Dubai: One of the next big things in UAE sport is Padel. The newly-formed UAE Padel Association (UAE PA), led by its president Shaikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum has designs in making it the most popular sport in the country within the next few years. To boost the prominence of Padel, and backed by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the UAE PA will play host to the Dubai Padel Masters – one of five stops on the World Padel Tour (WPT).
The tournament is all set to be held from October 22 to 31 and Vice President of UAE PA Mohammad Al Mutaiwe’e wants to ensure that nothing is left to chance while making this event the biggest in the region, as he relates to Gulf News:
Gulf News: Given the fact that Padel is a comparatively new sport, how would you best describe the state of the sport in the UAE?
Mohammad Al Mutaiwe’e: Padel in the UAE is like an infant at the moment. Any child needs the care and upkeep, and this is precisely why we decided to bring in a high-profile event like the Dubai Padel Masters. We want to make a huge impact by having more than 100 of the finest Padel players from across the world in Dubai for a week. Initially, we had thought about bringing the season-ending finale to Dubai instead of the Masters, but then we thought it best that the finale stays in Madrid.
During a time when new sports are constantly trying to get noticed by the younger generations, what sort of positives do you see Padel bring to the UAE and to the wider Gulf region?
When you are the first to do something, you are automatically in an advantageous position. But along with this advantage comes an underlying responsibility. At the moment we have a blueprint for the development of Padel in the UAE. And now it is our responsibility to share this blueprint with the other countries in the region.
How will the hosting of a WPT Masters event benefit?
We feel organising a Masters event is one of the best introduction to the sport in the UAE and the overall Gulf region. We are here to make a statement through this tournament. And this impression will not be just for the world of Padel, but for the WPT as well. The rest of the world has its own style of organizing events, and then there is the ‘Dubai style’ of doing things. Through the Dubai Padel Masters we intend to once again show the sporting world what Dubai stands for.
What sort of message do you want to give to the people by organising the Dubai Padel Masters?
We are definitely working to make the Dubai Padel Masters a completely different sporting event ever held in the UAE. There are some exquisite tournaments in the world such as the annual Padel tournament held in Monte Carlo or the season-ending finale in Madrid. But here we have set our heart on having something much better than any of these competitions held either in Europe or anywhere else in the world. We will not compromise or lower the bar for organizing the best tournament-ever in the world.
How can Padel take the next step forward?
All this has been worked out as part of the blueprint. We have direct instructions from Shaikh Hamdan to popularize Padel in the UAE. During the course of this tournament, we will be inviting students from various schools to come and attend matches and get a taste of what this new sport is all about. Next will be the actual visits to schools and clubs. Of course, we have also ear-marked some schools that would get a court on two on site so that students can pursue Padel even during school hours. We have big plans to go about our task in the future.
What about tapping talent on a bigger scale that is inclusive of emiratis and expatriates alike?
There is already a proposal of building common training centres in all the emirates starting off with Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Each of these centres will have a minimum of ten Padel courts, and more importantly, the courts will be easily accessible to all. There is a financial implication to this idea, but we have set ourselves a two-year deadline as we have all the backing we need from Shaikh Hamdan.
What’s your advice to the residents of the UAE?
I would urge everyone to come and witness a new sport for themselves. Padel may be hugely popular in some parts of Europe and South America, but we want to make it the best followed sport in the UAE. In addition to daily raffle draws for electronic items, we will be having two Range Rover vehicles that will be raffled off on the last two days of the tournament. The goal is to have people come and attend the matches and engage in a new sport that can prove beneficial for uplifting society.
