Soccer legend Diego Maradona’s passion for padel one of his best-kept secrets
Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona was famously known for his impressive skills on the field, but very few knew about his skills with the padel racket, a sport that he was just as excellent in.
Maradona was one of the first padel players to take up the sport before its rise in popularity, and in 1992 he became its first international ambassador, writes Sports News Blitz’s Shameeka Voyiya.
Passion for Padel
“Maradona played padel, he was a phenomenon, and he was right-handed. One day I played with him, and when I scored a point, he would say: ‘What a phenomenal point you made!’ And I was thinking: ‘El Diego is saying that to me!’” Nito Brea, former player and renowned coach and father of current star Delfina Brea told beIN SPORTS.
According to beIN SPORTS, Maradona’s passion for padel spurred the sport’s visibility and recognition on an international level, where he was spotted playing in locations including Madrid, Spain.
“He loved padel, his two daughters played padel,” Philippe Werts, the former member of the Belgian team and President of the Padel Federation, told Padel Magazine.
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“As for him we were players of the national padel team, it made our meeting easier, in addition our padel coach, Lucas Swinnen who also installed the first padel courts in Belgium, was Argentinian and from the same area as him, he spoke the same dialect,” he added.
Even Maradona’s son, Diego Maradona Jr., confirmed in several interviews that padel wasn’t just a hobby for his father, but a fundamental part of his training routine.
“My father was very good at it. He played twice a week. We are a family that loves this sport,” he said.
Maradona appeared as a star guest at the first Padel World Championship in 1992 held in Madrid.
He even skipped a pre-match camp ahead of his debut against Bayern Munich to support the team and ended up as a co-commentator during the final on live television.
History of padel
Padel originated in Mexico in 1969 when Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera built a walled court in his backyard to play a game similar to tennis and squash.
The sport moved to Spain in 1974 when Prince Alfonso of Hohenhole built two courts at his Marbella Club Hotel.
The first participants at the Padel World Championships included Argentina, Spain, UK and France, and in 1993, the Sports Council of Spain recognised ‘paddle’ as a sport and changed the name to ‘padel’ due to Spanish pronunciation.
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