Ease of playing padel tennis reason for its exponential growth, UAE official says
Sport is progressing at a rate of almost 40-50% annually, Saeed Al Marri says
Dubai: The ease of playing padel tennis from day one is the main reason for the sport’s exponential growth worldwide, feels a top UAE padel official.
“I am ex-tennis player and if you have to start enjoying a sport like tennis, then one needs to play and train for a minimum of six-eight months. However, on the contrary, a newcomer to padel will be able to enjoy the sport from day one,” says Saeed Al Marri, General Secretary of the UAE Padel Association. “It is the reason for the sport’s tremendous growth across the world. The game in UAE is growing almost 40-50 per cent annually over the past three years.”
Padel tennis has made rapid strides in the UAE in the last decade after it was first introduced in 2013 at the NAS Ramadan Tournaments at the NAS facility. From that humble beginnings, the game progressed and had around 70 courts three years ago. Now, there are over 350 courts across the UAE with about 85 clubs supporting the game.
The pandemic also played a role in boosting the sport in the country. “During the pandemic, people were looking for new activity to keep them fit. So they started trying out padel, which is played at different levels — social, community and competitive sport,” Saeed said.
The UEA PA is conducting its ranking tournaments, with ranking points on offer.
Ranking tournaments
“We have ranking tournaments conducted in two seasons. First from February to June and then the next from July to December. Players take part in the event as their level of ranking and they will be graded at the end of each season,” Saeed added.
Who are qualified to play in these tournaments?
“All the residents of UAE from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah. Only requirement is that they should be a resident for a minimum of three months,” he clarified.
Talking about taking the game forward, Saeed said for the game to be successful worldwide, they have to go one step at a time. “First we have to look at GCC, then Middle East and then Asia. We are helping GCC Federations to establish a good benchmark for a good start before we go to the next stage,” Saeed explained on the federation’s plans.
