When Karl and Janika Wijkmark inaugurated Malta’s first padel courts in January 2020 – just before the pandemic struck Malta – most people had no clue what the sport was all about.

Four years later, their padel club attracts up to 300 people a week, with three clubs running some 25 courts around the island.

Padel can be described as a blend of tennis and squash. The sport originated in Mexico in the 1960s and is now considered one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.

The game is played with a perforated bat on an enclosed court. The court is smaller than the traditional tennis one and is typically played as doubles with four players in total, divided into two pairs on either side of the net. 

The courts are smaller so it’s less stressful, which makes it more social

Karl and Janika Wijkmark. Photos: Padel Malta

Swedish-born Wijkmark and his Maltese wife Janika first brought “the padel bug” to Malta.

Over the years, the couple, who live in Malta, had seen padel grow in Sweden and thought “it would work well” in Malta.

They opened the first two courts in January 2020 in Pembroke. The pandemic broke out within weeks, forcing the country indoors. But open-air sports then started slowly picking up.

“Back then, no one had really heard about it. But it took off immediately. In the beginning it was mostly popular with expats but now the players are mostly Maltese. We also see a lot of beginners coming to try the sport,” said Karl.

A social sport

Marylee Degabriele got hooked on padel.

Marylee Degabriele, 39, first tried the sport a year ago during a work team-building event. She enjoyed the game and the atmosphere so much that she is now a regular player, taking to the court around four times a week.

“I had never touched a racket in my life. What I love about padel is that it’s very social. I met like-minded people. Apart from the social element, I want to do better now so there is an element of self-improvement.”

George Borg, 21, started playing padel with his friends almost two years ago and loves the social aspect of the sport. “I go to play and have fun and do some exercise… It also gets very competitive, which is part of the fun.

“Unlike tennis, you don’t need to have that much stamina to play padel as the courts are smaller so it’s less stressful, which makes it more social,” he said, adding that he played tennis for about two years some years back.

Is it a turf war?

But is padel taking over from tennis, and are tennis courts threatened by the new sport?

Padel is regulated by the Malta Tennis Federation. Federation president Marc Gingell Littlejohn said padel courts were sprouting as the demand is increasing exponentially.

While padel courts sometimes replaced tennis courts that had low usage, on the whole, the request for padel courts was on separate lands. Many tennis clubs are incorporating padel to offer different options to members.

“I would not say padel is a threat to tennis. I think they complement each other. Padel is similar to tennis but a little less complicated as the ball does not drift away as easily and the court is surrounded by a glass enclosure.

“They are both very popular sports with a large number of competitive and recreational players, the courts are smaller, and the game is played almost exclusively in doubles format,” said Gingell Littlejohn.

Padel and tennis are still technically demanding but ultimately, like all sports, offered a form of exercise that is fun and beneficial to overall wellbeing.

Former tennis champion Helen Asciak, who runs an academy, says “tennis is booming” and padel offers no threat to the sport.

Tennis player and coach Daryl Delicata, also does not believe that the popularity of padel is a direct threat to tennis.

He believes tennis players with a passion for the sport will not replace it for padel.