Padel Holds Court in Miami
Tennis-Squash hybrid sport lands in South Florida
By ADAM KUPERSTEIN and BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 2:24 PM EDT, Fri, Jul 24, 2009
It isn't tennis, racquet ball, or squash -- it's sort of a mix between the three -- but Padel is the biggest sport you've never heard of and it's now in Miami.
It's already found a following across Europe and Latin America, and thanks to a store in Aventura and a couple of courts at AB Sport Club, Miamians are getting into the game.
"I ask everybody, have you heard of Padel? Have you heard? and they say yes, yes, yes," said Vicky Mossucco, who sells Padel equiptment out of her store, Aventura Tennis. "This is an opportunity for a tennis player who doesn't play tennis that good, because it's not so demanding."
The game uses the same scoring system as tennis, but it also uses the walls of the court, much like raquetball.
"We came to Miami, all these people from all over South America, so we said this is a great place to bring the sport back here," said Natalia DeBiasi, who runs courts at AB Sport Club in Miami. "We've had people calling and thanking us, [saying] 'I've been looking for this forever since I got to Miami.'"
AB Sport Club has just two courts, and they're filled every night by players like Hector Romero, who played as a kid in Argentina.
"Wow, I can't believe it, we have the first Padel court here in Miami," Romero said. "When you learn how to play, it's really easy and really nice."
First Published: Jul 24, 2009 12:44 PM EDT
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