Why do many stars choose to play padel instead of pickleball?

Despite the explosion in the number of players in some countries, pickleball is having to accept a reality - being "ignored" by top sports athletes, and lagging behind padel in developing professionally.

Many stars like Ronaldo choose padel instead of pickleball - Photo: PA

Pickleball lags behind padel

3 days ago, padel took an important step in its journey to the top, when it was selected by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to be included in the competition program of the Asian Games. It is an important milestone that pickleball is still far behind.

Many pickleball fans were shocked and searched for information about padel - a sport with a racket, court size, and net surface very similar to pickleball.

But then, except for tennis players - who switched to pickleball because of the great similarities, and factors related to image and advertising, many top athletes from other sports chose padel as their "complementary sport".

This list includes many big names such as Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski (football), Verstappen (F1 racing), Anthony Joshua (boxing)...

Pickleball loses to padel on two fronts - recognition from major organizations like the OCA (and possibly soon the IOC - International Olympic Committee); and the choice of sports stars. Why is that?

Padel faster, stronger, more professional

First of all, it is necessary to look at the technical and tactical differences between the two sports. Padel is a racquet sport played with doubles (2 vs 2), played on a court of about 20m × 10m, surrounded by glass or a net and a wall that allows the ball to bounce back - meaning players can use the wall like in squash.

Meanwhile, pickleball is played on a smaller court (13.41m × 6.09m) with a solid plastic ball with many holes; many rules are more recreational, some areas do not allow volleying...

From scientific research, analysis of padel shows that at professional level a normal stroke lasts about 10-11 strokes, with an intensity of ~0.80 strokes/second.

Meanwhile, the corresponding number for pickleball is only 5-6 hits, and the intensity is 0.65 hits/second.

In other words, padel requires quick reflexes, double coordination, constant changes of position, use of the wall as a tactical element - something that pickleball has little of.

Second, from a sports science and expert perspective, the study by Courel-Ibáñez et al. in 2019 analyzed the “game momentum” of padel.

This study shows that padel has three distinct tactical “domains” (net, mid-court, backcourt), each requiring different skills: for example, volleys and smashes at the net, lobs and wall control at the backcourt.

Furthermore, a probabilistic model shows that padel match momentum can be described as a simple probabilistic process with two parameters - one controlling the hitting ability and one controlling the attacking ability - showing complexity but also tactical normalization.

Racer Verstappen is also a padel fan - Photo: PA

These findings suggest that padel has more tactical and physical depth than the trademark “light recreation” feel of pickleball.

Obviously, it is no coincidence that Cristiano Ronaldo invested 5.4 million USD to build the Lisbon Racket Centre specializing in padel, and Messi - Aguero also owns a padel team.

Courel-Ibanez's research also shows that padel helps athletes develop neural reflexes, endurance, basic strength and coordination, while pickleball is more suitable for recreational players or beginners who want light exercise.

From a scientific and psychomotor perspective, Dr. Miguel Crespo (ITF International Sports Training Academy) commented: “Padel activates neural reflexes and tactics similar to top-level tennis, but in a smaller space, requiring fast, precise processing and continuous strategic thinking.”

This explains why sports stars turn to padel as a means of maintaining fitness, honing reflexes and competitive spirit, while still providing an element of social fun.

Padel courts are slightly smaller than tennis courts , and are surrounded by four glass walls. Padel rules 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/vi-sao-nhieu-ngoi-sao-chon-choi-padel-thay-vi-pickleball-20251113213053641.htm