Yay, our padel special is starting! Dive with us into the trend sport that is currently spreading explosively in all regions of Germany. Together with our padel expert Yannik Mann, we will present you the most important things about padel in three parts. From the equipment, the rules, the technology and tactics to questions about where you can play padel or find out more about court construction.
We are really pleased to have Yannik, one of the leading padel experts, on board our special. Yannik will take you into the world of padel, is available to answer any padel questions and warns you about it today: Beware of the risk of addiction! So let’s get going now!
Before we get started with the basics, we would of course like to introduce you to our padel expert Yannik Mann. So you know who will introduce you to the new trend sport.
Padel is a mix of squash and tennis. You play on a 10 x 20 m court surrounded by walls and grids and with a net in the middle. The walls are included in the game, which makes the game very dynamic. The game is always played in doubles.
Don't be put off by what the professionals do! Padel is a very beginner-friendly sport, suitable for all ages and fitness levels . After a very short time, even with little ball or kickback experience, a game can be played. The learning curve, especially at the beginner level, is very steep and every player's success on the pitch is constantly celebrated. Padel can be played well in mixed doubles and differences in performance are not as noticeable as in other sports. These and many other factors, such as the variety of strokes and the togetherness after sport, make you want more. Padel is simply addictive!
The kickback sport of padel has its roots in the 1960s in Mexico. Entrepreneur and sports lover Enrique Corcuera built the first court with walls in his garden. In themselves, the walls were intended to keep vegetation from overgrowing the space. The game was played with padel-like wooden rackets, which gave the game its name.
Padel spread quickly in South America. In the 1990s there was already a boom in southern Europe, especially in Spain. Central and Northern Europe are lagging a bit behind, but since around 2010 padel has been spreading very quickly across the world. Today, padel is one of the most popular racquet sports.
Padel is still relatively unknown in Germany, but the number of courts and players continues to increase in this country. There are now around 250 padel courts in Germany , over 300 tournaments a year and league operations. You can find out where you can currently play in Germany in the third part of the padel special.
To play padel you need the following equipment: padel court, padel rackets, padel balls, padel shoes and a padel outfit. And then we can get started!
The padel court is 10 m × 20 m in size and consists of artificial turf with quartz sand, glass and grid.
There are different floor coverings. Some have straight plastic straws and are filled with three tons of sand. Other artificial turf fibers are like corkscrews. This is also the artificial turf that the professionals play on. It looks like there is no sand there at all, but that is just deceptive. The grid is 3-4 meters high on the sides and 4 meters high at the back. Doors on both sides of the net allow play to continue outside the cage.
Padel rackets are smaller than tennis rackets. They consist of a foam core, a frame and the faces, which are often made of fiberglass, carbon and graphene. Choosing the right padel racket depends on various factors such as playing style, frequency of play, fitness level, budget and of course design. The construction and manufacture of padel rackets is much more complex than that of tennis rackets. Due to the variety of materials, hole sizes/number and surfaces, there are a few adjustment screws:
Almost all brands produce versions of their racket series for beginners, advanced players and professionals. Beginner rackets generally have a soft core, are round, balanced and weigh around 360 grams. For advanced players there is a slightly heavier model that also has a harder hitting surface and the balance is a little higher.
For the top players who have been at it for a long time and whose arms are well adjusted to the strain, there are very hard, heavy and head-heavy rackets. Not all pros play heavy rackets!
Here is an example from HEAD with the three different models of the EXTREME series. It is important to note that the series as a whole is intended for advanced players. Therefore, another racket recommendation from the Flash series for beginners.
The other HEAD racket series such as Speed, Gravity and Delta also have Motion, Elite and Pro variants for different player levels and preferences.
Most other manufacturers follow the same principle. The models are sometimes given specific names or designations, such as 8K, 12K and 18K Carbon, to distinguish them.
Padel balls have approximately 10% less pressure compared to tennis balls.
This means they have less bounce and enable controlled play. Attention : Old tennis balls are not the same as padel balls!
The game is much more fun when all the balls on the court bounce at the same time. Ideally, use new balls, even if you are only playing friendly games. The players who always train with old balls are initially frightened by the speed in the tournament. Apart from that, you learn other hitting techniques because you have to hit harder when balls are too soft and therefore tend to hit further.
Padel outfits are comfortable and form-fitting. They should be made of breathable materials to wick away moisture.
Padel shoes are specially designed for the requirements. They have good cushioning and offer support and stability on various surfaces. Lots of sand - lots of profile, little sand - less profile. Tennis clay court shoes can also be used - clean - on the padel court, but are more suitable for courts with a lot of sand.
You can rent rackets and balls in most padel facilities. It usually doesn't take long before you're so crazy about padel that you buy your own equipment.
Padel is played in doubles. The game begins with the serve, which comes from below. The ball must hit once behind the service line and hit below waist height. In addition, like in tennis, you start from the dugout side and play the ball diagonally over the net into the opponent's service court. When serving, the ball is out if the ball touches the grid after bouncing in the correct field. After serving, the ball must always hit the ground first before it touches the wall or grid. Of course the ball can also be played volley.
You can hit your own targets to pass the ball to the other side, but not to the net. A point is scored when the ball is played into the opponent's court and the opponent cannot play the ball back. The counting method in padel is identical to the counting method in tennis.
You can find the entire FIP rules and regulations here .
Learn from the best players and coaches in the world with Hello Padel Academy . The Academy was founded in 2013 by former professional padel player Mauri Andrini and now runs academies in Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and of course Germany. Our padel expert Yannik is head coach there. The academies generally offer coaching training, workshops for players, online courses and padel camps.
We have two goodies exclusively for you at the Hello Padel Academy:
You shouldn't miss this!
In parts two and three of our padel special with Yannik Mann you can expect:
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