Padel tennis
Paddle tennis , Pádel or paddle tennis (. Of English paddle , where paddle ) are of the tennis derived racket sports .
This article mainly describes the game of padel , which is widespread in Spain and South America , but also deals with the older paddle tennis and other variants. In contrast to the other games, padel is only played in doubles.
In addition to padel and paddle tennis, there are other variants in the USA , such as the east and west coast versions of paddle tennis itself, called platform tennis. There is also one-wall and four-wall paddleball as well as a beach version. Even if the influence of tennis is obvious, there are also influences from games that have their roots in much older games, such as Jeu de Paume (playing with the palm of the hand), Fronton or in the Basque Country Basque Pelota (Pelota Vasca).
These are games that are similar to or derived from tennis, which are played on smaller fields with short rackets without covering. While the clubs used to be made of wood, today, with a few exceptions, they are made of plastic, which can also be reinforced with carbon fibers . With a few exceptions, the playing fields have the same playing field markings as are used in single tennis matches. In addition, in some variants, the walls of the play area or field border are partially or completely included in accordance with the rules.
Name and translation
The German translation of padel tennis first refers to the older game of paddle tennis launched in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century by the episcopal priest Frank Peer Beal in New York.
The origin of the name paddle tennis refers to the similarity of the rackets, which used to be mainly made of wood, to canoe paddling.
The Spanish name Pádel of the younger game and more popular in the Spanish-speaking world is the Spanish form of the word paddle. Among other things, it was introduced to better distinguish it from paddle tennis played in the USA. Furthermore, foreign words are rarely adopted in their original form in the Spanish language; for the most part, the rule is followed to write the word in Spanish in such a way that the original pronunciation in Spanish is largely retained.
In order to better distinguish the two games, the Spanish term "pádel" has also been established in English alongside "paddle tennis".
Distinguishing features of the different games
The differences in the size of the playing field are rather small. The field markings correspond to the division of the field used in individual tennis, whereby in the west coast style of paddle tennis the service fields are divided with another line.
The main differences are found in the inclusion of the walls or fences surrounding the playing area and their distance from the actual playing field. While in paddle tennis a fence, which is not included in the game, surrounds the playing area, the enclosing border in platform tennis consists of a solid material, such as plastic glass walls. These are fully integrated into the game and, like the fences in paddle tennis, are installed at a distance from the playing field. The balls with which platform tennis is played are more like those used in squash .
With the pádel, the enclosing walls and fence parts are also the outer edge of the playing field, whereby only the walls can be included in the game, but not the fence.
History of paddle tennis
The roots of paddle tennis go back about a hundred years. The episcopal priest Frank Peer Beal is named as the founder of paddle tennis. His aim was to create recreational activities for the children of the Lower Manhattan neighborhood . He was able to persuade the city of New York to set up playing fields in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village , which happened in 1915. The first tournament was held in 1922 and a year later the "United States Paddle Tennis Association" was launched. In 1941, paddle tennis was played in nearly 500 American cities.
Murray Geller, a well-known player in the 1940s and 1950s, modernized the game to make it more interesting for adults. Among other things, the size of the playing field and the introduction of the serve from below have been changed. Even with the padel, the serve may only be performed as an underhand stroke, with the hip height being the limit, similar to badminton .
The basic dimensions of the paddle tennis court are 50 by 20 feet , corresponding to approx. 16.5 by 6.5 meters. The rackets are solid without a covering, in the past mostly made of wood, today mostly made of plastic materials, whereby paddle rackets are more based on the old wooden rackets. Pádel clubs, on the other hand, have a stronger profile. The dimensions of the paddle racket are limited to 18 " inches in length and 9.5" inches in width, which corresponds to approx. 46 cm in length and 24 cm in width.
History of the Pádel
Enrique Corcuera from Mexico is named as the founder of the pádel. At the end of the 1960s, he built an approx. Three meter high wall on the opposite end of a small tennis court adjacent to the wall of his house and closed both sides of the field with a chain link fence. As in paddle tennis, wooden rackets were used which had been replaced in this sport for some time by rackets made of plastic materials.
During a visit in 1974 , his friend Alfonso Hohenlohe from Spain was inspired by Enrique Corcuera's enthusiasm for the new game. Not only did he bring it back to Spain, but he continued to work on details of the rules and the field of play. Soon after, the first two playing fields were built in Marbella . The game was well received in a very short time. Tennis player Manolo Santana began organizing tournaments and promoting the game. Pádel quickly spread throughout the Costa del Sol .
