Unlike Pickleball, Padel is a Legitimate Sport !!!

Which is a better tennis alternative:

  • Total voters
    72
travlerajm

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
Having a reunion weekend in San Diego with my pals from the high school tennis team.

Racquet sports on the menu 8 hours per day (with fish tacos in between).

A few of the guys are pickleball converts. We played 6 hours of pickle yesterday along with an hour of tennis.
My lower back and hamstrings were killing me this morning from squatting at the kitchen line.

Today we tried padel. I immediately felt like home.
The soft carpet surface was easy on the joints. And being free to move like I do on a tennis court liberated my legs and rejuvenated my aching body.

I could poach, close on the net. Serve and volley. Anything goes. The paddle can actually apply decent spin. The ball has enough mass to do some damage. And the wall bounces keep the points extended. It was a totally awesome tennis alternative.

Pickleball isn’t for me. When I become so old and decrepit that my legs can no longer cover a full tennis court, padel is next. No more pickle for me.
 
travlerajm said:
Having a reunion weekend in San Diego with my pals from the high school tennis team.

Racquet sports on the menu 8 hours per day (with fish tacos in between).

A few of the guys are pickleball converts. We played 6 hours of pickle yesterday along with an hour of tennis.
My lower back and hamstrings were killing me this morning from squatting at the kitchen line.

Today we tried padel. I immediately felt like home.
The soft carpet surface was easy on the joints. And being free to move like I do on a tennis court liberated my legs and rejuvenated my aching body.

I could poach, close on the net. Serve and volley. Anything goes. The paddle can actually apply decent spin. The ball has enough mass to do some damage. And the wall bounces keep the points extended. It was a totally awesome tennis alternative.

Pickleball isn’t for me. When I become so old and decrepit that my legs can no longer cover a full tennis court, padel is next. No more pickle for me.
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I am playing tomorrow morning so won't be able to meet you and give you valuable tennis tips.
 
socallefty said:
I’ve seen people who play doubles tennis into their late eighties and early nineties. Why do we need other alternatives if you are a diehard tennis player?
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Less and less people to play with, plenty of free Pickleball courts, no recurring expenses of balls and strings for fixed-income seniors. Tennis cannot compete.
 
sureshs said:
Less and less people to play with, plenty of free Pickleball courts, no recurring expenses of balls and strings for fixed-income seniors. Tennis cannot compete.
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Yesterday we played pickle and tennis at Barnes during the day. Then we played pickle in the evening at the hub.

Today we played padel at king of padel, then padel and clay court tennis at Barnes. The picklers in our group also played pickle today but I declined.
 
travlerajm said:
Yesterday we played pickle and tennis at Barnes during the day. Then we played pickle in the evening at the hub.

Today we played padel at king of padel, then padel and clay court tennis at Barnes. The picklers in our group also played pickle today but I declined.
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A group is playing Pickleball at King of Padel tomorrow (when I will be playing real man tennis) and they have borrowed my paddles
 
kevin qmto said:
Racquetball is the only other racket sport I’d play if I couldn’t play tennis for whatever reason.
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Hate racquetball. The only thing I like about it is that the courts are great for hitting tennis balls against the wall.

Unfortunately racquet is already dead and the courts being converted to Pilates studios and personal training rooms.
 
I think either is fine. I played competitive racquetball in the Southwest before tennis, so I like that option too.

I played pickleball just yesterday with some folks and had a good ol' time.
 
travlerajm said:
Hate racquetball. The only thing I like about it is that the courts are great for hitting tennis balls against the wall.

Unfortunately racquet is already dead and the courts being converted to Pilates studios and personal training rooms.
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I was actually thrown out of a D1 Uni. rec center for doing just that! They claimed that my racket would "harm the walls".......
 
