One of the sports that has had the greatest growth in recent years is paddle tennis, which has become a real trend among different audiences. From the youngest children to the adults have become lovers of this racket sport.
But do you know where paddle tennis is from? Do you know the history of paddle tennis? If the answer is no, then you are in the right place! Here we will tell you about the origin of paddle tennis so that you can better understand this sport and enjoy it to the fullest.
The origin of paddle tennis
There is a lot of talk about where paddle tennis comes from as there are different histories and possible origins. Whether its origin is in Europe, whether it was in Latin America that this sport emerged or whether it is simply a variation of tennis. This makes tracing its origin a bit complex.
At present, there are two stories that are considered to be the most likely origin of paddle tennis. The first history of paddle tennis is located in the coastal and tourist city of Acapulco, on the Mexican Pacific coast, with the businessman Enrique Corcuera as the protagonist in 1898.
According to historians, Henry decided to build a smaller tennis court so that his children could play, and he surrounded it with walls so that the ball would not fly everywhere. I would baptize this version of short tennis as Padel Tennis.
The second story also takes us to Acapulco, Mexico, but in 1969 with Spanish businessman Alfonso de Hohenlohe. This entrepreneur had the idea of creating a new version of tennis to share this activity with his friends in a luxurious sports club on the beach.
For this, he was inspired by sports such as Basque pelota, tennis and squash, creating the style of play, the rules and, of course, the court. In fact, it is said that the first paddle tennis court was built inside the Hilton Hotel in Acapulco where it began to gain popularity among guests.
In both cases, we can see that where the paddle is from is the same place, Mexico, and even the same city, Acapulco, with businessmen as protagonists. In addition, the history of paddle tennis began to grow with the tourist boom of this city, its bays and beaches.
There is no clear origin of padel
Although it is believed that the origin of paddle tennis is in the coastal city of Acapulco, Mexico, it is not completely clear and certain where it originated. Some even believe that Mexico City is the birthplace of the sport.
That is why it is not always possible to answer where the paddle is from, because while some will tell you that it was in Acapulco, others will answer that it was in Mexico City and others that it was in another country or on another continent.
What we can say is that the history of paddle tennis had an accelerated growth because wherever it emerged from, it quickly moved to other countries. In Europe, for example, we have Spain as one of the main cradles of European padel, being the gateway to the new world due to its proximity to Mexico.
Once paddle tennis arrived in Spain, its history began to take shape, becoming a very popular sport among young and old alike. But that was not all, in addition to Spain, other European and American countries adopted paddle tennis as their new hobby, even reaching Asia.
Trajectory of paddle tennis in Spain
As we already told you, it is believed that Mexico is where paddle tennis was born in the late 60s. After its rapid popularity among locals and tourists, paddle tennis arrived in Spain in the early 1970s, specifically, in the Costa del Sol region. In fact, there are records that the first paddle tennis club in Spain was founded in 1974.
As soon as paddle tennis arrived in Spain, it did nothing but grow. During the 90’s, according to the history of paddle tennis in Spain, the number of players reached thousands, as well as the number of clubs and tournaments grew.
Its expansion was marked by the appearance of leagues and international competitions, and paddle tennis spread from Spain to the rest of the continent. This is how we can define the origin of paddle tennis in Spain and Europe.
Nowadays, paddle tennis is considered one of the sports with the largest number of players in Spain, since the number of paddle tennis lovers is counted by thousands. In addition, there are hundreds of clubs throughout the country, from the smallest to the largest professional clubs.
Padel in a few years
Although it is difficult to predict what will happen with padel in a few years, we are sure of one thing: it will continue to grow. If we see where paddle tennis comes from and how it has reached other countries, we can understand that paddle tennis will only expand even more.
Countries such as those in Asia, still do not have a great paddle culture so it is logical to think that this market will be one of the next to conquer. Similarly, Latin American countries and the United States may be other destinations for paddle tennis.
As the history of paddle tennis has shown us, as the number of countries where this sport is known grows, the number of players and competitions will also grow. This will make your relevance more and more important and therefore attract more attention. If we add to this expansion the arrival of new technologies that will allow for more precise, durable and lighter paddle blades, as well as better playing experiences, we can see that paddle has great potential to become relevant. And who knows, maybe in a few years it will even become an Olympic sport.
You may be interested in our article on what is paddle tennis.
