It is widely known that His Highness, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum loves to stay active through sports. One sport he enjoys in particular is padel and regularly plays at his Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.
What is Padel?
Originating in Acapulco, Mexico, padel is best described as being a fusion of tennis, squash and ping-pong. It is played on a smaller court than tennis, the balls are similar but the rackets or ‘paddles’ are completely solid and not strung. Padel games have the added bonus of being able to bounce the ball off the walls on the side of the court much like in a game of squash.
Padel is typically played in doubles and requires team co-ordination unlike the typical one-on-one matches played in tennis, squash, and ping pong.
The game is played in over 73 countries by an estimated eight million players and is considered to be the fastest-growing sport in the world. There have been official talks that it could become an Olympic sport.
Sheikh Hamdan had his own courts built
Sheikh Hamdan ordered two 20×10 courts to be constructed at his private sports and training facility back in 2013 and since then, padel has grown in popularity in the UAE due to being associated with him.
Padel quickly gained recognition in the region which led the UAE Sports Ministry to officially recognise it as a sport with the full support of the government in 2019.
A UAE Padel Association was formed consisting of six members making up the Board of Directors and Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum becoming its President.
Currently, there are over 400 padel courts in the UAE and over 5000 players between the ages of 12-50 actively participating in the sport. Making it accessible to players of all ages.
“The sport has grown drastically in the UAE, compared to other sports, it is the second most played sport in the country after football.” Says Eisa Al Marzooqi, Board Member of the UAE Padel Association.
UAE resident, Karim said that as a child, he was inspired by Sheikh Hamdan to engage in many different sports growing up. Now approaching the age of 50, Karim regularly plays padel which makes him reminisce about his childhood when he dreamt of becoming a tennis player but could not due to various reasons. He was drawn to padel because of its similarity to tennis and the squash and table tennis games he would play with his friends on most weekends.
The game is easy to learn
According to Marzooqi, it doesn’t take long to learn how to play padel and being a social sport, it encourages people to get out of their comfort zones.
“It’s a ‘quick-to-learn’ game for males and females; even children and elders can play padel. It helps individuals to socialise and get out of their comfort zones as no other sport does. It’s a very social sport and is a lot of fun.”
“Irrespective of playing ability or gender, it’s a game that gets you to move around a lot but does not necessarily tire you out. I’ve even seen players that have never played a racquet sport pick up the game very quickly. It’s that simple.”
Sporting icons play padel
While the sport has blown up in the UAE thanks to Sheikh Hamdan, internationally it has also been played by football legend David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Lionel Messi, Gerald Pique, Zinendine Zidane, and Iker Casillas. Even Brazilian star Neymar supposedly has two padel courts in his home.
If you’re interested in learning more about the sport such as how to play, you can book lessons at Padel Pro here.