From former Bundesliga professionals to world-class athletes: Padel is booming. Find out what makes the sport so special and how you can keep the upper hand tactically.
Anyone who has observed the sports world in recent years cannot ignore one phenomenon: Padel. The dynamic mix of tennis and squash is captivating more and more people. It has long ceased to be just pure leisure fun. Former professional football players like Moritz Leitner, Jonas Hector or Christoph Kramer have discovered the racket for themselves and engage in gripping duels in the glass cage. Leitner, who now spends several hours on the court every day and competes in tournaments of the Deutscher Padel Verband (DPV), emphasises to the Sport-Informations-Dienst (SID) that padel is simply incredibly fun and perfectly satisfies the familiar competitive spirit.
But what makes this sport so special, and how does it differ for people with different physical conditions? A look at the rules and tactics shows how versatile and deep the game on the glass walls is.
The fact that padel is extremely inclusive is shown in padel-fauteuil – wheelchair padel. According to an interview by Padel Magazine with the French top player Dorian Navarro, the game for wheelchair users hardly differs from classic padel. The most important adjustment concerns movement on the court: in padel-fauteuil, a double ball bounce is allowed. Only on the third bounce on the ground is the point lost, whereas in classic padel it is over after the second bounce. This small rule change ensures that the typical, long rallies and the tactical use of the walls are fully preserved.
Anyone who wants to be successful on the court quickly realises that pure muscle power is not enough. Former world number one Martita Ortega explains in an interview with Padel Magazine that although more and more young, extremely powerful players are coming through, the true differentiation at a high level takes place in the head. According to Ortega, mental strength and tactical understanding are the most difficult, but also the most important elements. They can simplify complicated games and make the decisive difference.
How important the right tactics are in high-pressure situations is also shown by an analysis by Padel Magazine of the Paris Major 2026 final. When the top duo Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia were on the verge of defeat, they simplified their game under maximum pressure: they acted faster at the net, played powerful balls directly at the opponents' bodies and thus gave them less time to react. At the same time, their opponents Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto lost their organisation on the court in the hectic rush. This shows: keeping calm, maintaining your own positioning and keeping the game simple and straightforward in decisive moments is often the key to success.
Whether you are just starting out or already playing more ambitiously – there is a lot to learn from the pros. When things get hectic on the court, you often tend to want too much and lose your own structure. Instead, focus on building up the rallies calmly, using the walls cleverly and, in the decisive moment, simplifying the game with precise, controlled shots to the opponents' bodies.
Your takeaway: In tight phases of the game, it is not the hardest shot that wins, but the team that maintains its own structure and keeps the game tactically simple.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.