I was chatting with my friend Rosemary this morning over coffee. She wanted to know if playing padel was good exercise. Rosemary was of the opinion that because a tennis court is larger than a padel court it means that you will run further on each point. I was of the opinion that the long rallies in padel keep you running for longer. So we took to Google to see who was right.
Is padel good exercise? Padel is a good cardio-vascular exercise that is relatively low impact especially compared to other racket sports. The layout and size of the court promote longer rallies. This means that 75% or more of court time is taken up by active play compared to 25% of court time for beginner tennis players.
A key factor in physical activity being a good exercise for many people is that it must be an activity that you want to do. If there is something that ticks all of the fitness boxes but you never do it because it isn’t enjoyable, then that is hardly going to be a very good form of exercise for you.
Padel Is Fun
A key factor of what makes padel good exercise is the fun factor, even for beginners trying the sport for the first time. Padel requires less intense physical effort than racquetball, squash or tennis. The AstroTurf playing surface Slows the ball after it bounces making it easier to hit the ball.
Having two players on each side of a small court surrounded by walls from which the ball can be played on the rebound ensures longer rallies which is a lot more fun, even for beginners.
Even between points, having two players on each side of the net on a small and enclosed court means that it is way quicker to pick up the ball to start the next point.
When beginners first try the game of tennis as little as 15 minutes out of an hour on the court is taken up by playing rallies. On the other hand, 45 minutes or more out of an hour on a padel court is taken up by active play.
Even at tournament level tennis rallies are often less than 10 shots. Compare that to a match in a padel tournament where most rallies are more than 20 shots. Rallies of 60 shots or more are not uncommon at a professional level in padel.
Padel Is Accessible
I can remember when I was first learning how to play tennis, the service was a complex set of movements that seemed to take ages to get the hang of. My first couple of games of tennis involved me losing my service game over and over without my opponent touching the ball due to countless double faults. That was not very motivating for me.
Switch to padel where the service is underhanded and you bounce the ball before hitting it. This is a much easier type of service to get right. It is also an easier service to return.
That meant that my first ever service point in padel resulted in a nice long (by my beginner standards) rally of around 10 shots. I can’t tell you if I won that point or not. It just felt great not to have my first service game consist of four consecutive double faults.
Because my first points played in padel were rallies of multiple shots I was able to get the hang of hitting the ball quickly and easily. I was also able to improve way faster than I was ever able to in any other racket sport I have ever tried.
One unique aspect of playing padel that I have been able to do more than once is to hit a legal shot on the second try. Let me explain. What happened was that I’d completely miss the ball as it is coming towards me. The ball would then rebound off the back wall much slower, giving me a second chance at hitting the ball within the same point and all completely legal within the rules of padel.
Padel Is Social
Padel is exclusively played as doubles making it the only exclusively team racket sport that I know of. Being a team sport there needs to be constant communication with your teammate on the court.
As a beginner player, I often found that the easiest point to win is playing the ball straight up the dead center of the court rather than playing out wide. Not only is playing the ball up the center of the court much easier but more often than not my opponents would just stand and look at each other, both of them expecting their teammate to hit the ball.
The small court enclosed by walls puts all four players physically much closer to each other. This makes friendly conversation and laughter between points a normal part of a game of padel.
I can certainly attest to this when I was first starting out in padel. Playing wayward shots was by far the norm rather than the exception resulting in amply laughter around the court.
Padel is great for social integration within families too. I have often seen children, parents, and grandparents share a court together.
Padel Is Great For Young And Old
Because of the short-handled relatively lightweight padel rackets, this is a sport that can easily be taken up by kids. I have seen children as young as four enjoying a game of padel. Padel teaches children the valuable lesson of teamwork from a young age.
Padel helps children improve hand-eye coordination, teaches them how angles work as the ball bounces off the walls of the court, as well as the Magnus Effect that causes a spinning ball to curve through the air.
When it comes to the older generation there is an important consideration. How many sports are there where you can team up with your grandchild and play a competitive match?
Padel is a lower impact than sports like tennis, but still provides a range of motion exercise for both upper and lower body. Padel is good mental stimulation too.
More Women Play Padel Than Tennis
A very interesting statistic has emerged recently regarding the massive growth in the number of women who play padel.
While the total number of padel players worldwide has increased by 25% over the past two years, the number of women playing padel has doubled over the same period.
At the amateur level, women represent 30% of the total number of padel players. This is significant when you take into account that female participation in tennis is only 15% of the total.