I’ve never played padel but it looks more fun. Ive tried pickle and if doesn’t do anything for me. It’s like bowling or mini golf. I can do it to hangout and unwind but more for the people
 
Roforot said:
I’ve never played padel but it looks more fun. Ive tried pickle and if doesn’t do anything for me. It’s like bowling or mini golf. I can do it to hangout and unwind but more for the people
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No more. Even rec center Pickleball has gotten intensively competitive in the last 2 years since covid. Body smashes and bad line calls are becoming common, as well as snobbish behavior towards newbies.
 
sureshs said:
No more. Even rec center Pickleball has gotten intensively competitive in the last 2 years since covid. Body smashes and bad line calls are becoming common, as well as snobbish behavior towards newbies.
Click to expand...
Barnes had some territorial alphas roving the pickleball challenge court, but more welcoming attitudes in the padel campus. The hub and king of padel were relaxed all around.
 
travlerajm said:
Barnes had some territorial alphas roving the pickleball challenge court, but more welcoming attitudes in the padel campus. The hub and king of padel were relaxed all around.
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LOL so now they have Pickleball challenge courts? How the times they are changing. When I started out 2 years ago, someone loaned me a paddle and begged me to play.
 
sureshs said:
LOL so now they have Pickleball challenge courts? How the times they are changing. When I started out 2 years ago, someone loaned me a paddle and begged me to play.
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Yesterday at Barnes, there was long waiting list for PB open play, and the paddies were stacked double digit deep to get onto the challenge court.

Padel was fully booked all day.

Most of the tennis courts were filled with a coed tourney for university club teams. But my friend and I snuck on and played on one of the Caliclay courts that was open for a couple hours mid day; it was deep soft red powder that had not been watered in long time. The bounces were slow and low.

We played baseline games half court straight ahead because we are not picklers and our legs were still recovering from the trauma of 6h of pickle the previous day.

We played 2h of indoor padel at king of padel this morning. Place was fully booked.
 
We also watched on TV some professional pickle matches taking place over the weekend.

While I appreciate the insane talent of the world class picklers like Ben Johns, it still seems quite unnatural to see him lunging to his right with his spread eagle signstite poach move with both toes inches behind the kitchen line.

Poaching in padel has a more full-body satisfying feeling than poaching in pickle.
 
travlerajm said:
Hopefully the rise of padel can save @ByeByePoly , @MaxTennis , and @sureshs from going irreversibly down the path toward the dark side.
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You know better … if I couldn’t be saved during my tennis years, I certainly can’t be saved during my wiffle years. Trav … I already have played 2 years of wiffle … the shame. For me, it’s not the hamstrings, it is the calves, and some Achilles tendonitis in the past. I only play Monday, Wednesday and Friday (2-3 hour sessions) allowing recovery time.

I do have an answer for @socallefty of why pickleball doubles at 66 vs tennis doubles at 66 (66 for another month :cry: ). The answer is at 66 tennis turns into something pathetic you do not recognize. You can still hit close to your previous level, but court coverage is sad. I was playing tennis singles with a friend 10 years ago, and we looked over at the courts with the 65+ mens league. I told my friend that would not be me, and I was right. Maybe I would be if pickleball didn’t take off. I play pickleball every week against a mix of younger players and seniors (women and men). I continue to crack up at the level of geezer wiffle being played. Grandma can flat wiffle firefight. :-D My wife who had no power on her tennis overhead will put her wiffle overhead right between your legs (they call it through the wickets). Overheads come back a lot … so weird. There is a little bit of tennis fix … drives from baseline, overheads, swinging volleys, passing shots … now topspin lob because paddle spin improved. Firefights at the kitchen is pure fun … dinking not so much. I posted in another thread that pickleball is where the kinetic chain goes to die (also old tennis players). Stupid Stupid Stupid game that is somehow fun and makes me laugh … always look forward to 3 days a week pickleball.

I really miss tennis strings and the rubber ball.
 
travlerajm said:
One thing I dislike about padel. We were sold a can of padel balls for $12, as the pro shop guy claimed it’s different and that we can’t use tennis balls.

As far as I could detect, a pádel ball is simply a pressureless tennis ball.
Click to expand...

The Anatomy of a Ball: Padel vs. Tennis​


When seasoned players of both tennis and padel lay eyes on the balls from afar, the similarities can be so striking that distinguishing them becomes a challenge. However, the devil is in the details.

1. Size Matters: Diameter Distinctions​

  • Tennis Balls: Ranging between 6.54cm and 6.86cm in diameter, tennis balls take the slightly larger cake.

