Padel history. How was Padel created? What is Padel?

Origins of Padel

Padel-Tennis, also known as Padel or Paddle, has its origins in a not-so-popular variant of closed tennis called Platform Tennis. Enrique Corcuera in 1969 decided to adapt his squash court to his home in Acapulco (Mexico) with elements of Platform Tennis creating what he called ‘Paddle Corcuera’. He is considered to be the inventor of the Paddle.

Enrique’s Spanish friend, Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, tried out this new invention at Enrique’s home and immediately fell in love. Immediately afterwards, he decided to create the first two Padel courts at a tennis club in Marbella (Spain), this was 1974. However, Alfonso made some modifications from Enrique’s original designs to make it more competitive, as this is the first of many versions that Padel would have over the next 20 years in Spain.

Meanwhile, in 1975, Julio Menditeguy, an Argentine member of Alfonso’s tennis club in Marbella, felt the same passion and decided to bring the sport to Argentina.

Modern times

From the first courts in Spain, it took almost 25 years for Padel to expand throughout Spain. By the end of the early 21st century, there were more than 500 Padel clubs and many Spanish hotels that had incorporated Padel courts into their operations.

By 2005, Padel was well established in Spain and had more than 1,000 clubs. It was then that the major Padel Associations decided to jointly establish an International Championship played entirely in Spain. This was the beginning of the Padel Pro Tour series, which lasted until 2012.

Especially since 2010, the sport has become increasingly popular all over the world. It is considered by many people to be the fastest growing sport worldwide, as you can read in an article from the British newspaper The Telegraph.

Professional future

In the professional sphere, the World Padel Series was established in 2013 as the most important, prestigious and professional Padel Championships worldwide, replacing the Padel Pro Tour, gathering the Padel elite around the world until now. It is the equivalent of the ATP and WTA for tennis.

This new Championship has included tournaments outside of Spain since 2014 and has made its way to Andorra, Argentina, Monaco, Portugal, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The World Padel Series currently holds an international ranking of the best male and female players. It consists of 15-20 tournaments per year and a final Master Series at the end of each season.