Lionel Messi likes to play padel in his free time with his Inter Miami teammates.
Rafael Nadal was recently seen playing shots off the glass on a padel court at his academy in Spain.
So what’s all the fuss about this other racket sport?
Well, an American audience is about to find out as the Premier Padel tour makes its debut in the U.S. this month with a tournament in Miami.
And it’s not just an exhibition featuring retired tennis players as has been the case with pickleball.
Premier Padel is a worldwide circuit and similarly to the pro tennis tours it features four major tournaments at venues like Roland Garros in Paris and the Foro Italico in Rome.
The Miami tournament is a P1-level event that lies just below the majors in terms of importance — kind of like the Miami Open tennis tournament.
“I am convinced that there will be a before and an after with Premier Padel coming to Miami. Just like in Paris and Rome and everywhere that Premier Padel goes,” Fernando Belasteguín, the recently retired padel standout who is the Miami tournament director, told The Associated Press.
Played in doubles inside a cage that is smaller than a tennis court, padel is a cross between tennis and squash with players allowed to hit the ball off the glass and metallic mesh walls that surround the court.
The tournament will be played March 18-23 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
While this is not the first elite padel event in the U.S., it’s the first since Premier Padel and the World Padel Tour merged to form a single streamlined global tour that started last year.
The World Padel Tour held tournaments in Miami in 2017 and 2022 — ancient history in the rapidly growing world of padel.
The number of padel courts in the U.S. has increased by 186% over the past two years, according to a study by the International Padel Federation, with more than 650 courts spread across 31 states.
“It’s not just year to year, it’s month by month that padel is growing in the U.S,” Belasteguín said.
Florida is a padel hotbed and features nearly half of the nation’s courts.
“The Latin community is the pulsating heart of the sport in Miami,” Belasteguín said. “But every American who gets to know padel stays with it. Because it’s a sport that you fall in love with very quickly. The Latinos brought the sport to the U.S. and now Americans are falling in love with it, too.”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Paula Josemaria, right, talks with teammate Ariana Sanchez, both of Spain, during their match against compatriots Alejandra Alonso De Villa and Andrea Ustero Prieto at the Italy Major Premier Padel tournament in Rome, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
FILE - Spectators watch a match at the Italy Major Premier Padel tournament in Rome, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. A successful debut at the European Games with matches played before enthusiastic crowds in Krakow's central square last month. Record prize money of nearly $1 million at this week's tournament in Rome. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
