Tennis’s trendy sister: Padel

Padel is the new vibe — call it Mzansi’s fastest growing sports or tennis’s trendy stepsister. And it’s not just Mzansi — the whole world is obsessed, and it’s now a feature at all kinds of celebrations, gatherings, brunches, and team-building events.

The fast-paced game has become the go-to theme for everything under the sun, including mimosas with the girls.

Like the classics, tennis and squash, padel exudes an “old-money” aesthetic that the social-media kids crave. After all, we all wanted to look like Zendaya in Luca Guadagnino’s trippy tennis drama Challengers last year.

The sporty and minimalist wardrobe of the film created by Loewe and JW Anderson designer Jonathan Anderson had the fashion world going gaga for understated “tenniscore” silhouettes and colourways.

“Padel is like a mixture between tennis and squash. It has been played in Spain and Argentina since the 1980s/1970s but has been in South Africa for only about three years,” says padel coach Ethan Meyer, who has been playing since 2023.

“The serving lines and net are inspired by tennis, while the glass at the back and front of the court and walls, which can be used to bounce the ball off of, is derived from squash. The scoring is exactly the same as tennis.” Unlike tennis, however, padel can only be played as doubles, bringing the social aspect everyone loves.

“I remember watching people playing padel at the German Country Club a few years ago and on the one court there were very high-level players,” adds padel coach Sasha Martinengo.

“And two courts away were four ladies who you could see had probably never played tennis, squash or badminton; they could hardly even hold the racket properly. However, they were hitting the ball, laughing, and having so much fun.” Like any sport or fitness trend, aside from the social aspect, the health benefits and the impact of consistently showing up on the court are major.

“There is a strength benefit to it in terms of activating your core and your lower body because of all the sideways and forward running movements. There is also a lot of bending down,” Meyers explains. “It’s almost like high-intensity interval training but without the weights.”

Meyers adds that it can be especially beneficial for the elderly. Some upper-body strength is also a key benefit, as the padel racket is heavier than you would expect. “One of my clients who had had a couple of lessons lost over 5kg in six months just from padel. He was training four times a week,” says Meyer.

Apart from the physical and social aspect, padel, like tennis, is a mental game in which the player should not overthink — getting out of your mind is the only way to conquer.

“The mental side of this game is phenomenal. Because it is a doubles game, you have to trust your partner and understand that both of you are going to make mistakes, but when you make those mistakes, you have to get over them immediately because the game is so fast,” Meyers says. Although the sport has a number of benefits, it doesn’t come cheap.

“Padel is an expensive sport, mainly because it’s still new. The venue and courts have to charge a certain amount [to cover the] building [expenses],” explains Meyer. “The other thing that makes it quite expensive — especially if you are taking it seriously — is the racket, which ranges from R900-R1 000.”

Meyer advises investing in proper padel shoes before forking out a grand on a racket, as the surface often needs a particular type of shoe for competing. “Your shoes need to have the correct grooves at the bottom — you can’t play with too much of a flat-footed sole if you want to take it seriously.”

Getting a coach like Meyer or Martinengo is the next step if you are trying to take the sport seriously or level up. If you are looking to train with a coach, you should budget anything from R600-R800 per session.