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We heard recently that there are probably about 7 million padel players around the world at present. Its hard to verify the accuracy of this number but what we know for sure is that with more and more people discovering how easy the game is to pick up, and how much fun it can be, the number of padel players is growing every day.
So far however, the top tier of the sport seems to be dominated, not surprisingly, by players from just a handful of countries where the sport has been established for the longest amount of time.
The official rankings from the International Federation of Padel give a good indication of those countries in which the sport has the strongest base, and as you can see below, in the recent rankings of the top 10 men and women Argentina and Spain are clearly way out in front of all the rest at the moment:
Going further down the rankings tables, the other countries that feature, but with only a very small number of players each, are Brazil; Portugal; Chile; Uruguay; and Paraguay.
Surely the time has arrived to introduce a bit more diversity into these lists!! The UK Federation of Padel is seeking to recruit new talent to the game in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and to select players that can represent the UK in the World Padel Championships in Murcia later this year. So, if you are interested in finding out more check out the UKFP website and maybe sometime soon we'll see a few Smiths and Joneses in these lists!!
Filed under: Olympics
In the Olympic Games programme there are currently 35 sports and almost 400 events. There are also sports that were once in the Olympic programme but are no longer (like Lacrosse), and others that are that are not on the programme but are nevertheless officially recognised by the Olympic Movement.
To be recognised by the IOC The International Sports Federations that administer these sports must ensure that their statutes, practice and activities conform with the Olympic Charter.
Tennis is one of the core Olympic sports, while Squash and Racquetball are sports that are recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). So, what are the chances of Padel ever making it to become an Olympic sport one day…. perhaps in Beijing in 2008? or in London 2012?
Well, according to the website of Padel Olympic Sport, in order for a sport to be included in the Olympic Games the International Olympic Committee states that it has to be played on all continents, or failing that, that it is played in a specified number of countries. The website suggests that Padel already fully satifies these requirements so maybe the sport is not too far away from becoming recognised!
Watch this space …. as soon as any more progress is made you will be able to find out about it here.
On the 21st of May the Rye Lawn Tennis and Squash Club will be hosting the 1st Open Padel Tournament in UK. The event will involve both Mens and Womens Doubles as well as mixed pairings.
According to Brian Thompson of the UK Padel Federation it will be a friendly get together to enable people interested in Padel to meet and discuss how best the sport can quickly be developed throughout the UK.
The entry cost for players and non players is £10.00 each and this price includes a lunch following the tournament. Players are requested to be there by 9.45am for a 10.00am start and lunch is expected to be at approx. 2.00pm.
So get down to Rye on the 21st May and start spreading the word that Padel has finally arrived in the UK.
