If you don’t, you probably know someone who does. There is even a good chance that this person has suggested that you come and play a little match on Sunday morning, and for good reason, padel is everywhere in Europe today. The discipline was invented in the early 1970s by Enrique Corcuera, a Spanish businessman expatriated to Mexico who was tired of chasing stray balls. He decides to build walls around the “small” plot of land on his property in Acapulco. Inspired by squash, he adapted the rules of tennis to this closed space and made an innovative decision: it would now be necessary to use a solid racket pierced with small holes, rather than a stringed racket. The padel was born.
Very quickly, the sport hit the mark in Spain, reaching 5.5 million followers in 2024, according to the Spanish Federation of padel (FEP). It also appeals to Latin American countries where the first international competitions were organized in 1982 in Uruguay. In France and the United Kingdom, fever arrives later, but the practice is now widespread. According to the French Tennis Federation, the rise of padel dates back to the 2000s, with a strong acceleration in recent years.
The symbolic bar of 100,000 licensees was also crossed in June, an increase of 40% compared to the previous season. More than 500,000 French people now practice this sport derived from tennis on nearly 3,000 courts scattered across France. On the British side, 400,000 citizens have set foot on the court over the last twelve months, compared to only 15,000 five years ago, according to the Lawn Tennis Association.
Sounds of gunshots
But let’s return to the turmoil that agitates the small village of Grateley and its 700 souls. The residents are firmly opposed to the construction of three padel courts deemed “intolerably loud“. Angry smashes, cries of victory and slamming rebounds: for them, the padel sounds like a shooting range. A complaint was filed with the district municipal council. The complainants cite a link between noise pollution and the risk of depression… or even diabetes.
“The noise pollution generated by padel courts will have harmful effects on our health: stress, cardiovascular disorders, depression. There is also a link between noise exposure and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.», Explains a couple of local residents to the Times. They compare the sounds of bullets to “gunshots», a cacophony deemed incompatible with the peaceful atmosphere of Grateley.
The controversy is not purely British. In France too, the sound of balls bouncing against the walls worries those who live near the fields. Last July, Le Parisien reported the first conviction ordering the destruction of land in Versailles. Christophe Bonnet, resident of Oise and founder of an anti-padel collective, declared: “Versailles is the first case and in my opinion, it is only the beginning.” According to him, the issue of noise will sooner or later find its way into the law.
On the other side of the Channel, the local planning agency considers that the three plots of land would represent “a benefit for the local economy“. Justice will decide, but the padel has not finished dividing, between a liberating sport for some, and a metabolic threat for others.