Only one year later, in 1975, the game delighted Alfonso Hohenlohe's Argentine friend Julio Menditeguy and the players from the Argentine polo team accompanying him who were visiting Marbella. They took the idea with them to Argentina, where pádel had an unprecedented success and became the country's second most popular sport.
Pádel continued to spread in South and Central America with varying degrees of success and also reached the USA and Canada. Pádel has developed most strongly in Spain, Argentina and Brazil. In the 1990s, Spain, France, Italy, Austria and Belgium were the European countries participating in the World and European Championships.
In contrast to the other games mentioned, Pádel is only played in doubles. World championships have been held every two years since 1992 and since 2005 a pro tour based on the model of the ATP World Tour has been established in tennis. So far the sport has been dominated mainly by players from Spain, Argentina and Mexico due to its historical development.
The padel game
Padel rackets and balls
bat
The rackets are solid without a string. The construction mostly consists of foam as a core with a stable, smooth plastic skin of various thicknesses, which is often reinforced with more or less carbon fibers in higher quality clubs. Prices for clubs start at around 20 euros and go up to 400 euros.
Some tennis racket manufacturers also offer padel rackets, and there are also younger companies that have grown with this sport and its success.
The clubs must have the maximum dimensions of 45.5 cm in length, 26 cm in width and 38 mm in thickness. The striking surface should not exceed a length of 30 cm and a width of 26 cm. In general, it should be flat; the surface structure in particular can be smooth or roughened.
In the area of the central face, the club can have an unlimited number of holes with a diameter between 9 and 13 mm. In the edge area of 4 cm, measured from the edge, holes of simple round or elongated shape with dimensions larger than the dimensions mentioned above can be used in the construction, with the proviso that they allow normal play.
The frame and handle should be free of extensions as long as these are not constructive measures that are kept to a reasonable extent, serve to improve wear and tear, reduce vibration and improve weight distribution.
To prevent accidents, a strap or a cord for the wrist must be attached to the end of the handle, the maximum length of which should be 35 cm (if the strap or cord does not slip around, masking it with adhesive tape helps to close the loop itself reduce).
Balls
The balls are the same size as tennis balls , but have a slightly lower air pressure, so they are a little slower. The balls can therefore hardly be distinguished from tennis balls. The well-known tennis outfitters mostly have paddle balls on offer.
The producers usually indicate that the balls are recognized by the FEP (Federación Español de Pádel), as they can be used in official competitions.
The rubber ball should have a uniform spherical shape and a uniform color, either yellow or white. The average diameter should be between 6.35 and 6.67 cm and its weight between 56.0 and 59.4 grams. If dropped from a height of 2.54 m, it should reach a height of 135 to 145 cm when jumping off a hard surface. The internal pressure of the ball should be between 4.6 and 5.2 kg per 2.54 cm². When playing at higher altitudes from 1290 meters above sea level, the ball used should reach a height of more than 121.92 cm and less than 135 cm.
matchfield
The relatively small dimensions of the playing field and the durable materials that can be used in the construction make a relatively cheap construction possible even in cities in a small space. In Madrid, for example, you will find playing fields in many residential areas and most of the community's sports centers as well as commercial fitness and sports centers offer paddle fields for rent.
The ground plan of the playing field is a rectangle of 20 by 10 meters with a tolerance of 0.5%.
On the front sides, a wall encloses the playing field in a U-shape, whereby the wall on the front sides and the first two meters along the long sides is three meters high and the height for the other two meters along the edge of the playing field is two meters decreased. The material of the wall parts should allow the ball to rebound uniformly, as this part of the field border belongs to the playing surface. The remaining free parts of the playing field sides are closed with a chain link fence or wire mesh with a minimum height of three meters. In addition, a chain link fence or wire mesh one meter high will also be attached to the parts of the wall that are three meters high. In a second variant, the fences around the playing field can also be uniformly closed all around with a height of 4 meters (see drawings).
At least for larger tournaments, the walls of the playing fields are made of plastic glass, which means that spectators around the playing field can be offered places to watch. Doors for access are installed in the middle of the sides of the playing field, whereby different variants are possible within the framework of the rules. The door handles in the play area should be recessed to prevent injury.
network
The ten meter long net divides the playing field in the middle in length, i. H. the center line on the upper edge of the net is 10 meters away from the two front sides. The height of the net in the center of the playing field should be 0.88 meters and at the posts on the edge of the playing field a maximum of 0.92 meters. The posts themselves should not exceed a maximum height of 1.05 meters.
Field markings
The marking lines should have a width of 5 cm. The service lines are applied parallel to the net and the end face at a distance of three meters from the same and a distance of 6.95 meters from the net. The area created between the service lines and the network is divided into the four service fields with another line parallel to the side boundaries.
