India held its first-ever international Padel tournament, the CUPRA FIP Tour, with the FIP Promotion India Padel Open, from 21-24 November, 2024, at the Times Group’s Bennett University in Greater Noida. Along with the finest Indian Padel talent, the tournament hosted International players from countries like Spain, Japan, Netherlands, France, Italy and Iran. Organised by The Times Group, and Padel League Private Limited (a subsidiary of PTL Sports Group) and sanctioned by the International Padel Federation (FIP). This was the first international tournament sanctioned by FIP in India.
Padel is a racket sport that combines elements of Tennis and Squash. It’s typically played in doubles on a smaller, enclosed court surrounded by walls. Players can hit the ball off these walls to keep it in play, adding a strategic dimension to the game. Padel’s smaller court and use of walls can make it easier for beginners to learn and enjoy, while the strategic elements and the ability to hit off the walls add depth and excitement for experienced players.
Aditya Khanna, a seasoned entrepreneur and a figure in India’s sports landscape, has been involved in the tennis community as both a player and a strategic force behind major events like the Davis Cup. Now, he’s set his sights on the sport of Padel — a blend of tennis and squash.
Padel, often described as one of the fastest-growing sports globally, is on the cusp of a breakthrough in India. With its easy-to-learn rules, shorter matches, and focus on doubles play, Padel aims to attract a broad demographic, from amateur sports lovers to seasoned athletes looking for a new challenge.
With Khanna at the helm, the goal is to transform Padel from a niche sport into a mainstream phenomenon in India. His strategic vision, combined with his vast network and experience in sports media and marketing, positions him as the perfect ambassador to elevate Padel’s profile in India.
Medianews4u.com caught up with Aditya Khanna, Founder Director of Padel League Private Ltd. & Tournament Director of FIP Promotion India
Q. There is a trend of racket sports coming up like Padel and Pickleball. What factors are driving this growth?
The factors which are driving this growth is the ease of playing the sport and the young crowd and the amateurs also wanting to play the sport and even the older crowd. Because the sport is easy to play both Pickleball and Padel at an amateur level, it is driving a great growth in both rural and urban cities as well.
And it’s great fitness, it’s a great workout as well, you don’t need that many people, you only need four or two people to play the sport at a particular time and within one hour of play you get a great workout as well. That’s why it’s growing a lot.
Q. Padel was introduced back in the 1970s. Why did it take a long time to become popular now?
Padel was introduced in 1970s, but the reason why it’s very popular now is because even though it was introduced then, the presence of social media and all these things did not exist and it was introduced at a very amateur stage. It started becoming very popular in 2000s in Europe and in GCC countries in 2010-15 onwards.
Because of social media, because of the presence of Indians going to these countries as well on a regular basis, playing the sport there, the sport is getting popular now in India as well. Unfortunately, none of the federations or national federations made a presence in India or the international federation did not have the bandwidth to make a huge presence in India.
So there was some work on Padel which was getting done from 2015 onwards. It existed from 2015 in India as well, but unfortunately the earlier people probably did not put in as much hard work or did not put in any effort to grow the sport.
There was a federation which existed, but there was not much work done to actually popularise the sport because it takes a lot of effort. So now as you see with this event, we put in a lot of effort to make a huge impact on Padel in the country and with such events more people would like to take part and more juniors would also take part in the sport.
Q. How has the response been to the first ever international Padel tournament?
The response has been totally amazing because we have representation from at least 10 countries and some top players have come and all the top Indian players are playing. But I think for a first event it is very good, but I think if we do another international event, an internationally recognised federation event, I think it’s only going to be much better.
This was the first time that there were still people weren’t sure how it was conducted or what kind of quality of service we will give, but I think they are overwhelmed with what we have done and I think this is going to be very popular and next time this is going to be even bigger in terms of participation both from Indians and from international perspective as well.
Q. How did the partnership with the Times Group come about?
Times is known for its innovations and new ventures and they are investing in sports and Padel being an upcoming sport both in urban and rural cities and also among juniors and amongst the Gen Z. I think that Times has taken on in popularising the sport because they see paddle becoming a very popular sport in India and yes that’s how the participation has come about.
Q. What is the game plan to grow Padel in the country? Is the entire country being targetted or is the starting point major metros?
India is a huge country so the entire country needs to be targetted but at a pace where first we start with the metro cities of course and then we go on to target the smaller towns as well. Essentially we need to launch the Indian tour, the Indian leagues, we need to introduce Padel at junior levels as well, more importantly amongst grassroots from the under 10 to the under 18 and make it a professional sport for players, introduce it in schools and colleges for the youths to start playing.
Right now it has been created at a very amateur level so that perception of sport needs to change and we are at the forefront by controlling the ecosystem and doing the same.
Q. Who is the target audience? Who are all being targeted for participation as well as for viewership?
There are two ways of looking at it. One is the Fit India movement and one is of course the professional level. So we are going to target of course from the professional level all the juniors and grassroots and all the pros to make this, take this as a career sport or take this as a professional sport but essentially also we want to create a whole, everybody should be either going to the gym or play any sport and I prefer playing a sport.
