In a recent debate on The Team, the question asked was simple: the paddle Is it a sport or a hobby? But the way the subject was treated left a taste ofamateurismSome columnists compare padel to the “mini golf” of tennis. Reducing this sport to a relaxing activity also means missing out on its professional reality.

Easy to learn, hard to master

Yes, you can have fun from the first game, which isn't always the case in other sports. But reaching the highest level is another story. Padel requires mastering a palette of specific moves bandeja, víbora, topped smashes, flat, rulo, bajada, chiquita, counter-smash, by 3 or 4… and above all defend with the windowsReading rebounds, adjusting your positioning, anticipating trajectories: skills that require years of practice.

Requirements comparable to tennis

The studies are clear: a professional padel match requires a cardio load equivalent to that of a doubles tennis match. Points last longer, with more shots played and a higher concentration time. On the mental side, tactical patience, window management, and constant coordination with your partner are integral parts of performance.

No shortcuts for tennis players

To imagine that an excellent tennis player could immediately shine in padel is a illusion. Of course, the former tennis player arrives with valuable baggage: quality of shot, sense of the game, solid volley, power on smash. But padel is a different sport, with some game diagrams and technical moves which do not exist in tennis.

La tray, viper, exit by 3, defense after glass or petite are specific shots that cannot be improvised. They require years of learning and repetition to become . However, this is precisely where tennis players, even experienced ones, come up against a reality: their background is useful but insuffisant to perform quickly.

The examples are numerous. Juan Carlos Ferrero, former world No. 1 in tennis, never really broke through on the padel circuit. More recently, Jules Mary acknowledged that defending with the glass and mastering specific shots remained real challenges. Even French champions like Arnaud Clement et Arnaud Di Pasquale admitted to having had to unlearn certain tennis automatisms to progress in padel.

Jules Marie leaves tennis for padel: risky bet or future in blue?

The truth is simple: the world best players of padel Arturo Coello, Agustín Tapia, Ale Galán, are athletes who started very young and have trained exclusively in this discipline. Being an excellent tennis player therefore does not offer a shortcut to the elite. To aim for the very highest level, you must follow the same path: years of practice, a complete learning of strokes and a total immersion in the specificities of padel.

A structured and growing sport

Padel is now recognized as a high-level sport in France, with a National Training Center in Vichy and a plan of 85 million invested by the FFT. At Roland-Garros, the Paris Major 2025 gathered more than 27 000 spectators on the semi-finals and finals. On a global level, the circuit Premier Padel is organized around Majors, P1, P2 and the FIP Tour, with a single ranking and prize money certainly lower than tennis but which continues to rise.

Paris Major 2025: 27 spectators in 000 weekend, a record!

A sport still in search of stars

Certainly, padel attracts a growing number of practitioners today, but it still suffers from a lack of identification in France with its champions, in other countries where padel is established is considered a sport in its own right. Many play regularly without necessarily knowing the names of the best in the world nor follow the professional circuit. Unlike tennis, where Federer, Nadal or Djokovic have shaped a culture and retained generations of fans, padel has not yet built this strong bond between its players and the general public. It is one of the major areas for improvement for sport: developing emblematic figures, strengthening media coverage, and allowing players to become attached to stories and personalities, beyond the simple pleasure of playing.

Daniel Dios: “The FIP Promises Paris is a unique project, a world first for juniors”

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !

On the same subject

Tags