Playing field floor
The playing field surface can consist of porous concrete, cement, artificial turf or a synthetic carpet-like surface. The color of the playing field surface should be green, blue or earth brown.
regulate
The rules listed below are only an extract from the entire set of rules.
Serve, side selection, side and field change
- The winner of the drawing of lots can choose between the right to serve and the playing field side. The service may only be performed behind the service line, i.e. H. from the three meter wide field between the front wall and the service line. The service must be made as an underhand strike, i.e. the ball must be hit below the hip. In addition, neither the service area nor the service line may be touched with the feet and, apart from normal, necessary small movements with the feet, neither walking, running nor jumping is allowed.
- After the service, the ball must bounce in the opposing service area diagonally opposite without first touching the ground or the edge of the net in the area of the serving team. After jumping, the ball must not touch the fence forming the edge of the field, but it must touch the walls. The most difficult serves to be accepted include the balls that land in the far corner of the service area and then hit the side wall quite flat.
- On playing fields where the construction of the corner of the side wall protrudes through the offset fence, there are two possibilities when serving, if the ball hits this corner exactly. Either the ball bounces off in the direction of the accepting player and play continues as normal. Or he jumps back in the direction of the serving team; in this case the service is invalid and is repeated as the first or second service without loss.
- The team with the right to serve changes sides in their field of play after each service, so that the service is always performed once from the right and then from the left.
- Services that touch the net but then land in the correct service area must be repeated.
- Both teams switch fields if the total of the games reaches an odd number. If this change is forgotten, it should be corrected as soon as it is noticed. The maximum rest time when changing fields is 90 seconds.
Service and rally
- Two unsuccessful serves in a row mean the loss of the point.
- Failure to perform the service, such as missing the ball, as well as incorrectly hitting the ball, lead to loss of points.
- If the ball does not land in the correct, diagonally opposite service area, this leads to a loss of points
- The ball hits the correct service area, but then jumps to the fence. When serving, this results in a point gain for the non-serving team; in the further course of the game after the service, the team performing the stroke wins the point.
- If it takes more than 25 seconds to serve after the end of the last rally, points will be lost.
- After each stroke, the ball must first touch the ground on the opposing side of the field before it touches the back wall or the fence. This does not apply to touching the edge of the net.
- The ball may only touch the ground on one side of the field once. If the ball cannot be returned on the same side before the second contact with the ground, this is a point for the team that hit the ball.
- Meeting the other player also leads to a loss of points.
- The net and the net posts must not be touched during a game, neither with the racket nor by the players, including items they have carried.
- Volley hits from balls that have not yet crossed the net are void.
Order of return
- The team returning the service must designate one of its players to return the first serves of each game in a set until the end of that game. This can then be decided again.
- The return of the service is played in turn by the players of the non-serving team. This order must not be changed during the set. Only the serving team changes the service side after each service. The second serve after a mistake in the first is always executed from the same side as the first.
- If the order is mixed up, this incorrect order will continue to be observed in the game in which the error occurs or the error is noticed and in the following game the original order established for this set will be observed again.
Serve repetition
- If the ball touches the net on service and then does not touch the fence before the second landing in the opposing field.
- When, after touching the net or the net posts, if they protrude into the field of play, the ball touches an opposing player, including any objects he is wearing, such as his hat or stick.
- When the opponent wasn't ready.
- If the net is touched when the second serve is repeated, the serving player has only one further attempt.
Counting method
With one exception, the counting method is completely identical to tennis.
The point sequence is 15, 30, 40 and with the fourth point the game is won if this is done with two points at an advantage. From the third point, i.e. 40, only “advantage” and “tie” are mentioned in the event of a tie. The team that wins points if they have an advantage wins the game. The team that wins six games first with an advantage of two games wins a set. If there is a tie of five games, up to seven to five must be played. If there is a tie of six games, a tie-break will be played as in tennis if this has been agreed beforehand. Otherwise, play continues until one team has gained an advantage of two games won. In tennis, generally only one tie-break is played when the score is 6: 6.
In the tie-break, the team and the player serve who would have served if the game had continued normally. The tie-breaker is won by the team that first has seven points with a two-point advantage or, if the score is higher than seven, an advantage of two points. In a tie-breaker, the teams swap sides of the field after six points are played.
literature
- Carlos Gonzáles-Carvajal: Escuela de Pádel - Del Aprendizaje a la Competición . Tutor, Madrid 2008, ISBN 978-84-7902-532-8
