Padel now also offered by the DTB
Padel is one of the fastest growing sports with over 18 million players worldwide. In Germany, too, more and more people are enthusiastic about padel, which has been assigned to the German Tennis Association (DTB) for a year and is strategically promoted by the association.
by p.m
last edit: Jan 28, 2023, 01:43 pm
Since the beginning of 2022, the DTB has been officially responsible for the sport of padel in the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). "For us, this is a huge opportunity to further develop the tennis clubs and make them fit for the future. With padel as a possible supplementary offer, tennis clubs open themselves up to new target groups and can survive against the great competition on the leisure market," says DTB Vice President Dr. Sebastian Projahn.
The big starting signal was given at the International DTB Tennis Congress presented by HEAD. Almost 1,000 visitors, including coaches and club officials, saw a show match between Craig O'Shannessy, Dr. Philipp Born and national padel players Jonas Messerschmidt and Corina Scholten followed by a round of talks. There were also tips for clubs that want to offer padel, including best practice examples: "In Cologne, TC Weiden built two padel courts. With the construction of the courts, the club gained 172 new members (as of 2022). A third padel court is now being built on the facility,” says Dr. Philipp Born, member of the padel working group at the DTB.
Funding in four subject areas
Strategically, the association deals with four subject areas. In order for the sport to be accessible to the general public, the DTB wants:
... advise state associations and their clubs, train trainers and push ahead with building space in the clubs.
...organize regional and national forms of competition.
...develop a padel trainer education (C-Trainer & trainer training).
...implement public relations measures on site & digitally.