Padel is growing fast around the world. The number of senior padel players has increased consistently during the last few years. In addition to power houses Argentina, Spain and Brazil, countries such as Sweden, Belgium, The Netherlands, Portugal, France and Italy have been contributing to the growing number of padel fans. But there is more happening in the padel world.
More participating countries to Junior Padel World Championships
Statistics gathered by former Spain’s National Youth Coach, Jon Arino, demonstrate that the number of participating countries to the Youth World Padel Championships continues to increase. Since its first organization in ‘2000, the Junior Championships hosted an average of eight countries. During the 2017 event the number grew to thirteen. For 2019, the number of participating countries spiked to a record eighteen.
More growth Expected due to Investment in Youth
National Federations in new countries are investing in their youth. Consequently, one could expect that the new young padel leaders will attract more kids to the courts that in turn will facilitate an even faster growth rate for the sport in the coming years.
Leading Countries
Classic Padel countries Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Spain are leading the participation chart with twelve appearances in the Junior Padel World Championships, followed by Paraguay and Uruguay with seven. It should not come to a surprise that these countries have been dominating adult padel since its introduction.
New Countries
2019 mark the debut of The Netherlands and Japan to the Junior Padel World Championships in Benicasim, Spain. Thou with partial delegations, Thailand and Poland participate for the first time as well.
The 2019 Junior Padel World Championships
The 2019 Junior Padel World Championships is hosted by Spain. The event is organized by the Valencia Padel Federation in partnership with the International Padel Federation.
The Championship hosts three competitions in one: the Junior Padel World Championship for National Teams, the Junior Padel World Championship for National Couples and the Open World Tournament. Nearly two thousand kids from eighteen countries are inscribed in three categories: Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18. Argentina and Spain are favorites to win all competitions.
[simple-author-box]