  • Padel Balls: Their diameter lies between 6.35cm and 6.77cm. Interestingly, there’s a narrow overlap in size where some padel balls and tennis balls share the same diameter.

2. Weighty Concerns: Do They Weigh the Same?​

  • Tennis Balls: The International Tennis Federation stipulates their weight to fall between 56g and 59.4g.

  • Padel Balls: Remarkably, they too weigh in the same range as tennis balls.

3. Materials: More Similar Than Different?​

Both tennis and padel balls boast a rubber core wrapped in a fuzzy felt layer. The choice between natural and synthetic fibers for the felt may vary, but since they’re often produced by the same manufacturers within the same facilities, their physical appearance is uncannily similar.

4. Rebound Reality: Bouncing Behaviors​

The bounce or rebound is where you’ll notice a clear difference in playing experience.
  • Tennis Balls: The bounce lies between 135cm (53 inches) and 147cm (58 inches), with some variations for different types of balls.

  • Padel Balls: They typically bounce between 135cm and 145cm.

5. The Pressure Point: What’s Inside?​

Internal pressure serves as the primary distinguishing factor between a padel ball vs. tennis ball. The pressure within a ball affects its behavior during play.
  • Tennis Balls: Adhering to ITF standards, they maintain an internal pressure of 14psi.

  • Padel Balls: These possess a slightly relaxed internal pressure, between 10psi and 11psi, generally skewing toward 11psi for new padel balls.
 
sureshs said:

The Anatomy of a Ball: Padel vs. Tennis​


When seasoned players of both tennis and padel lay eyes on the balls from afar, the similarities can be so striking that distinguishing them becomes a challenge. However, the devil is in the details.

1. Size Matters: Diameter Distinctions​

  • Tennis Balls: Ranging between 6.54cm and 6.86cm in diameter, tennis balls take the slightly larger cake.

  • Padel Balls: Their diameter lies between 6.35cm and 6.77cm. Interestingly, there’s a narrow overlap in size where some padel balls and tennis balls share the same diameter.

2. Weighty Concerns: Do They Weigh the Same?​

  • Tennis Balls: The International Tennis Federation stipulates their weight to fall between 56g and 59.4g.

  • Padel Balls: Remarkably, they too weigh in the same range as tennis balls.

3. Materials: More Similar Than Different?​

Both tennis and padel balls boast a rubber core wrapped in a fuzzy felt layer. The choice between natural and synthetic fibers for the felt may vary, but since they’re often produced by the same manufacturers within the same facilities, their physical appearance is uncannily similar.

4. Rebound Reality: Bouncing Behaviors​

The bounce or rebound is where you’ll notice a clear difference in playing experience.
  • Tennis Balls: The bounce lies between 135cm (53 inches) and 147cm (58 inches), with some variations for different types of balls.

  • Padel Balls: They typically bounce between 135cm and 145cm.

5. The Pressure Point: What’s Inside?​

Internal pressure serves as the primary distinguishing factor between a padel ball vs. tennis ball. The pressure within a ball affects its behavior during play.
  • Tennis Balls: Adhering to ITF standards, they maintain an internal pressure of 14psi.

  • Padel Balls: These possess a slightly relaxed internal pressure, between 10psi and 11psi, generally skewing toward 11psi for new padel balls.
Click to expand...
I believe Padel was invented by someone who uses the metric system, making it impossible to use tennis balls.
 
One thing I found tricky about Padel is that I am an ad court specialist in tennis doubles, but was struggling in ad returns in Padel.

In tennis, my 2hb return is solid, but my forehand I usually slice. So I need my slice on inside wing.

In Padel, I haven’t tried a 2hb yet. I was using 1hb and felt I needed to slice it to have enough control. On the ad return, I have to hit the crosscourt bh slice into a very small target to avoid the SP poaching it.

Next time I play padel, I might try playing more deuce side, and maybe experiment with 2hb despite the short handle.
 
I don't think you will ever find free Padel courts. Just too expensive to build and maintain. Tennis and Pickleball are the sports with tons of free courts.
 
sureshs said:
I don't think you will ever find free Padel courts. Just too expensive to build and maintain. Tennis and Pickleball are the sports with tons of free courts.
Click to expand...
Depends what you mean by free.

