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It is well known that padel continues to grow rapidly around the world. In 2015, Padel can be played in more than 25 countries. Numerous efforts and initiatives are made by different private parties to continue the expansion of the sport.
Roland Garros featured Padel in 2015
France is one of the countries were padel is growing fast this year. However, after several years of conflicts withing the french padel federation, not much was happening. Luckily, the French Tennis Federation took over the sport to give structure to the sport. This happened in agreement with the International Padel Federation. Consequently, this year the French Tennis Federation decided to give new impulse to Padel in France by featuring it in Roland Garros. This marks the first time that Padel is featured in a Grand Slam Tennis Tournament.
The setting is ideal. They created a sports plaza with one court, where people can see how padel is played. Additionally, people can take lessons and participate in clinics.
The Role of Henri Leconte
Henri Leconte is perhaps one of today’s most charismatic legends in the world of tennis. At first sight, he looks like the ideal ambassador for padel. He is talented and passionate about padel, however, not a great padel player. Anyways, the story tells that he is in love with Padel, and through a private company that licensed his name, padel courts “Henri Leconte” are available in the French market.
Reactions from the Tennis World
This is the question that always arises from the tennis world: is Padel a threat to tennis? Is Padel a form of Tennis?
Padel is a form of a racket sport, which includes table-tennis, squash, tennis, badminton, racquetball, platform-tennis, paddle-tennis, beach-tennis, etc. All of them sharing the same direct or indirect origins in the 13th century “jeu de paume” and later the so called “real tennis” or “royal tennis”. Thus, the question remains, is padel bleeding tennis? Let’s say, it depends. Padel, as a well used “product” can bring new life to a tennis sports organization and offers many opportunities to reach out to segments of individuals currently not interested in tennis.
To give another response, lets answer with another question: did squash, badminton, racquetball, platform tennis, squash or any other form of racket sport hurt tennis?
Perhaps the definite answer is in the hands of the French Tennis Federation, who decided to feature Padel in one of the greatest tennis tournaments in the world: Roland Garros.
