Australia. This vast, sparsely populated and beautiful 2.1 million-square mile mass of land is home to some of the most deadly animals in the world, from Taipan snakes to saltwater crocodiles to redback spiders. It’s home to spiritual journeys, backpacker voyages, and a whole lot of mystery. And now, in an unexpected twist, it’s home to padel, too. Cage 91 Co. explores.
Starting from scratch
Think of Australia, and your mind drifts off to many things. Open expanses of windswept beaches, miles and miles of turquoise blue ocean, surfing, barbecues, good Chardonnays, and, yes, sport. For as long as most of us can remember, Australia has been one of the world’s dominant forces in every sport from track and field to running, and rugby to cricket; a force that belies its 26m population. So, if you’ve been reading the hype about padel’s global growth, you might be inclined to think padel’s already in the sporting repertoire ‘Down Under’. Not so, And not even close. Yet, that is.
When Erin Purtle and her husband moved back to her hometown Albury after living in Spain for 17 years, she couldn’t live on without padel – a sport yet to conquer Australia. She had to start her own club to be able to keep up her addiction. But how do you begin setting up a club in Regional Australia, in a town where you and your husband are the only ones not only to have played padel, but are the only ones ever to even heard of it?
To start with, Albury is a mid-size city of about 100 000 people with almost no European or South American expats – just Aussies. Second, Albury is set inland between Sydney and Melbourne, far from the quickly adapting cosmopolitan cities by the coast. Third, there is a lack of land to build on – another thing that is hard to believe. Despite the tricky situation, and the financial risk of bringing a new sport to town, Erin and her husband Mark started planning for their new club just as they came back to Australia after covid ended. One year ago, in August of 2023, Sol Padel opened.
“Running a padel club in regional Australia is not a passive venture. We basically had to knock on doors to invite people to come try the sport. We had learn-to-play events and coaching sessions all the time in the beginning, which really works. From what we have seen, as soon as the Aussies get on the court, they love the game. Out of every 100 persons that try, 10 will be addicted. Another 20 will be casual players”, Erin says. One year on, Sol Padel has seen amazing growth with lots of players, with 95 percent of them being Aussies, split evenly fifty-fifty between men and women.
Breaking new ground
If Erin wanted to follow where other clubs already were established, Melbourne, Sydney or the Gold Coast would have been the obvious places to go. At the moment, there are two clubs in Melbourne, two in Perth, three in Sydney and one in the Gold Coast – not many considering the 12 million people living in the four cities. Australia only has 40 courts for its population of 25+ million. Or, put into stark reality – one court per 625,000 people.
For Erin, or anyone looking to set up shop in a new territory, the financial risk is always high when breaking new ground. Erin and Mark could not risk setting up a club on expensive lots, only to find a lack of padel interest. By starting out in a smaller city, they did not need fully booked courts 24/7 to keep the business going. By steadily getting more Aussies playing, the duo has built up a successful, if unconventional, business model, diving head first into the deep end of a country that may love its sport, but as yet hasn’t found its soulmate in padel.
Looking forward
Sol Padel has already become an inspiration for people looking to establish padel clubs in Australia, getting weekly calls from entrepreneurs wanting to learn more about the business. Young people, old people, people who has been in Bali and experienced tha Bali-boom,
Olympic Ambitions
While padel harbors its own not so discreet ambitions to become an Olympic sport in the near future, it was in fact. Squash Whatsapp groups became a frisson of activity when their sport was – after decades of knocking at the proverbial closed door – added to the Olympic programme for LA 2028. While there’s a school of thought that “what’s good for one racket sport is good for racket sports collectively”, it would be stretching the truth to say it didn’t take padel circles by surprise given all the focus these last few years has been on when, not if, padel joins the so-called ‘Olympic family’.
All is not lost for padel, however. Far from it. As, for pioneers like Erin, it is Brisbane 2032 that feels like the possible (probable, perhaps) target for the sport to realize its Olympic dreams. And where better or more strategically sound than at an Australian games. A country yet to embrace padel but a country that loves its sport arguably like no other, and one that, should padel achieve Olympic status, would surely see its trajectory with the sport accelerate no end.
Governance Politics
As with all sports in today’s society, it is fraught with politics. And never more so than the question – some would say hot potato – of whether padel should be run at the national level by a pure padel federation or a tennis federation that adopts padel (a la LTA in the UK or Tennis Australia in Australia).
So, what about Tennis Australia, itself. Well, the Craig Tiley-run federation is, in contrast to other national federations, thought of as the most progressive, positively disruptive, private sector-esque national federation out there. .TA, as it is affectionately known, is the brains of the Laver Cup (think Ryder Cup for tennis), an athlete representation division, ambitious fan activities at the Aussie Open and a digital-first strategy to engage all-comers to the sport of padel. Yet, what’s the reaction Down Under of TA taking on padel? As Erin tells us that “As with everything, there are pros and cons to this approach.The pros being that a large governing body can help us with the regulation and development of padel on a national level, with an existing blueprint for how to do this for tennis. They can help with federating players, insurance, umpiring, rules and regulations, and then anti-doping, tood. The downside is that their main purpose is to increase the participation in tennis. Padel, at least currently and for the foreseeable future, is seen as a sub-sport or a derivative of tennis. This is anathema to us in the padel industry who want padel to stand on its own two feet. While we all want padel and tennis to thrive in the future, conflict of interest issues will surely arise. There will be decisions down the line that padel needs to take which may not serve tennis, and that are in padel’s interests and padel alone. What do you do then?”.
Time will tell, but for now, all eyes will be on this most sporting of nations’ enthusiasm to learn about, and surely fall for, the world’s fastest-growing sport.
