Tennis is not the only sport with a racket, think beach tennis, padel and pickleball | Tennis special

,,The ultimate experience of happiness on the sand” is how Arend van Triest describes the sport to which he has dedicated his heart. As the KNLTB’s beach tennis coordinator, who also likes to hit a ball himself, he often feels that sand between his toes in the summer. Or between his teeth, after performing a spectacular dive to save a point.

You play beach tennis with a small racket or bat (which looks like a padel racket) and a yellow-orange tennis ball. It must be hit directly above the net and must not touch the ground. Quick reflexes are therefore necessary. The sport is played by far most often in doubles, so two against two. The score is very similar to that of tennis, the court has the same dimensions as a beach volleyball court (8 meters by 16) and the net is 1.70 meters high.

Not an official requirement, but essential for the ambiance: a portable radio or speaker with nice beach music. Because if beach tennis is an official sport under the International Tennis Federation (ITF), it is above all a question of having fun in this summer activity which has more than a million players in Brazil. ,,Due to the location on the beach and the low threshold of the sport, it is very easy to meet other players,” says Van Triest, himself a multiple Dutch champion. “Perfect for anyone who can’t sit still on a towel.”

Does padel need to be introduced? Not so long ago, it was necessary to explain to the Dutch that the name of the sport was not pronounced as “pèddel” but as “pá-dèl”, jobs are now springing up like mushrooms. Two years ago, our country had 470 padel courts, spread over 206 sites, today there are 1630 (!) on 460 sites. Via KNLTB’s Meet & Play you can search and book a job in each province.

Why has this mix of tennis and squash become so popular in such a short time? Unpredictability, thinks Frank Neering. “The surprise effect of padel gives the sport an extra dimension,” said the KNLTB padel program manager. “In the cage, you have to be ready for anything. The ball goes differently each time, and just when you think you’ve been beaten, you unexpectedly get a second chance, for example through help from the walls. But the cage fence also plays a part in the game and you can even kick the ball completely outside the cage.

Padel, which was born in Mexico in the late 1960s, has millions of players in top countries like Spain and Argentina. You play it on a walled court of 10 by 20 meters. The padel racket is smaller and thicker than a tennis racket and you serve the special padel ball over the net to the opponent. Neering: ,,It’s surprisingly easy to learn, even if you have no racquet sports experience.

A touch of badminton, a pinch of tennis and a bit of table tennis: it’s pickleball. The sport was born one summer day in 1965, when three American friends wanted to play badminton but couldn’t find the racquets. All they had was a badminton net, a holey plastic ball and some homemade wooden ping pong paddles. Maybe it worked…?

The impromptu pastime these days has grown into a mature sport with 9 million practitioners in the United States. In the Netherlands, where pickleball was first played exactly ten years ago, there are more than 500, but the number is growing rapidly. Partly because of the sport’s accessibility, says Corinne Wagner, KNLTB pickleball manager. “It’s for all ages, quick to learn and all you need is a pair of shoes.”

There are now around 30 places and groups in our country where you can play pickleball and each group has paddles (rackets) that you can use if you want to participate. ,,It also makes the sport cheap for everyone.” For tennis players, it can be a complementary sport: the reaction time improves, because the ball comes and goes over the net so quickly. The paddle has a short handle, the ball is light and the court is smaller than tennis. A game can soon be played. Exactly as accessible as it was in 1965.