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With the World Cup drawing to a close, one of the off-pitch stories of the tournament has been the adoption of sports ‘padel’ by some of the biggest names in soccer.
Padel is the fastest growing racket sport in the world and is becoming increasingly popular among retired soccer players.
The president of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of Premier Padel, the main professional padel circuit, has worked to meet that demand by organizing a daily tournament during the 2022 World Cup with stars like Kaká. , Clarence Seedorf and Brazilian Ronaldo participating.
Several soccer icons competed in the first Padel ‘Legends’ tournament in Qatar. In the photo, football stars (LR: top row: Adlene Guedioura, Marco Materazzi, Christian Vieri, Patrick Kluivert, John Terry, Javier Pastore, Arsene Wenger, Francesco Totti, David Dein – bottom row – Diego Forlan, Robbie Keane, Ronald De Boer, Alessandro Del Piero, Clarence Seedorf, Iker Casillas, Vincent Candela)
And Premier Padel then hosted its first ‘Legends’ tournament at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Lusail, giving several of these stars another chance to get their competitive juices flowing.
Organized by Al-Khelaifi, players from across professional football, sports and business, along with local professional players, participated in a pairs tournament, consisting of 40 players.
Some of the former soccer stars who competed included Ronaldo, Iker Casillas, Diego Forlán, Francesco Totti, John Terry and Gabriel Batistuta.
There were also several high-profile spectators during the tournament, including Arsene Wenger, former Arsenal vice-president David Dein and Kaká, who was not competing in the sport on this occasion, while Danish striker and ITV pundit Nadia Nadim was also in attendance. .
Vincent Candela, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, won the victory together with his teammate Khaled Saldoon by beating Marco Materazzi -another former World Champion with Italy in 2006- and his teammate Mohammed Abdullah, 7-5 in a tiebreaker in the final.
Vincent Candela (centre right) and his partner Khaled Saldoon (R) were victorious over Marco Materazzi (centre left) and his partner Mohammed Abdullah (L) 7-5 in the final
Several soccer stars played in the Legends tournament, including Brazil icon Ronaldo (left)
The tournament was organized by Premier Padel and PSG boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi (R – pictured with world number 2 tennis star Ons Jabeur on the left)
Major tournament sponsors included Rolex, Fifty One East, Reserve Padel and Alo.
Paddle tennis is a hybrid sport of tennis and squash and is enjoyed by more than 25 million people around the world, with David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo being notable devotees of the sport.
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is so enamored that he’s teamed up with Wilson to promote a padel racket bearing his signature, and has installed a track at Liverpool’s training ground.
Al-Khelaifi has been a driving force not only behind this megastar tournament but also in Padel’s growth in his role as President of Premier Padel.
Premier Padel is the only official Padel world tour and it was launched earlier this year, with a competition governed and regulated by the International Padel Federation (FIP).
Padel is played on a 10 meter by 20 meter court surrounded by glass walls and metal fences and is usually played in doubles rather than singles, as is the case with this highly successful tournament.
The enclosed space and the ability to play shots off the glass means the ball is rarely out of play, creating longer rallies, which is the squash-like element of the sport.
The serve is under the arm and the point system is the same as in tennis.
Competition was fiercely contested at the inaugural ‘Legends’ tournament, with Italian legend Francesco Totti (pictured) in action.
Padel tournaments during the World Cup in Qatar have become a who’s who of some of the best football players such as Clarence Seedorf (far left), Patrick Kluivert (second left), Ronaldo (second from right ) and Kaká (extreme right) take the paddle tennis court. earlier in the tournament
The smaller rackets are used for tennis, and players can shoot shots from the glass walls.
The balls used are similar to tennis balls, but the rackets are solid and have no strings.
Padel is bidding to be recognized as an Olympic sport and included in the Olympic Games.
For now, Premier Padel offers international and national competitions, including four top-notch Major tournaments, similar to the Grand Slams in tennis.
Those that take place in Doha, Qatar, Rome, Italy, Paris, France and Monterrey, Mexico.
At least 10 tournaments, including all 4 Majors, are scheduled for 2022 and 2023, increasing to more than 25 annual tournaments by 2024.
Premier Padel can be seen in more than 180 countries around the world, with stations such as beIN SPORTS, ESPN and Sky Sports.