Padel is like pickleball on steroids, inside a steel and glass cage… and now I can’t get enough!
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — I’d never even heard of the sport of “Padel”… now I may be hooked! When I first stepped into “The King of Padel,” I thought what in the world. Four men were inside this steel and plexiglass cage, hitting what looked like a tennis ball at each other as fast as they could.
I stood there and watched, trying to understand how it is played and found myself chomping at the bit to get in there. “So it’s a combination of tennis, squash, racket ball all combined into one…even pickleball probably, but super fun and addictive!” That’s what co-owner Aaron Bravo-Kirwan says about it.
Bravo-Kirwan and Mario Escobar have brought the game from San Diego, California…where they have another facility. Kirwan says, “Spain is the biggest one right now, Argentina, South America, Mexico, the middle east, Asia, everybody is having a boon with Padel.”
From the crowd that was there at 9:00 o’clock in the morning, it looks like its going to be a big hit. As soon as Kirwan, Escobar and their opponents finished their match, it was my turn to get on the court. It’s the same scoring system as tennis, with similar rules… but the glass walls on the cage can come into play and be sued to continue play.
This is without a doubt the most fun, new game I have played in a long time. It can be incredibly fast too. You have to have quick reflexes, and quick thoughts, because there is a lot of strategy that goes with the game as well. And, it can be quite a workout too. We only played one set, three games… and was sweating a lot!
This game will bring out the competative nature in anyone. If you’ve played any racket sports at all, it’s easy to pick up. You can joins the club or just walk in off the streets and play. membership gets you big discounts though. They also have Pickleball, golf simulators, a workout gym, and are building a restaurant and sports bar.
If you’d like to check out “The King of Padel,” just click on this link.