Looking to try your hand at a new sport? Wish you could play tennis but still haven’t perfected your serve? Then you might be interested in a little racket-based activity called padel. 

Chances are that you’ve already stumbled across an IG story of your favourite fitness influencer sporting a bat and visor. Padel has exploded in popularity recently, and it looks like a trend that isn’t going away anytime soon. Fun, sociable and far less technical than tennis, there’s a reason social media has been all over it. But the question remains: what is padel?

Sometimes called padel tennis, padel is a fast-paced racket sport that combines elements of tennis and squash. “It’s played in pairs on a walled court and the racket is essentially a string-less bat, so it differs from tennis and squash in that regard,” explains Sebastian Gordon, founder of Rocket Padel.

Intrigued? Keep reading to learn how to play and how to maximise the health benefits.

Similar to tennis, padel follows a points system of 15, 30, 40, game for scoring. “The serve is performed underhand and must bounce on the server’s side before crossing the net, directed diagonally into the opponent’s service box,” says Gordon.

“After the serve, players allow the ball to bounce once on their side before returning.” The ball, he explains, can contact any part of the court, including the walls, after bouncing. “Points are earned if the opponent fails to return the ball within court boundaries, hits it into the net or out of bounds, or commits a fault like double-hitting.”

While padel shares many rules with tennis, according to Gordon, there are distinct differences between the two sports. “In padel, players have the option of playing the ball off the wall, in a similar way to squash,” he says.

Players within the same team take turns in hitting the ball after the serve, unlike in tennis doubles where the person closest to the ball hits back.

“The padel ball itself is slightly less pressurised and heavier than a tennis ball. Additionally, scoring diverges slightly. A 40-40 tie is called ‘40-all’ in padel rather than the ‘deuce’ in tennis. The subsequent point determines the game’s winner.”

A review into the potential health benefits of padel, published last year, concluded that regular padel practice can improve physical fitness and promote all-round wellness. There aren’t many detailed studies on the specifics of padel’s health benefits, but since it involves similar movement patterns to tennis, we can probably assume the health benefits are alike.

Like tennis, padel is a full-body workout involving continuous movement. It  incorporates running, lateral shifts and rapid directional changes. “This results in an excellent cardiovascular workout that enhances heart and lung health,” says Gordon.

What’s interesting about a sport such as padel is that it involves both the aerobic (endurance) and anaerobic (short, explosive bursts) energy systems – and switches between the two. Research indicates that both types of exercise help to reduce the risk of health conditions including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and dementia. 

Combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise can help to improve cardiovascular fitness as well as speed and strength. “The dynamic range of motion while swinging the padel racquet contributes to improved flexibility and strengthens muscle groups such as the core, legs, and upper body,” says Gordon.

Physical health benefits to one side, playing padel can give your mental health a boost, too. One study, published in June of this year, found that participation in sport of any kind is beneficial for mental and social wellbeing, with team sports providing an additional advantage. 

“The social nature of padel, played in pairs, positively impacts mental wellbeing by fostering social interaction and teamwork,” says Gordon. 

Tempted to give it a go? Unfortunately, you can’t play padel at your local tennis court. However, there are now over 300 padel courts in the UK, with more springing up all the time. “You need to visit one of these if you want to play padel, rather than a tennis court, as the enclosed court enables players to play the ball off the walls – a central rule of the game,” says Gordon. “The court is also smaller, and usually has an astroturf surface.”

Rocket Padel’s flagship UK centre is in Bristol, and is the largest of its kind in the UK. There’s also a pop-up at Battersea Power Station, and a permanent London base might be coming soon, according to Gordon.

Images: Getty