Padel is booming here in Dubai
By Time Out EditorsOctober 25, 2021
Dubai is serving up another ace sporting spectacle with the announcement of the first Dubai Padel Cup.
The inaugural Dubai Padel Cup – an inclusive month-long padel tennis fiesta featuring exhibition matches with the world’s leading professionals and amateur competitions open to the racquet-wielding public – is poised to capitalise on a growing love for the sport here in the emirate.
The Dubai Padel Cup will stand as a headline event of this year’s Dubai Fitness Challenge, which runs from Friday, October 29 to Saturday, November 27.
The four-week spectale kicks off with three days of exhibition matches on a purpose-built court in the shadows of the Museum of the Future and Jumeirah Emirates Towers from Tuesday, November 2 to Thursday, November 4.
World number one Juan Lebrón Chincoa is set to lead a top-ranked international field that includes Fernando Belasteguin (#6), Pablo Lima (#8), Luciano Capra (#14), Javier Arturo Coello (#17), Garrido Gómez (#18), Miguel Lamperti (20), Adrián Allemandi (22), Juan Martín Díaz (26), Jorge Nieto Ruiz (21), Juan Mieres Petruf (56), Sergio Icardo Alcorisa (114), and plenty of other big names.
The two-person doubles teams will play four matches on each of the first two days, before finals on day three. Seats will be available for purchase on the Platinumlist website.
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The Dubai Padel Cup will also feature a knockout league for amateur female and male players of C and C+ ability from November 7 to November 13, and a tournament for amateur men of A and B ability between November 21 and November 27.
Amateur league and tournament clashes will unfold at several Dubai-based padel clubs.
World Padel Academy, one of the city’s top padel club franchises, will host the male-only tournament’s quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals for A and B categories.
But what is padel exactly?
A global breakout, padel is a unique racquet sport played on an enclosed court roughly a quarter the size of a tennis court. Officially one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, padel has blazed a trail of popularity across the seven Emirates.
Dubai Padel Cup organisers are collaborating with Dubai Fitness Challenge to provide free coaching sessions for new padel enthusiasts, giving residents a great opportunity to hone their skills and attract more local people to the game.