In 2020, with the end of confinement and after overcoming the first wave of the pandemic, it was possible to return to "the new normal" with less severe restrictive measures. And among the many things that citizens wanted to recover in their lives was sport. What not everyone expected is that paddle tennis would benefit from this situation, and although many centers had to close, those that endured have suffered a collapse of reserves after permission from the autonomies for the practice of collective sport .
Of in 2019 our sport surpassed for the first time the tennis in federative records, according to data from the Higher Sports Council (CSD), added 75,818 licenses in 2019, 4,727 more than the racket sport par excellence. Something to highlight without a doubt, because paddle tennis is a sport still in its infancy compared to the centuries-old tradition that tennis has, as well as many other sports practiced worldwide.
In the last decade, the federative records rose by 283%, propitiated by the ease and accessibility of the game itself, which manages to amuse the most neophytes, hook them easily and achieve rapid progress. Many ex-practitioners of other more demanding sports end up in paddle tennis, because they can once again feel that competitiveness that once motivated them, but that over the years (resigned) they have had to put aside. In addition, the social nature of this sport means that entire families end up playing, including the ease of competing in tournaments or leagues, and of course we do not forget possibly the most important thing, the post-match beers.
Padel is a sport that is also very integrated among the female public, being 32% of the total of the federative records. And if it was not enough at a professional level we dominate Similarly, the 3 best male players in the world and the 12 women who dominate the world ranking are Spanish.
After the first and hard blow of covid-19, paddle tennis was one of the few sports that came out almost unscathed (although many clubs closed down during the quarantine and subsequent restrictions) as the number of federated players remained stable with 75,548, only 270 less than in 2019. In women's soccer, for example, another sport that stopped its activity due to the pandemic, the annual decrease was enormous, from 52,653 chips to 33,138 (a drop of 37%), according to data from the Royal Spanish Federation soccer. In the words of Ramón Morcillo, president of the FEP, padel: "It has been associated with a safe sport: a track 10 meters wide by 20 long with four people practically without the possibility of touching. With the restrictive closures for non-federated sports, in many communities there has been an opposite effect, an increase in licenses.” Thanks to being associated as a safe sport, many have started in the most amateur padel and are experiencing their first steps in this world. For those who are starting and want to use the best material, here we leave you the best padel rackets of 2021.
With all this mishmash of laws and decrees every week on restrictions that affect different groups, and that some communities accept and others do not, in the end it has been difficult to practice sport safely. Of course, paddle tennis was affected when the restrictions were more demanding, since only federated athletes were allowed to play. So, cast the law, made the trap. The federative card worked in many communities as a safe conduct. Two examples of these regions are Galicia and Andalusia, where the tokens rose by 14% and 28%, respectively, in 2020. Without it, the players who went to the clubs risked receiving a fine if they were stopped and had no justification. Nonsense because if the sport was safe it was the same for everyone, those who pay their fee to the federation and those who don't. But as happens in many other areas of our country, we will not seek any other explanation than a simple collection effort.