Padel, One Of The World’s Fastest Growing Sports, Has Arrived In New Zealand

Padel New Zealand is delighted to announce that padel, one of the world’s fastest growing sports with millions of players worldwide, has arrived in New Zealand and can now be enjoyed by all Kiwis.

Riverside Sports in Auckland will be the first club to have a padel in New Zealand with its first court due to open October 28th.

It is estimated that padel is played by over 25 million people in more than 90 countries around the world, yet many Kiwis have never heard of it. Until now.

Highly social, loads of fun and a great workout, padel is an amazing way to meet people and stay in shape.

The padel court

Padel combines all the best elements of tennis and squash in an enclosed space that is slightly smaller than a regular tennis court. The court enclosure is made of 3-meter-high tempered glass panels at the back walls and steel mesh fencing on the sides. The balls can bounce off the walls allowing for longer exciting rallies.

Most commonly, padel is played in doubles. The goal of the game is to win 2 out of 3 sets to win the match. A set consists of 6 games and the scoring is the same as in tennis: 15, 30, 40, and game.

Padel is a great sport for players of all ages and skills, as it is easy to learn and instantly enjoyable, but still challenging enough to make you want to keep coming back! Most players get the grasp of it within the first twenty minutes of playing.

Padel equipment

The racquets used in padel differ substantially from tennis rackets. Padel racquets are made from composite materials with a perforated surface that is ergonomically designed to allow for airflow. Because the racquet is much shorter than a tennis racket, it is much easier to control. The balls are similar to tennis balls but are slightly smaller and less pressurised, which makes the bounce of the ball ever so slightly less than that of a tennis ball – slowing the game down a little, thus making it easier to play.

Padel was invented in Mexico in 1969 by Enrique Corcuera who set up the first ever padel court at his home as he didn’t have space for a tennis court. Padel has been played in Latin America for a long time but has really exploded in popularity over the past few years in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

In Spain, with a whopping 20,000 padel courts and 6 million players, padel is now the second most popular national sport after football.

In Italy, the number of padel courts has increased fivefold and padel schools and clubs have tripled.

In Sweden, with a population twice of New Zealand’s, more than half a million people are now playing padel on close to 4000 courts.

15,000 new padel courts were registered in Europe in 2021. In several European countries more people are now playing padel than tennis.

Across the ditch, in Australia, padel was established in 2016 and they currently have 40 courts and expecting a large YOY growth in the next 3 years - to 100 courts in 2025 and 200 in 2026, as interest has really picked up.

Once courts have been established in New Zealand, Padel New Zealand will run national tournaments and assist in setting up international tournaments in collaboration with the International Padel Federation (FIP) and even hoping to send some Kiwis to the Olympics (yes, padel may be in the Olympics 2032!).

Statement from Neville, Neville Pegg, Director of Tennis and Club Development at Riverside Sports, Mt Wellington:

“I have been involved in most aspects of tennis for 60 years and have worked in many parts of the world.

I was introduced to padel 4 years ago in Spain and started a modified form of padel at Riverside when I got back. This brought in many new members to Riverside which keeps the club financially viable, and we believe having padel will take us to the next level.

It has become obvious that regular tennis needs to adapt to survive and grow.

Padel is a great sport for players of all ages and skills as it is both quick and easy to pick up.

We will now be the first club in New Zealand to launch padel and we are very excited to embark on this journey.”

Statement from Wictoria Markula, President at Padel New Zealand:

“We are elated to have the first padel court in Aotearoa opening in some weeks, with many others to follow in the coming years.

The federation will continue our hard work to grow and promote the sport across the country. We want all Kiwis to be able enjoy the sport.

The first court is a real milestone, and we look forward to watching our sport continue to thrive and grow.”

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