Padel is a sport that has a short but very intense life. Since its creation, it has not stopped growing at an amazing rate, and it is currently one of the most practiced sports in many countries, and in particular, in Spain and throughout the rest of Europe in constant evolution.
In 1962 we started ....
Padel, or Paddle Concuera, as it was known in its beginnings, has been created in a very practical way. The official date of birth of Padel is 1962 in the residence of Enrique Corcuera in Puerto Acapulco (Mexico). The Mexican had a ball wall game and suddenly decided to install a central net and close it completely with a low wall. See image.
At first this was done for making it more comfortable. In spite of the low wall, the ball was often played on the neighbor’s property, which significantly slowed down the game and made it difficult. As an improvement he decide then to increase the walls, so that the ball was played against the wall and so could be played with much less interruptions, which was particularly fun.
In 1974, his friend Prince Alfonso zu Hohenlohe from Spain was inspired by the enthusiasm of Enrique Corcuera for the new game. In the same year, the Padel was introduced in Spain by Alfonso, who built two places in his hotel Marbella Club. He not only brought it to Spain, but continued to work on details of the rules and the playing field.
At the launch, the first official and recognized “Pro-Am” tournaments were organized. These were sponsored by the brand “Smith & Smith”. This tournament had the special incentive that the participating couples had to be formed by a professional player and a famous person, which greatly promoted growth and popularity in Spain and South America. That’s when the perfect venue for the media emerged.
Personalities such as Enrique Iglésias, Patxi Andion, the Duke of Borbón, Manuel Santana, Guinlla of Bismark or Esparto Santoni and other personalities began playing Padel at the time and this sport was becoming massively popular.
Padel spread in South and Central America with varying degrees of success and also reached the US and Canada. Padel has developed the most in Spain, Argentina and Brazil.
It continues very soon in the next post.
