Column: The padel 'bubble'

Last week I played in a tournament. Four matches, the same faces, people who came to watch, had a beer at the bar, and players who competed in multiple categories because one level wasn't enough.

On Monday, I was back on the court again.

And that is basically how it always goes.

Padel is quite addictive for many people. You play a few times a week, check scores, follow players, participate in a tournament, and before you know it, a large part of your free time revolves around the sport.

Because of this, I sometimes get the feeling that the whole of the Netherlands plays padel.

Until a client of mine said recently:

"I have never played padel."

I was genuinely shocked by that.

Not because there is anything wrong with that, but because I suddenly realized that I had almost forgotten that those people exist.

People who have heard of padel, but have no idea how it works. People who have never held a racket. People who don't know what a golden point is and can probably live with that just fine.

And that got me thinking.

Are we actually living in a padel bubble?

Because if you visit the club often, it seems as if padel is everywhere. The courts are full, tournaments are going well, leagues are packed, and everyone knows someone who plays.

But outside that world, things look very different.

According to figures from the KNLTB, approximately 876,000 Dutch people have played padel at least once. Of those, about 424,000 play monthly.

Those are impressive numbers.

But it also means that the vast majority of Dutch people do not play padel.

Yet, we sometimes act as if everyone already knows the sport.

And perhaps that is where a pitfall lies.

I regularly hear that people find it difficult to get started. That the level is constantly rising. That everyone seems to have become so good by now that stepping in feels difficult.

But perhaps that feeling stems precisely from the fact that we mainly look at ourselves.

At the people who are already playing.

At the people who are already members.

At the people walking around at a tournament every weekend.

While outside that group, there are still an awful lot of people who have never held a racket. That is why the greatest growth opportunity for padel does not lie with the players who are already on the court three times a week.

But rather with the people who have never played before.

The colleague who is curious.

The neighbor who wants to give it a try.

Or that client who reminded me that the world is bigger than just the padel club.

Maybe we need to step out of our own padel bubble every now and then.

Gert Jan Stevens
OWNER OF CENTRISTA & SPORTS ENTHUSIAST

I am Gert Jan Stevens, owner of sports marketing agency Centrista and, above all, just a huge sports enthusiast. Padel now plays a significant role in that. The beauty of it is that I actually get to combine my work with my hobby on a daily basis.

At Centrista, we use sports to connect companies, people, and brands. Padel is perfect for that. For example, we organize events for companies together with former pros, top athletes, and well-known names from the sports world. In addition, we develop padel concepts both domestically and internationally, and we sometimes connect companies with professional players, working out partnerships from idea to execution.

I originally come from football, and I actually learned padel the same way I always played football: just doing a lot, playing, being passionate, and getting better along the way. Of course, I did take some lessons, but it is precisely the accessibility of padel that makes it so much fun. You step onto the court and before you know it, you are completely hooked.

And I think that is exactly the strength of the sport. You can get better at it every day, the social aspect is great, and there is always something to do somewhere in the Netherlands these days. Playing a game, an event, a tournament, or just having a good time on the court with friends. As far as I am concerned, that makes padel truly unique.