Pickleball has taken India by storm but padel, its lesser known counterpart and the love child of tennis and squash, is also making waves, especially in corporate India and exclusive members-only clubs who now have more options than golf for cardio and camaraderie.
A 55-year-old affair which started in 1969, padel is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and India is not lagging behind given the growing infrastructure and the craze among sports enthusiasts. There are over a 100 courts in the country, and the number is expected to double in 2025.
"Mumbai alone has 50-60 courts. There are also padel courts in Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and I think they're coming up in Chennai, Chandigarh, and a couple of other places as well, including tier 2 cities. So, 200 courts this year is not a big number considering its growing popularity. Indeed, in the next three or four years we may have about a thousand padel courts in the country," said Aditya Khanna, Director, Padel League.
Players point out the fitness benefits of the sport, with some burning over 1,000 calories in a two-hour game.
Padel has replaced other sports for many, including Ankit Agarwal, MD of Sterlite Technologies, who stopped playing badminton after experiencing padel. Ditto with Sushant Goel, Co-Founder of Third Wave Coffee, who replaced his passion for squash with padel.
Padel versus pickleball
It is more expensive to build infrastructure for padel than for pickleball, Khanna said. "If it's an existing tennis court, then you just have to draw lines for a pickleball court, which makes it cheaper. In that case, it will cost about Rs. 1.5 lakh. But building a pickleball court from scratch would cost about Rs 5-6 lakh, while a padel court can cost anywhere between Rs 18-25 lakh. A padel court is at least three to four times more expensive than a pickleball court," Khanna said.
Padel racquets and equipment are also slightly more expensive than pickleball, and the space required is double, he added.
Viewed as a premium sport, padel cost a player about Rs 1,000 for a 30-minute slot, while a 60-minute pickleball slot costs around Rs 700.
"A padel court is blocked on all four sides by a fence or by glass. It's a combination of tennis and squash, where the ball can bounce off the wall, but the scoring system is just like tennis," Khanna explained. The walls add a strategic element to the game as the players need to control the balls bouncing off the walls, making it more strenuous and tactical.
"Padel is only played in a doubles format, whereas in pickleball you have both singles and doubles. Padel has no mixed doubles at this stage. There are only men's and women's doubles in the international forum as well," Khanna said.
Growing interest and infra
Khanna says that besides courts in clubs like Bombay Gymkhana, there are also standalone padel courts. "In Delhi, Vasant Vihar Club has a court and wants to build more. Panchshila Club also has a court, while GD Goenka International School has two. These are the kind of institutions which will either invest themselves, or find partners like me who are into infrastructure development," he added.
Corporate India is not only playing the sport but also investing in it. Last August, Parth Jindal, Founder and Director, JSW Sports, invested in Padel Park India, a company co-founded by Pratik Doshi, Managing Director, LKP Securities. The company operates 11 padel courts in Mumbai and has constructed around 50 for clubs like Willingdon Gymkhana and the National Sports Club of India (NSCI), hotels, resorts, and corporate entities.
With franchise enquiries from cities like Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Surat, and Jaipur, Padel Park sees a lot of potential in smaller towns as well. Building courts in these places is cost-effective due to the lower cost of land, as well as the higher willingness of people to pay for sports experiences.
Such is the perceived prospect of the game in this country, that someone like Alan Healy, an expat working in India, quit his finance career to launch Padel India, a startup building courts.
Khanna says that demand is higher than supply with courts getting filled up as soon as they are available for booking.
In Mumbai, for instance, courts are booked three months in advance. Even regulars at Willingdon Gymkhana and the NSCI find it hard to book a court. ``This shows that even a hundred courts in the country is too little," feels Khanna.
New and nascent
"The sport is at a nascent stage. The whole ecosystem needs to be developed. There are a handful of professional padel players in the country — most Indians play the game recreationally. We need to have more professional players. Our endeavour is to have more than 100 professional sportspersons playing for the country and living off it through coaching, prize money, sponsorships, etc. Only a handful are doing that right now," Khanna said.
He added that pickleball gained popularity in India in around two years, but padel will take three to four years to get there, primarily because of higher infra and other costs.
More opportunities
Much of that popularity will come from tournaments being held in India, and participation of Indian players in international events.
"The CUPRA FIP promotion tour was the first International Padel Federation-recognised tournament held in 2024 (FIP is the global governing body for padel). This was the first time that around 20 Indians got ranked internationally," Khanna explained.
The tournament saw the backing of brands like Boat, Mahindra Finance, Apple, etc. Sports car brand Cupra has been the official sponsor of FIP since 2020.
The prize pool at premier international paddle events goes up to Euro 5,00,000- 7,50,000. "In India, since it is early days yet, the prize pool for international tournaments ranges from 10,000 to 75,000 Euros. For local tournaments it is between Rs 3 to 5 lakh, but can go up to Rs 25 lakh," Khanna added.
He noted that with more tournaments being held in India, the ranking of local players will improve and it will be easier for them to participate in international tournaments.
"We plan to hold three or four international internationally recognised events next year, plus a number of amateur ones and some professional fixtures as well. We are aiming for at least 15 to 25 big events which will help Indian players rank and give them a career path," Khanna added.
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