‘No sport has had such success in so short a time’: padel takes off in Italy
by Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo, Italy and Sam Jones in M from on (#5W1JW)
When Covid stopped contact sports, Italians took to padel, a sport popular in Spain, similar to tennis with a dash of squash
At one of Italy's darkest moments in the pandemic, the government introduced a list of draconian rules to halt the outbreak of Covid, including which sports Italians would be allowed to practise.
Among the activities the authorities considered safe were a few Italians barely knew. One was padel, a fast-paced racket sport popular in Spain, similar to tennis but with a dash of squash thrown in.