Padel originally comes from Spain, from where it spread worldwide and has now been very popular in Switzerland for a few years now. The trend continues to increase and is resulting in more and more venues being opened. Tennis players are also increasingly using these new facilities and trying their hand at padel. This is partly because free tennis courts are rare in the winter months.
Our Radio Pilatus morning show duo has also tried their hand at padel:
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Those: PilatusToday / David Migliazza
It’s no secret that it is very difficult to reserve a tennis court during normal times, especially in winter. Markus Rüedi from the tennis school “la vien en tennis ag” also confirmed this when asked by PilatusToday: “Between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. we are at full capacity, so it is difficult to get free places.”
Racket sports are generally popular
Tennis players in particular who want to spontaneously book a court in the evening are left behind. However, Rüedi is not afraid that these players of all people will switch to the increasingly popular padel: “Padel tennis is another way to practice a tennis-related sport. We’re glad that ‘tennis’ is so talked about. At the moment we are not seeing a decrease in requests for tennis lessons – almost the opposite.”
The situation is similar with “Sports Zugerland”. In addition to tennis, squash and badminton are also offered there. The places for all sports are often booked. Squash and badminton are used very frequently all year round, while tennis is extremely busy, especially in winter. It is therefore fitting that another racket sport, padel, is emerging.
Of course, managing director Richard Greenaway has not missed the hype surrounding padel. “We constantly monitor the sports market. In countries like Sweden, Spain and Italy it is clear that padel has already caught up with tennis and has perhaps already overtaken it,” said the managing director in an interview with PilatusToday. There are also repeated inquiries as to whether padel can be played here. Until now this was not possible.
“We are currently in the process of building two padel courts,” says Greenaway. These will be in addition to the existing offering and, if everything goes according to plan, will be opened on the roof of the badminton and squash hall this summer.
Fast learning effect
Several padel courts have opened in Central Switzerland in recent years. The demand for such offers is constantly increasing.
For example, a new padel facility opened at FC Luzern’s old Lumag stand in April 2023: