I genuinely tried to enjoy this.
But, if this is the best professional padel has to offer as a spectator product, the sport may have a serious problem.
I just watched one of the most viewed professional padel video on YouTube — 3.5 million views in 6 years. It is titled “The best point in padel history-UNBELIVABLE”.
Here’s what I saw: four excellent athletes, a rally that seems to last forever, a dark indoor hall that looks empty.
Let me be clear: this is not about the players. The athleticism is impressive.
But as a spectator product, it felt… boring.
Other than slices and lobs, you rarely see the variation that makes tennis so compelling: heavy topspin, flat winners, drop shots, kick serves, passing shots, sharp angles and net play. Tennis constantly changes geometry and rhythm. Padel often looks like a never-ending rally with few decisive moments.
And spectator sports live and die by suspense. Tennis figured that out decades ago.
It has clear scoring drama, rivalries, iconic venues and explosive highlights. A point can end with a 210 km/h serve, a backhand down the line winner, or a diving volley.
That unpredictability is television gold…. the audience numbers reflect that: tennis reaches around 2 billion global viewers annually, while padel is still working toward a sustainable broadcast audience.
Even on social media the gap is striking. The biggest tennis stars have tens of millions of followers. Many top padel players are still under a million.
This matters because spectator sports are built on stories, personalities and moments, not just participation.
And participation is where padel is absolutely crushing it. Around 30 million people now play padel worldwide, with growth of roughly 100% since 2020.
But, and this is important, great participation sports are not automatically great spectator sports.
Golf works. Tennis works. Formula 1 works.
But many mass-participation sports never crack the mainstream broadcast stage.
So what could padel do?
– Better venues – move away from dingy indoor halls. Outdoor stadium courts, iconic locations, visible crowds.
– Lighting & atmosphere – pro matches should feel like events, not club sessions.
– Broadcast innovation – better camera angles, player mics, dynamic coverage.
– Star building – the sport needs recognizable rivalries and personalities.
– More attacking incentives – formats that reward finishing points.
Tennis constantly experiments with format and presentation (Next Gen Finals, UTS, Netflix shows, mic’d players) because it knows attention is the real currency of sport.
Luckily, Padel still has time to do the same.
….Or maybe padel is simply not destined for the big-time spectator stage and should just settle as one of the great amateur participation sports of our time?
(Originally published on LinkedIn)