WHAT do ex-footballer David Beckham, the late American diplomat Henry Kissinger, Hollywood star Eva Longoria and French president Emmanuel Macron all have in common? If you answered that they were all advocates of economic globalisation and liberal geopolitics, you’d be wrong (Becks has some reservations about the erosion of state sovereignty). The correct answer is that they all love padel. They aren’t alone—this racket-based sport, a hybrid of tennis and squash, is currently played by more than 25 million people in more than 110 countries across the globe. Although the UK arrived late to the padel party, it is now official: we are all falling for the fastest-growing sport in the world.
‘It’s so much fun,’ says Annabel Croft, Britain’s former number-one tennis player. ‘If you haven’t played, please give it a go, because you really do come off court with a smile on your face. I’ve laughed more in padel than I have in any other sport.’
Padel courts are a lot smaller than the tennis equivalent (about a
