The battle of racquet sports is hot in Catalonia, according to CMDsport.
Back in 2019, for the first time, the ranks of the Catalonian Pádel Federation swelled past those of the Catalonian Tennis Federation. Tennis surged again thereafter but has since fallen behind again.
For the past two years the figures for tennis and pádel (respectively) are as follows:
- 2021: 21,399 vs. 21,157
- 2022: 24,100 vs. 25,115
This is beyond the pádel federation’s own projection of 24,500, and now Felip Ródenas, pádel’s president for Catalonia, is seeking to raise the total to 28,000 by the end of this year.
Catalonia is the top region in the world’s top country for pádel. Second-place Madrid is far behind, with 10,022 licensed players, followed by Andalusia, with 8,000. Spain as whole has 96,565.
Catalonia also gained ten new clubs in 2022. The total now stands at 303.
Photo: Tomasz Krawczyk, Unsplash
