Why padel is not "hype"

If there is one popular racket sport whose popularity will only continue to rise in the coming years, it is padel. This approachable and accessible sport is loved by young and old alike and, of course, not entirely without reason. But do we then speak of a sporting hype? Certainly not. In this blog, you will find out exactly what padel is and why this sport is definitely not a temporary "hype".

What is padel?

You may have heard of it, but what exactly does this accessible sport entail? Padel has now become one of the biggest sports in the Netherlands. It is actually a combination of tennis and squash, but slightly different. For instance, there is more room for social interaction due to the small playing field and a padel court always consists of four glass walls. The rules and scoring of padel and tennis are quite similar. However, you do need a special padel racket. This is slightly smaller than a tennis racket and has no strings, but is made of fibreglass or carbon.

The growth of quality padel courts

Did you know that the KNLTB considers padel to be the fastest-growing sport in the Netherlands? This is not entirely without reason of course, as over 500 padel courts have now been installed at 200 different locations. In fact, the KNLTB expects that in ten years' time, around 500 tennis clubs will have at least one padel court. If padel were a hype, you wouldn't hear about it after ten years. With padel, this will therefore not be the case and even tennis clubs will expand their services. For commercial parties, this is therefore the time to invest in this sport. When you build a padel court as a tennis club, you immediately appeal to a larger audience. They can work on their techniques on a high-quality court, while your brand awareness continues to grow in the meantime. A win-win situation.

For young and old

If there is something that immediately stands out about padel, it is that both young and old can take part in this sport. It is therefore not for nothing that many people see padel as a very accessible sport. For all the fanatical players among us, you have - as with many other sports - the possibility of taking part in tournaments. As a result, it's not just a matter of hitting a ball on Wednesday evenings, but you can really start training in a goal-oriented way. The number of players keeps growing, which is noticeable, for instance, when buying the equipment you need for padel. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of materials such as rackets and balls, because more and more people are buying these products. The upside to this? Entrepreneurs see a future in padel, so you can go to sports-related companies more often to buy the products you need for padel.

An approachable sport

From the very beginning, padel has been known for its low-threshold nature. For instance, you don't need any experience to take part in padel training sessions. There are plenty of professionals who can explain the basics to you, which you can then use to get started yourself. How nice is it to be able to take part in a low-threshold sport where you don't immediately feel a certain urge to perform?

Not a hype, but a trend

At some point, the padel hype will wane a little and it will turn into a trend. The difference? A hype is short-lived, a trend is permanent. Padel is therefore likely to grow even more in the coming years. Both in terms of players and opportunities. For instance, what will a match of this popular racket sport look like in ten years' time? And what other types of rackets will come onto the market? One thing is certain: this popular racket sport is no padel hype, but a real asset to the sports world.