the time. It was great for the padel business. People were able to discover this discipline at that time.”

The number of plots continues to increase in Sweden

  Is the growth of padel in Sweden linked to the fact that it is a sport that can be played indoors? 

“We have a majority of indoor tracks, precisely in relation to the climate. However, I note that many courts are created outdoors near golf clubs. There are many courses in Sweden and we often see that there are several courses that are added to the offer.  I do not know the precise number of land available in Sweden but it keeps increasing . It is a great satisfaction to witness this. ”

 Padel and Sweden are linked to Zlatan Ibrahimovic who opened the franchise Padel Zenter. What does it represent in the development of the popularity of the discipline? 

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jonas Björkman are very important, even though they have very different visions in their land construction projects. During the lockdown and restrictions, many artists who couldn't work started playing padel. This created a huge exposure.  I was in Sweden recently and saw people I would never have imagined in sportswear and yet they now play padel up to 3 times a week.  ! Potentially, padel can become one of the most important sports in the world.”

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 “With padel I always learn something new” 

 What do you think about the appointment of Jonas Björkman as captain of the Swedish national team?
 

“I find it very interesting because he will be able to transmit all his experience acquired in tennis, whether for the mental aspect but also for the physical preparation to become a professional player. His presence is important not only for Swedish padel but also for the whole circuit in general. For now, padel is a small sport but it is growing so fast that it will become a mass sport in the coming years.  I am delighted to see former tennis champions getting involved in padel  because we can contribute to its development. ”

 Does the presence of former tennis players attract a new audience thanks to their notoriety? 

“When I quit tennis, the first sport I played was golf. I really played there a lot for almost 3 years. But when you have kids, golf takes too much of your time.  I discovered padel and it was perfect: in a 2-hour slot, you play for 1 hours, you have fun, you let off steam and you can get back to your activities. . Golf is all day long. I really like playing golf but in padel, no matter who I play with, I always learn something new. That's really what I look for in sport and what I don't find in tennis because I've done it all my life.”

 Less frustration than golf perhaps too?
 

“Yes, absolutely! Golf is a particularly difficult sport and the more you play, the more difficult it becomes. In padel, you play doubles and frustration can become a strength. I enjoy padel more than golf.”

Former tennis champions promote padel

 Did you keep good tennis habits with Thomas Enqvist? 

“I played a lot of tennis with him and now padel indeed! Thomas is one of my best friends, he now lives in Aix-en-Provence and before the health crisis, we spent a lot of weekends together. He plays padel like he played tennis, he jumps on all the balls and hits hard, unfortunately he almost never lets the ball go through and our opponents often take advantage of it. We often have great matches and we have a lot of fun. I would also like him to play a little more!”

 Is there a Swedish way of playing padel? With the great tradition of volleyball players in Sweden, we imagine that it is geared towards the offensive. 

“Padel is a new sport in Sweden, it's been around for 7 or 8 years. So it's quite new. So we have to find new Spanish or South American coaches to teach us how to play padel. In Sweden and not only, it's former tennis players who coach. So yes,  we are good with a racket and a ball but teaching is different . It takes time even if Sweden have reached a real good level because the federation has invested in foreign coaches. I hope we will have teams on the APT and the WPT in the near future. ”

 It is crucial for Swedish padel to have champions quickly? In tennis, since Robin Söderling, there has been a decline in interest in the practice and this affects the training and emergence of talents. 

“In Sweden, when it comes to tennis, we have failed to attract children from the suburbs of big cities. Conversely,  football clubs took advantage of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's fame . He is an icon and he has attracted so many children, boys and girls… He has succeeded where tennis has failed because we have certainly focused more on the big cities. However, outside of them, there is a lot of talent and a lot of determination to achieve things. This is what Swedish padel must do. This is what I see and what I like: padel is not only concentrated in the big cities but it is also growing in the surrounding suburbs. This is why I believe that Sweden will become a great padel nation.”

 “With the APT, I combine my passion and my work” 

 You are the General Manager of the APT Padel Tower. Could you describe the main lines of this project? 

“The APT Padel Tour offers tournaments on 3 continents : Europe, United States and South America. Padel has been my greatest passion for 5 years and becoming the new General Manager of APT is a great honor because I can combine my passion and my work. Our goal is to create a different circuit.  The most important message we want to send is that the APT wants to be a circuit for all  and that we want to grow in many countries because that would allow more people to discover this wonderful sport. ”

 Is there a risk of dispersal of interest with the presence of the WPT on one side and the APT on the other. The presence of several federations has never worked, boxing is a very good example. 

“I hear what you say but  I think that currently there is room for both circuits  because padel is currently a modest sport but it is growing very quickly. We work differently. The APT is more global, we want to reach more people. The most important thing for the APT is to be global so that there are more players. That is why we work with young players. That is the meaning of our involvement with the Fabrice Pastor Cup, a charity tournament that has been very successful in recent years. So we want to give more time to young players in padel.”

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 By the way, where is the development of the women's APT circuit? 

“This is a crucial aspect for us because, when we say that this circuit must be for everyone, it means that there must be women's matches.  We are working intensively on the launch of a women's circuit . We will make announcements very soon. In Sweden, the social practice between men and women is very balanced, it is 50/50. On the other hand, regarding the competitive aspect, there are many more men than women. This is a challenge that the APT wants to take up: to attract more women to padel competitions.”

“We have to create icons to arouse interest”

 Could the APT embark on some sort of transfer policy to attract the best WPT players and create a rivalry? 

“Both the APT and the WPT must think about what is best for padel. I am not interested in creating a rivalry.  I simply want the best for padel, regardless of private interests. . We all have a great opportunity to grow the discipline. This is the time to do something very important for padel. We have great players and it is only a matter of time before they become very well-known in many countries around the world. We have to create icons because that is how we generate interest, especially among children. I will do absolutely everything to grow padel and in the best conditions. As a tennis player, I have played one of the most popular sports in the world. I have seen what has been achieved and I want to use all the good things I have seen and take inspiration from them for padel.”

johansson thomas padel bullpadel reverse sweden

Developing padel around the world

 Let's dream a little: can we imagine in 5 or 10 years, a sort of SuperBowl of padel between the best players of the WPT and those of the APT? 

"That's a good idea! The idea is very good but first of all we have to develop padel all over the world. I really like what I see in Sweden, I talk to a lot of federations and I see that padel is developing in countries where I would not have thought it could work. It's a big challenge that we have for the next few years: development in Europe and the United States, focusing our attention on Asia. First of all, we have to build courts to make people want to play and watch matches.  At the APT, we want to work towards the development of the practice of padel . "

 So the APT will be more focused on the internationalization of padel than the WPT? 

“Our goal is to become more global and attract more players around the world so that they can simply make a living from it. At the moment, very few players can make a living from padel. For the discipline to continue to grow, more players need to be able to make a financial living from it. I would like there to be powerful federations in Europe, the United States and South America that can achieve this. We have many ideas and many interesting projects. It will take time, Rome was not built in a day.  We have to be patient but I think we have a good strategy for padel to become one of the biggest sports in the world. . "

François Miguel Boudet Padel sports journalist

I am a sports journalist based in Barcelona and of course a padel fanatic.

RMC Sports, L'Equipe Magazine, Sport24, Infosport +, BeIN sports and now the icing on the cake: Padel Magazine ! ;)

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