The padel boom has also reached Vienna

Padel is originally from Mexico. For lack of space, a smaller tennis court with walls was built in the 1960s – and the sport was more or less coincidentally invented: “Then came to Europe in the 1990s, via Spain. It is also the third most played sport there, and there is currently exponential growth in all countries of the world, ”said Christian Ludwig, Vice President of the Austrian Padel Union.

Around 10,000 people play padel tennis in Austria. In 2014 racket sport came to Vienna through Christof Krenn. He is now one of Austria’s best players: “A year ago we only had four seats outdoors in the Prater, plus two on the Danube Island. We have now doubled to eight places in the Prater. We have the largest facility in Central Europe with nine seats and we are opening the Padeldome Süßenbrunn. “

Parallels to tennis, but also not

There are now eight new seats in the Padeldome Süßenbrunn. The rules are the same as in tennis. In contrast to tennis, the ball is a bit smaller. It can also be played over the wall with padel and the racket is completely different from a tennis racket. Ludwig: “It is made of Efa rubber, depending on the quality, made of carbon on the outside, so that it is also very durable. Because of course there is also extreme pressure on some hits. “

A club costs 60 euros or more. Children from the age of six can also play, but “you can also play into old age. We also have well over 70s. Because there are four of you at the place, you don’t have to move that much, ”says Ludwig. At first glance, padel seems to be easier to learn than tennis. Perhaps this is the reason for the rapid growth into a popular sport – which wants to become Olympic by 2028.