Pickleball loses to Messi and Ronaldo's favorite sport

A new racket sport has just been approved for inclusion in the Asiad (Asian Games) competition program, but it is not pickleball.

Padel is the favorite sport of Messi and Ronaldo - Photo: TN

Specifically, it is padel, a sport sometimes confused with pickleball, which is not as famous, but is recognized by the top sports community.

On the afternoon of November 11, the International Padel Federation (FIP) announced a historic step in the global development of this sport: it was officially recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and will be present at the upcoming Asian Games.

The OCA is not the first continental Olympic council to recognise padel. The new racket sport has previously been included in the 2023 European Games (organised by the European Olympic Committee - EOC); the 2022 South American Games (organised by Organización Deportiva Suramericana - ODESUR); and the upcoming 2026 Mediterranean Games.

Dr. Husain AHZ Al-Musallam, Director General and Technical Director of the OCA, shared: “We are delighted to officially welcome padel into the Olympic Council of Asia family.

Padel has shown tremendous growth and energy across the continent, inspiring a new generation of athletes and fans."

According to Mr. Al-Musallam, padel can be included in the competition at the upcoming Asian Games, taking place in Japan in 2026. Padel, with an easy-to-understand Vietnamese name - "cage tennis", is a combination of tennis and squash.

On social networks, there are many pictures of Messi and Ronaldo enthusiastically playing padel. Not only playing, both are also enthusiastically investing in this sport. Messi and his compatriot Sergio Aguero co-own Kru Padel, the famous padel team that won the Hexagon Cup 2025.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo recently acquired the Lisboa Racket Centre, a facility specializing in padel. Not only that, the Portuguese superstar is also rushing to complete a project called "Ciudad del Padel" (Padel City, in Portuguese) with an investment of 5 million USD.

Although not as popular as pickleball, padel is more prominent in terms of exposure to sports stars.

Ronaldo has many projects with padel - Photo: TH

Messi once shared that he loves padel the most outside of football, and believes that this is the perfect complementary sport to playing football.

Padel's OCA recognition is a major blow to pickleball's ambitions. Despite attracting tens of millions of players worldwide, pickleball has so far failed to make it into any major sporting event.

At the 2028 Olympics, although the US is the host, this country still refuses to include its "child" sport in the competition program. Pickleball also has no hope of entering the Asian Games in the next few years because very few Asian countries play this sport.

The number one racket sport after tennis, table tennis and badminton - it's padel, not pickleball.

Padel courts are slightly smaller than tennis courts, and are surrounded by four glass walls. The rules of padel are similar to tennis, with the major difference being that the ball can bounce off the walls, hitting the ground once before the player returns it.

That is the key difference that makes padel "easier to play" than tennis. That is why many famous people have become fans of padel, including football superstars.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/pickleball-bai-tran-truoc-mon-the-thao-yeu-thich-cua-messi-va-ronaldo-20251111180819855.htm