Pickleball is out, padel is in with athletes like Messi, Beckham, Williams
The fast-paced racquet game, a cross between tennis and squash, is played by some of the world’s most high-profile athletes, including Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Dwyane Wade and Miami Heat shooting guard Jimmy Butler as well as wealthy types like Ivanka Trump.
A global phenomenon, with more than over 25 million people who play around the world, padel is the fastest growing sport in Europe and South America. World Cup champion Messi is so obsessed with the game that he had a court (called a pitch, just like in soccer) built at his home in Barcelona.
But it’s tennis players who really seem to be rallying around the sport. Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic have all tried their hand at padel. Two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray and his brother, Jamie, have invested in Game4Padel, a company that builds padel courts in England.
Miami resident David Beckham is known to play the sport, which is a cross between tennis and squash.Premier Padel
Another former tennis player, billionaire businessman Wayne Boich, has become an evangelist for the sport. When the coal entrepreneur was building his Miami Beach waterfront mansion in 2014, he erected a padel pitch in lieu of the originally planned tennis court.
Often the scene of glitzy, star-studded parties — Boich recently hosted Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kylie Jenner during Art Basel — the 15,000-square-foot home has becomes an exclusive clubhouse for padel players.
Serena Williams has also given it a try.Proam Padel/ Facebook
On January 1, Ivanka Trump was spotted at Boich’s house in full tennis attire, ready to hit with the padel pros who are always on call.
“It’s been really rewarding to introduce so many people to padel,” Boich told the Post. “These events, pop-ups and exhibitions at my home have brought out such a wide range of people in age and socioeconomic backgrounds, and, yes, even professional athletes, actors and actresses. The high-profile names that come here feel comfortable hanging out, being part of the group and having fun with people they may or may not meet otherwise. It’s great to see so many of them have really taken to the sport, particularly recently.”
Tennis champ Andy Murray has invested in a company that builds padel courts in the UK.Getty Images for Game4Padel
The CEO of Boich Investment Group first encountered padel 10 years ago during a trip to Europe and, like so many former tennis players, fell in love with the game. In 2022, he created the Blockchain.com World Padel Tour Miami Open. The six-day tournament featured thrilling matches, entertainment by Wyclef Jean and Gianluca Vacchi, and food and drinks from Major Food Group (the restaurateurs behind Carbone and ZZs). Among the famous fans in attendance were Ludacris, Jimmy Buffett, Alonzo Mourning and rapper Rick Ross.
Not surprisingly, Miami has become the hub for all things padel. The Ritz-Carlton on Key Biscayne boasts three pitches, while the Wynwood Padel Club is a buzzy spot where realtors, moguls and models network in between matches. And the new Pro Padel League recently announced its Miami franchise team, which financier Ronnie Strasser purchased.
Billionaire businessman Wayne Boich has become an evangelist for padel, even hosting a star-studded six-day event in Miami.Courtesy of Omar Vega
Boich scrapped plans to build a tennis court at his Miami Beach mansion and instead put in a padel pitch.Google Maps
“There’s a social element and special feel to padel that I never experienced while playing tennis,” Boich said of the sport’s sudden rise. “Padel feels more intimate than tennis for both the players and the spectators. It’s partly the smaller court and partly the glass [that surrounds the court and off which players can bounce the ball].”
That intimacy is what the “inventor” of padel was going for. In 1969, Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera accidentally created padel at his vacation home in Acapulco when he built a tennis court surrounded by walls so that his kids wouldn’t lose their ball. Fast forward five years later, and Corcuera’s friend Alfonso de Hohenlohe exported the concept to Spain at the exclusive Marbella Club. That’s where Argentine entrepreneur
Julio Menditenguia discovered the game and brought it to Argentina. Since then, padel has become especially popular in Spain and Argentina, where it’s second only to soccer in
popularity.
Soccer icon Neymar is also a fan, and regularly plays with the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler.Neymar Jr./ Instagram
Like pickleball, padel requires four players and a smaller court. However, the similarities end, there. Padel is quicker and more intense than pickleball. The racquets are different, and players can play points off the glass, like in squash. Athletes use padel as a conditioning tool because it keeps them on their toes (literally) and allows them to stay in shape during the off-season or after they’ve retired.
Miami Heat star Butler is an avowed padel devotee, who learned the game from his good friend and soccer legend Neymar. The two met during the 2016 Olympics in Rio and remained close. When he’s not hitting with Neymar, Butler can be found getting
physical at Boich’s house.
Butler is, like former NBA pro Wade, a big fan of padel because of the way it complements his basketball skills, he told The Post.Instagram
“Padel complements my basketball skills mentally,” Butler explained. “The sport teaches me to always compete, which translates to basketball the most. Physically, it’s about endurance, ankle stability and change of pace and direction.”
While it’s still early days, padel enthusiasts like Boich and Strasser are convinced that the sport will take off in America very soon.
“We believe that the sky’s the limit for padel,” he said. “The plan now is to drive growth around the country by opening clubs, pop-ups and hosting tournaments to introduce the sport to as many people as possible.”
