Is tennis’s status as the king of racket sports about to change?
long enjoyed hitting things back and forth. A predecessor to badminton was supposedly played in Asia more than two millennia ago. In the 12th century members of the French royal family entertained themselves by playing “”. The “palm game”, which involved slapping a ball over a net, evolved into modern-day tennis. Today racket sports are played everywhere, all the time. This weekend, for instance, in Malaysia the world’s top badminton players will fight in one of the sport’s big tournaments.
Padel and pickleball enthusiasts say their sport is more accessible than tennis. The smaller rackets are easier to wield, the underarm serves simpler to master, the courts less tiring to run around. Pickleball has proved to be particularly popular among America’s retirees. Both sports are also snappier than tennis, where matches can drag on for hours.
Clubs across the world are dividing up tennis spaces to accommodate pickleball and padel. Doubles is the preferred form of the games, so courts are usually occupied by four people. The fees they pay give the clubs a higher yield per square foot than do those from tennis. Tennis lovers are not pleased. Across America, tempers have flared . Lawsuits have been discussed.
These arguments have merits. Tennis’s enduring popularity, especially as a spectator sport, is partly due to its sophistication. The ball bounces differently on different surfaces. Playing styles can differ widely. Even a casual observer could distinguish Rafael Nadal’s grinding ground strokes from Roger Federer’s elegant shotmaking. Indeed, it is this variety that creates superstars and partisanship, which fill stadiums.
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