QH INTERVIEWS PADEL IN DEPUTY GM JOHAN MADARASZ ON THE SPORT AND HOW YOU, TOO, CAN FOLLOW THE FAD
Qatar, the unparalleled sporting hub of the Middle East, is going crazy about Padel — the fastest growing sport in the world. Thanks largely to the Al Kuwari brothers Mohammed Saadon, Khalid and Abdul Aziz, Padel has taken the country by storm after first engaging fans in Doha half a decade ago. Right now, approximately 100,000 amateur and professional pairs are playing the sport across the country.
Johan, Deputy General Manager of Padel IN, the club founded by the Al Kuwari brothers, talks at length about the popularity of Padel, a sport played with a smaller racket on court that is also smaller than a regular tennis court.
Here are excerpts from a Q&A session:
How do you see the growth of Padel in Qatar in such a short span?
Padel is the fastest growing sports on the planet and it is not an exception in Qatar. The vision of Padel IN is to provide the best environment and facilities for the community here in Qatar to play Padel. Padel IN is providing exclusively indoors courts along with the best professional equipment. Padel IN started with one club, including four indoor courts in 2019. Today, Padel IN has four clubs in Qatar with a total of 28 indoors courts. We opened the flagship club at Aspire in July 2021 with 10 courts with a dedicated club for ladies with three courts. We can predict that the sport will continue growing day by day with new players joining the community.
Roughly how many players are playing the sport right now and how many courts are available to the public?
Padel IN is offering four clubs across Qatar with a total of 28 indoor courts. We are estimating that more than 100,000 people play or played Padel during the last 2 years in Qatar.
What is so special about Padel IN?
The vision Padel IN is “By the players for the players”. Padel IN is not providing only courts to rent. Padel IN created the Padel IN Academy that provides after school camps for the young generation. It is an important pillar of Padel IN vision to train the youth so that they can one day represent Qatar on the international circuit. Padel IN is also providing coach lessons for individuals and groups.
You recently got awarded the World Guiness Record for the largest Padel championship?
Padel IN created the Padel IN Tour which includes a series of competition across the year. Recently, Padel IN was awarded the Largest Padel Championship by the Guinness World Record with 778 Players participating in the tournament Qatar Rail Open. It is, of course, a great achievement and will help to highlight Qatar as an important place in the world for Padel.
What are the next steps for Padel IN?
Padel IN has already expanded across the Middle East with one club in Kuwait and another two in Saudi Arabia. The vision is to continue to expand our Padel community in the Gulf region and abroad, and create links between the players of each countries.
For the benefit of the uninitiated, how to start playing Padel IN?
Padel IN club courts and coaching lessons are available on the app Playtomic. You can choose your preferred club, time and coaches. You can also register in our tournaments on www.padelintour.com
