PADEL
Padel: The tennis/squash hybrid set for a LIV Golf-style feud
A sport that was first popular in Spain and Mexico is growing — but not without its controversies
Norton, pictured here with Andy Murray, was the first British female to compete and win a match on the World Padel Tour
LUKE WALKER/GETTY IMAGES
Even Great Britain’s female padel trailblazer struggles to fully comprehend the Wild West that is the racket sport’s professional structure. “It does get a bit confusing sometimes,” Tia Norton says as she attempts to explain why there are three separate tours in existence.
For a growing number of people in this country, padel is the new, cool and sociable hybrid of tennis and squash that is an enjoyable recreational hobby. The Liverpool FC manager, Jürgen Klopp, has become so addicted that he had a court built at the club’s Melwood training ground.
Padel is a hybrid of tennis and squash, played on a court enclosed by four transparent walls. Matches are contested by two pairs of players using the same scoring system as tennis but
