"Where are the women ?" : this is the question we asked you last week. A question linked to several observations: women are much less numerous than men in clubs and competitions; there are about seven times more men than women among the 33 or so classified in France; our previous surveys generally collect four to five times more opinions from men than from women.

So women wouldn't be interested in padel? Certainly not, judging by your very numerous responses to our questionnaire. There were precisely 197 ladies and young ladies who answered us in detail, proof that women are there, that they have opinions and express them when we give them the floor. A big thank you to all of you!

But let's now go into detail about what attracts or disappoints you in padel, what you like, what you don't like and what you lack to flourish more in it.

■ Middle age, 42 years old.- Without indiscretion, we asked the age of our respondents, just to know them better. Those who answered us are between 16 and 70 years old, with an average of 42 years old.

■ From beginner to expert.- The majority of you started playing padel less than 5 years ago, or even less than a year ago. The most frequently cited (self-estimated) level is “intermediate”, with also a good number of beginners but also players from the French top 50. In other words, we can consider this panel representative of female padel players in France – or at least those who are fans of Padel Magazine.
Incidentally, we take our hat off to Mirian, who is only 40 years old, but has been playing for… 25 years already! Great performance (unless she forgot a comma…).

Your top three: the playful side, the atmosphere and the exercise

■ The love of the game.- When asked to rate from 1 to 5 what you like about padel, the criterion that seems to appeal the most is “the playful side of this sport“. It is considered very important by 65% ​​of you and important by 21%. Morality: women are players, which will not surprise us.

■ You like the atmosphere.- The second most appreciated criterion is “the overall atmosphere” that reigns on and around the slopes: 51% of our respondents consider this “very important” and 30% “important”.

■ Sweating doesn't make you sweat.- The fact of "exert oneself physically” is one of your main motivations for playing padel. This criterion is considered important by 27% of you and very important by 49% (i.e. 76% cumulatively).

■ The favorite mix.- The answers obtained to our questions on the friendliness either mixed or between girls show that you prefer diversity: it is important for 28% of you and very important for 45% (i.e. 73% in total). Female conviviality is very important “only” for 36% of our respondents and important for 33% (ie 69% in total).

■ Family fun.- More than other sports, padel lends itself to the practice as a couple or as a family and you like it. 18,5% of our respondents find this aspect important and 48% consider it very important.

■ Technical simplicity.- Another reason for the success of padel is that the technique is relatively simple and you can have fun quickly. This “quickly accessible technology” is important (27%) or very important (39%) in the eyes of 66% of our respondents.

■ You don't care about fashion.- Among the least important motivations to play, the one that leaves you cold is the “trendy” side of padel: only 24% of women find this important or very important, while 45% consider this aspect unimportant.

■ Practice ? Okay.- The image of a group of female students squirming around a handsome coach is a sexist cliché, according to your answers. Less than 48% of our panel is motivated or very motivated by the training offered. This finding contrasts with our recent survey on the importance of education, but this may show that the offer is insufficient (read below) – or not satisfactory.

■ Events or competitions? Approved competitions are more popular with female padel players than tournaments and leisure activities. The former are very important for 37,5% of our respondents and important for 21%; the latter only appeal to 28% and 28,5% of those who responded, respectively. In other words, men are not the only ones who like there to be something at stake, a ranking and points to win.

■ The Glass of Friendship.- Let's end this overview of the attractions of padel with the after party at the bar or in a restaurant: this conviviality is very important for 31,5% of those surveyed and important for 21,5%. This is obviously not your first motivation, but this aspect is far from negligible.

academy cap d'agde women net
Padel is popular in a 100 percent feminine version or in a mixed version

The brakes: the price, the courses and the… courts

After asking the players what they like about padel, we wanted to know what they don't like and what could dissuade them from playing. Well, in summary, few things are holding you back: in terms of the number of votes and percentage, the positive aspects far outweigh the negative aspects. But let's still detail the five "brakes" that you mention the most.

■ The.- The rates for renting the land or the necessary equipment are a brake considered important by 21,5% of those who answered us and very important by 18,5%. But 32,5% consider it moderately important, 11% unimportant and 16,5% very unimportant.

■ Not enough lessons.- Mentioned above, the insufficient course offer is a real obstacle that 12% of you consider important and 26% very important. Even if 27% find this unimportant, there is a lack noted by nearly four out of ten players. We will come back to this through your testimonies.

■ Being 4, not always easy.- The difficulty of bringing together four people is obviously an obstacle to practice. It is something important according to 20% of the ladies and very important for 10%.

■ Where are the courts? The lack of infrastructure close to home can be a problem: it is a factor considered important by 12% of our respondents and very important by 19% of them. Conversely, this is not at all a concern for 34% of players.

■ In the minority (and proud of it).- The fact that there are fewer women than men in padel can be considered a deterrent: 14,5% of women see it as a significant obstacle and 13% as very significant. Conversely, this aspect is considered very unimportant by 34% and unimportant by 11%.

We also asked about other aspects that you might not like about padel, such as the atmosphere, the complexity of the game, the time it takes, the competitive spirit or the lack of female stars to identify with. Well, all of this pleases much more than it displeases. This is especially true for the “complexity of the game”: for 82% of you, it is absolutely not a problem. On the contrary, you like the windows, the grids and even some weird rules. As for the atmosphere of padel, it displeases almost no one!

But not everything is perfect and you took advantage of this survey to share with us your relevant criticisms or very interesting suggestions to improve padel and make it more attractive to women. We will give you ample opportunity to speak in a future article on this topic.

More Info on women's padel HERE

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme fell into the padel pot in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves with a pala in hand! A journalist in Alsace, his only ambition is to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

On the same subject

Tags