Padel: how to differentiate your center

Padel is one of the sports that has conquered the world in recent years.

The few simple rules, and the guaranteed fun, have made this discipline more and more popular, as you well know if you have decided to create a gym or a special center. But how can you differentiate yourself ?

What can you do to stand out from the crowd and bring fans and athletes closer to you ?

Today I will give you the solution thanks to which you will solve a risk, which in padel everyone underestimates, mistakenly.

But first, do you know how this sport became so famous ?

Brief introduction to padel

It can be said that padel is a bit like the son of tennis.

In fact, it was born between the 60s and 70s when the Mexican tennis player Enrique Corcuera decided to create a space in his home to train.

But the spaces were what they were, so he took advantage of a small area bordered by some walls and nets.

That’s where the idea came from…

Why not use those walls as an integral part of the game ?

Padel is a sport in which two pairs of players compete against each other within a smaller court than tennis.

Again, there is a net that divides the two areas, but the equipment is different: the rackets are smaller and lighter, and the ball has less internal pressure to make it bounce more and control the game better.

And as you guessed, the walls or nets that delimit the field are part of the game.

This sport exploded in the Covid era as it allowed you to have fun while maintaining safety distances.

In 2022 in Italy there were over a million active players and more than 5,000 courses scattered throughout the peninsula.

In 2023, padel officially became part of the olympic sports.

So if you have decided to focus on this sport, and offer fields and equipment to athletes, you have made a good choice but in padel many underestimate one aspect…

Accidents: what they are and how to avoid them

Yes, even in padel you can get injured.

Although this sport seems simple on the surface, it does not mean that it can be taken lightly and, as you well know, if you have a padel center or gym, injuries happen.

A match is the same as a real complete workout since practically all muscle groups are involved: from legs and buttocks to arms and shoulders, also counting the back and abdominals.

Of course, there are accidents that we cannot avoid, the so-called accidental accidents. They cannot be predicted in any way: such as receiving the ball in the face by mistake or colliding with something or someone.

However, you can pay attention to the space around you while playing and always watch the conditions of the field before starting. If, for example, the field is damp or wet because it has rained, you will have to be more careful not to fall due to the slippery ground.

Then there are injuries due to overload, especially of the upper limbs.

After a grueling match, the muscles and tendons of the arms may become inflamed, as they have been strained for a long time between the weight of the racket and the strokes of the ball.

And this can also happen if you play several games in a row or for several days in a row, so remember to always give yourself time to recover.

These two types of injuries are more complicated to manage if you own a field, although you may want to advise the athlete to rest and avoid overloading.

But the ones I’m about to list can be avoided, and I’ll also explain how.

The third type is injury caused by incorrect execution of technical movements.

Athletes need to learn to master the movements well before they start playing. Only once they have mastered the specific gestures, such as how to hold and move the racket and what to do, can they begin.

In this case, you can help the beginner by asking an instructor to follow him and thus prevent him from hurting himself by underestimating this sport.

Finally, an injury can arise from poor or no warm-up. Starting to play with cold muscles is not a good idea.

Never.

Unless you’re looking for strains and contractures, but I hope that’s not the case.

To avoid these injuries, warming up is essential.

Warm-up in padel: how to do it

If you are worried about the weather, I already tell you that a good warm-up will take a maximum of 15 minutes so you can advise athletes to do it without any problems.

After all, it won’t take that much time but it will prevent them from staying at home for days, or even months, due to injuries, injuries, and tears.

15 minutes of movement versus days off: I’d say the winner is clear.

To start, you can do a moderate run. This starts to increase your heart and breathing rate and prepares your body for the next effort.

Then we move on to specific exercises for muscles and joints.

It is important to warm up not only your legs, back and arms but also your knees and ankles.

In this part, it is recommended to make dynamic movements such as, for example, forward and backward rotations of the arms, shoulders or half squats.

These exercises are very similar to squats, but on the descent you stop earlier, without going all the way to the end of the movement.

Finally, he advises athletes to perform padel-specific exercises such as flying or smash shots.

For this part of the warm-up, you can do some dribbling with your partner to mobilize your wrists and get used to the pace of the game.

One last tip is to always do a stretching session after the game to relax your muscles, dissolve lactic acid and avoid contractures.

Athletic training with functional training

Another mistake that is often seen concerns athletic preparation.

Given the few and simple rules, many underestimate this sport and start without being physically ready.

In padel, however, there is very little certain.

You have to adapt to each situation because you never know how your teammate will act, the movements that the opponents will make or where the ball will go.

You need to train your speed of movement and reaction speed to be ready for any eventuality.

Athletes need to develop an awareness of their body, know which muscles to use for that particular movement and which ones to relax. It is necessary to build an athletic preparation tailored to each one that considers his strengths and weaknesses.

In padel, athletes must train strength and endurance, since most of the muscles are involved, as we said before, because if they are not ready and trained they will risk becoming inflamed.

But you also need to improve balance and coordination to maintain the right posture during the game and increase athletic performance, making it more effective and avoiding wasting energy unnecessarily.

Agility is also essential to move quickly depending on the situation.

Finally, you need to master the technique by making clean and precise movements.

Padel is not a sport that can be improvised but unfortunately few people think about it and here is your opportunity.

Centers: here’s how to differentiate yourself

With the many padel centers that exist in Italy, differentiation is the key but how ?

Offering a 360° service in which not only the athlete will be able to play on the field but also follow an athletic preparation with functional training tailor-made for him or her.

Reserving a space created specifically to allow athletes to warm up well without being disturbed and to prepare themselves from an athletic point of view to improve their performance is not for everyone.

This means providing the athlete with everything possible to give the best of themselves and not just providing a field and equipment.

Carefully following athletes and creating an environment in which they can grow, thanks to a high quality service: this is the key to differentiating yourself and not being one among many.

If you don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered.

Xenios will provide you with all the necessary equipment for athletic training for performance sports such as padel.

We will follow you in all the steps to provide your center with everything it needs to differentiate itself and become different, unique.

Just get in touch with us and we will understand together how to give the best to your customers to make them happy and satisfied.

Conclusion

Today we have seen how padel was born and why it has become so famous. We’ve also found that it’s a very underrated sport, where people improvise and risk getting hurt.

Warming up is essential to avoid injuries and you should always do it.

In addition, offering athletic training to the athletes who attend your center can make you stand out from the crowd because you will provide a high-quality and complete service.

Athletes will feel like they are really being looked after.

We at Xenios will help you on this path; so, if you have any doubts or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.