According to the Estonian Padel Association (EPL), nearly 5,000 people play padel in Estonia. EPL president Siim Tuus said padel is much easier to pick up than traditional tennis.

"The racket has no strings and is shorter, making it a lot easier to hit and play the ball," he explained. "The court is smaller too. This is a fun, simple and social game, and you can start playing competitively for points against friends pretty quickly. That's a major reason behind its growth."

Tuus said that right now, a few hundred young padel players are training competitively in Estonia.

"Top players worldwide compete in large arenas, where some stadiums have crowds of 10,000 or more," he noted. "The professional sports side is precisely what motivates kids to get involved in sports."

There are already more than 100 padel courts located across Estonia, 60 of which are in Tallinn. Laur Kivistik, who runs 20 of them, acknowledged that business is good, and new courts are being added.

"Even people who might not otherwise be very athletic or haven't played any sports at all are playing," Kivistik highlighted.

"It's not just a sports club, but a kind of lifestyle spot, where people want to spend time and meet up with friends," he continued, describing his facilities. "A lot of people come here just to hang out — maybe watch a game, grab something to eat at our cafe and do their own thing."

In Sweden, the padel boom happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. AT the time, padel was one of few sports people could still play despite restrictions. As restrictions eased, courts built in less than ideal locations stood empty, and several businesses went bankrupt.

Ivar Maripuu from Padel Arena said that in the Estonian capital, choosing the location for a new padel court demands careful consideration.

"You have to think more and more about where to build them," Maripuu said. "Right now, Mustamäe is an area where there are already quite a few centers, so there's not much point in building [more] there anymore. But if you look around Estonia, there are definitely places where people live and want to stay active, but don't have centers yet."

The Estonian Padel Association (EPL) was founded in 2017, and joined the International Padel Federation (FIP) that same year. The FIP currently has more than 80 members worldwide.

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