Messi and Alcaraz love it, now padel takes step closer to Olympics

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Carlos Alcaraz are all fans of the rapidly growing racquet sport padel, which was featured in its Asian Games debut on Monday. The sport, a blend of tennis and squash played on courts enclosed by glass walls, is played by an estimated 38 million people and is looking to become a major global sport.

At the Asian Games in Nagoya, padel made its Asian Games debut as a medal event, with officials hopeful it could soon make its way to the Olympics. Philippines player Joshea Malazarte expressed delight at the inclusion of the sport, noting that it is popular in Europe but just beginning to take root in her home country. Padel, which originated in Latin America and has seen a surge in popularity over the past decade, is played in 170 countries and territories, with 85,000 courts worldwide.

Despite its relatively unknown status in Japan, the sport has a professional tour circuit and even attracted over 80,000 spectators at a match held at the Roland Garros tennis stadium in Paris recently. International Padel Federation official Donatella Del Gaudio confirmed that the next goal is the Olympics, stating that they are working hard to make it happen soon.

Padel is usually played as a doubles game and uses solid racquets, with the enclosed glass walls allowing players to hit balls off similar to squash.