PADEL

Smash hits

A new club on The Palm serves up an exciting new sport to Dubai

One of Europe’s fastest growing grassroots sports, Padel is easy to play, fun and sociable – and now you can give it a go at Smash Padel and Fitness Club.

The new fitness facility on the Golden Mile on Palm Jumeirah has three worldclass padel courts as well as an indoor and outdoor gym – more on that next issue. But what exactly is padel and how is it difference to tennis?

01

Padel rules are similar to tennis - but you serve underarm

In padel, scoring is the same as tennis but there are many differences between the sports. A padel court has walls, so shots can be played off them, like in squash. Also, unlike tennis, when a ball is served it must bounce once on the floor then be hit from below, or at, waist height.

02

Padel is mainly played in doubles

Padel courts are designed for four players and are roughly 25 per cent smaller than the size of a tennis court.

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03

Padel balls are smaller than tennis balls

On first glance padel and tennis balls are almost identical but there’s a big difference. Padel balls have less pressure so do not bounce as much as tennis balls, and they’re slightly smaller.

04

Padel is played with ‘bats’ instead of ‘rackets’.

Padel bats are stringless and are shorter than tennis rackets.

05

A 90-minute session costs Dhs95 during peak hours (weekends and from 4.40pm onwards on weekdays).

Off-peak hours costs Dhs65. Keen padel tennis enthusiasts can purchase bulk packages. Ten 90-minute sessions costs Dhs900, 20 sessions costs Dhs1,600 and 30 sessions is Dhs2,100.