There’s a new game in town called padel (pronounced paddle), and it’s got a vibe that’s hard to resist. Padel is played on a court similar to a mini tennis and squash hybrid court enclosed with glass walls and metallic mesh. It’s always played in doubles, and the ball can bounce off those walls, adding a twist to the game. Plus, it’s often played outdoors. Padel has a cool backstory. It was invented back in 1969 by a guy named Enrique Corcuera in Mexico. He decided to spice up his squash court with some elements of platform tennis, and from that—padel was born. In the '70s, the sport exploded in popularity over to Spain and now, you can find padel courts all over Spain, Mexico, Argentina, the UK and the United States.

AFTER AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SPORT, PLAYERS OFTEN BECOME HOOKED ON PADEL.
What makes padel so appealing? It’s the perfect mix of athleticism, strategy and like its cousin, pickleball, it creates an enticing social atmosphere. The smaller court makes it more accessible for beginners, but don’t be fooled—it can still challenge even the most accomplished athletes. Seasoned tennis players definitely have an advantage in picking up and mastering the sport. Heath Turpin, a local tennis pro, has been at the forefront of bringing the sport to the United States and was the first person to place courts in Sarasota. Turpin runs Anytime Padel at the Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota, where he offers lessons and court rentals for the sport that he describes as “incredibly fun, easy to learn and difficult to master.”

“The growth of padel has been huge worldwide, but very slow locally,” he says. “It’s definitely up and coming but due to the high cost of installing courts and playing, and the lack of awareness of the sport, it’s definitely been slower than we’d like.” Turpin has been working hard to try and bring courts to public parks in our area which will definitely help to make it more accessible and grow in popularity. If you’re itching to give it a try, here are some quick rules to get you going. To start, who serves first? That’s decided by a simple draw. When you serve, you bounce the ball on the ground and hit it diagonally into the service box. You must hit the ball at or below waist level. As for scoring, it’s pretty similar to tennis: 15, 30, 40 then game. Just like in tennis, if you hit 40-40, that’s a deuce. The court itself is about a third the size of a tennis court, with nets, mesh cages and walls that balls can bounce off of during play.
There are around 30,000 courts worldwide, some of which, including Anytime Padel and The Pad Sarasota which opened near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in late July of 2024, are right here in our neighborhood. So grab a racket and get ready to jump into the exciting world of padel. You might just find your new favorite sport.
To learn more about Anytime Padel visit: anytimepadelusa.com