Padel Launch In New Zealand

The massively popular global sport of "Padel" has been launched at Remuera Rackets Club giving Kiwis a taste of one of the fastest growing sports in the world. "Padel" is a sport that combines the elements of tennis and squash and is popular among many (including our favourite F1 drivers). As a joint father-son business, Mark and Walter Todd (working with international brand Game4Padel) aspire for New Zealanders to have easy access to this exciting new sport (which they eventually hope will be featured in the Olympics). Padel is a social sport that is almost always played in doubles and because of the use of the walls and the doubles format, the rallies last a lot longer than other sports. Whether one is doing this sport for fun, fitness or friends – we encourage you to give it a go. No membership is required to play, nor do you have to buy the rackets – Game4Padel NZ will have these on hand at the Club – so there is really nothing stopping you from trying this new game out.

About Padel

The Padel racket is shorter than in other racquet sports, making it easier to handle. The rules are similar to tennis, however, the walls surrounding the padel court allow you to play with one more bounce (hence why padel is described as "the perfect mixture between squash and tennis"). The serve is underarm, allowing players to pick up the basics very quickly. The same scoring as tennis, the ball additionally must first bounce on the ground on the opponent's side before hitting a wall. If the ball bounces twice on the court on your opponent's side, you win the point. Best of 3 sets. One set is up to 6 games. Tie break to 7 points at 6-6 in a set. It is a fun, sociable and very accessible game as players of all ages and abilities will get the basics of the game within the first half an hour of playing. Strategy is more important than power and strength in padel therefore physical abilities do not guarantee a win!

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