If you mean “gratis” then yes. But “available without a wait” tennis courts are a relic of the past in my city, thanks to the picklers and post-covid tennis newbies.
 
I would like to start a petition to start repurposing most of the world’s pickleball courts to wall-less padel.

I don’t need the bounces off the walls. But the elimination of the kitchen line, allowance of S&V, and superior ball and paddle make padel so much better than pickle that it really isn’t a fair fight.

Who’s with me?
 
One major advantage of padel over pickleball is that the lob is a viable part of the game.

In pickleball, the kitchen line artificially pushes net players away from the net, giving less space behind them for a lob to land. The difficulty of executing a successful lob in pickleball is further compromised by the lightweight ball that catches the wind, and the lightweight paddles that have poor depth control.

In padel, a good lob is an essential tool.
 
I used to love playing badminton as a kid in India and played it for fun at grad school in the US also where there were many courts and avid enthusiasts from Asia. I was bummed when I started working and realized that it is not a popular sport at all in the US. I‘ve dabbled in squash a few times and once got to play Royal tennis or Real tennis the a club in NY. Still staying away from pickleball and have never seen padel tennis courts.
www.nytimes.com

The Exclusive, Elusive World of Real Tennis (Published 2023)

“If you wanted to design a game that was going to put people off from playing it,” one court tennis enthusiast said, “you would probably design a real tennis court.”
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
There is also Street Paddle / Pop Tennis ware Padel rackets or Beach rackets are used and, I guess, Stage 1 tennis balls are used.

I tried Padel last Friday. Me, my cousis who is great with wooden beach rackets and 2 of my tennis hitting partners who both are pretty advanced players.

The Padel rackets are quite head-heavy and one needs either a few lessons first or to have played some tennis before, not to hurt the wrist on the smashes. We played 1.5 hours straight, had tons of fun n' laugh and we will repeat that this Sunday, if weather permits.

I've also been experimenting with Pickleball for 2 months now. One hour of Singles Pickleball gets me through 4 games to 11, without counting the warm-up. It's just super easy to pick-up and play, the rules are very simple and whoever has played tennis at least for a month in his life, will find it very easy to start playing.

For both Padel and Pickleball, the underam serve is one of the most crucial parts, because it makes it possible to get into competitive (and fun) point-play right from the get-go.
Also, being close to my hitting partners allows for chit n' chat, trash/fun talk, giving props for some good shots and in general have a talk and socialize more than we did with tennis.

I have only played tennis once since August and currently don't miss it a bit. I'm having much more with Pickleball. I want to get myself and others better at it and pick our levels up and play more competitive games. Padel is a quite new experience. We all loved it, apart from one tennis hitting partner who has been experiencing arm issues and the padel rackets gave him some soreness.

I will resume to Tennis sometime in Spring.
 
travlerajm said:
One major advantage of padel over pickleball is that the lob is a viable part of the game.

In pickleball, the kitchen line artificially pushes net players away from the net, giving less space behind them for a lob to land. The difficulty of executing a successful lob in pickleball is further compromised by the lightweight ball that catches the wind, and the lightweight paddles that have poor depth control.

In padel, a good lob is an essential tool.
Click to expand...
I am able to lob in Pickleball.
 
socallefty said:
I used to love playing badminton as a kid in India and played it for fun at grad school in the US also where there were many courts and avid enthusiasts from Asia. I was bummed when I started working and realized that it is not a popular sport at all in the US. I‘ve dabbled in squash a few times and once got to play Royal tennis or Real tennis the a club in NY. Still staying away from pickleball and have never seen padel tennis courts.
www.nytimes.com

The Exclusive, Elusive World of Real Tennis (Published 2023)

“If you wanted to design a game that was going to put people off from playing it,” one court tennis enthusiast said, “you would probably design a real tennis court.”
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
Click to expand...
I play badminton about once a month. I maintain a Whatsapp group for players who play at a private club. I also play at a big public facility for free.

Badminton is now a school sport in many Southern California schools.

But I prefer to play with balls so tennis, table tennis and pickleball are my first preferences. Badminton is also too cardio-intensive for me.
 
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