I myself play active racquet sports, I play tennis, I play Padel, I play pickleball and I feel, I am 42 years old, I feel and I want to continue playing till as long as I live. The motto with any racquet sport is that we need to encourage participation at that level as well and that’s how it will happen with these sports. So our target audience is definitely going to be even the older crowd to be playing paddle as well but the viewership of course I feel is going to be a lot driven by the Gen Z and the new youngsters because it’s a very trendy sport, fun sport to watch.
Of course we have older people, an older crowd watching it as well but I think that there may be more traditionalists still watching tennis and the traditional sports but definitely the target is going to be more towards them and some older crowd as well will probably be into racquet sports.
Q. What opportunity does paddle offer to advertisers?
Padel will offer great opportunities to advertisers because it’s a highly TV viewership sport. I was in Spain earlier this year and there were 25,000 people watching the stadium and a very acrobatic sport with, you know if you see the Instagram reels that are amazing to watch, you know if you scroll through them you cannot stop watching it until you see the full point.
I think that from a TV viewership point of view Padel is going to be a highly watched sport both from an international and Indian perspective and that’s how the sponsors and eyeballs will come in. Activations can happen of course on ground but mostly it of course happens through TV. So I think it’s going to be highly watched.
Q. Whether digital consumption of sports is rising. How will FI Promotion India use these digital touch points like YouTube and social media to push paddle?
Since it’s an FIP event, which is an International Padel Federation event, we have certain guidelines which we have to follow according to the International Federation. If it was a private event of ours or an Indian Federation, it would have gone all out in terms of the social media, in terms of the videos and reels that are created. But since we are within the guidelines, we are trying to do maximum publicity through social media as well as digital. We are targetting the young age crowd and that’s what we are looking at a strong digital presence because today’s day and age everybody is on social media and digital platforms.
Q. Online, how will new technologies like AR, VR can be used to boost consumption of paddle?
As a sport gets more popular and gets more technical as well, I feel even towards coaching and even towards viewing points, you know, it becomes very important. If you see in tennis as well, it is usually the speed of the ball, the accuracy, you know, everything is important. Like you see in cricket DRS and all these things, the pace there’s so many stats which comes out and I’m sure in Padel also that already exists internationally, but we just need to bring it to India across these AR and VR systems. I’m not much of a tech guy, but I think that it truly is going to be important because for the new generation, they are totally into this.
Q. Apart from Doordarshan, are private sports broadcasters interested in sports like paddle?
Yes, they are interested, but I think the sport needs to build up in India a lot before they really do get a lot more interested because as long as in any sport, you need to have Indian champions and Indian players who are doing very well in the world scenario. For instance tennis was popular with Sania Mirza becoming the world number one in doubles. Saina Nehwal made a big impact in badminton. Then you have Neeraj Chopra in the Olympics.
That is when the sport gets a real pump and people actually start watching, you know. In cricket, because we have Indian stars like Virat Kohli and Sharma, children aspire to be like them. We need that to also attract a lot of channels to watch. City sports are really great to watch on television. We definitely need Indian stars as well to even get a higher audience to watch.
Q. Women participation in sports is quickly growing compared to a decade back. How big of an opportunity is this for Padel?
Padel has men’s doubles and women’s doubles. It is one of the sports where a lot of women are playing as well. It’s equal opportunity. The prize money in every Padel tournament is equal for both men and women. I definitely feel that there are a lot of women who will be playing Padel as well. It’s a truly gender equity sport, I feel, and is equally good to watch from a perspective of men’s doubles and women’s doubles. I feel that there will be a huge following in women’s Padel as well and we encourage more and more women to participate and take part in the sport.
Q. What grassroots activities will be done to grow sports at the awareness level and currently what is the awareness level and participation level?
At the grassroots level, I think the participation level is as good as nil at this point of time because the most important thing needed is infrastructure in schools and universities and clubs. Right now, there is some infrastructure available in India, but that’s also being consumed at a very amateur level by club players. So, that is why the whole point of forming the right governing body, putting in the right investment in these areas, opening the right centres, having some foreign coaches coming in, training the coaches as well to be able to train individuals, people aspiring to make it a career sport, that is what is needed at this point of time.
That is why I say it is as good as nil because we don’t have a junior team to send for an international Padel event because children, if they are playing a racket sport, it is either tennis, badminton or squash or table tennis. I think that Padel is a new sport to most parents and most juniors, but the vision of Padel in the next 5-7-8 years for us in India, is to make it a household sport and make a lot of juniors and players play.
Q. Finally, in the long term, is league format like IPL, PKL the way to go while also keeping in the fact that some leagues like this, those in tennis have not worked. What are your views on this?
I think tennis leagues are working now. I have been involved in tennis for many years. There is a tennis league called Tennis Premier League, which is where all the top Indian tennis players are playing now.
It is working very well. We have international players coming for the league as well. Similarly, you see in Pickleball also, there is a league coming up, PWR League, an Indian league which is coming with all top Indian players and foreign players coming to play.
Similarly, like Padel also, I feel it is going to be, as I said, exciting to watch. Indian players are making their mark slowly, so there will be good Indian talent as well in the next 1-2 years. Also, the foreign talent in Padel is already amazing.
So there is a huge prospect in that. But I feel more than the league, at this point what we need is development of sport in India before we jump to a league, that is at a stage where we have good talent which already exists in India. That is our first endeavour.
But I feel that a league is also important because that gives incentive for youngsters and juniors to play because the league has a great financial aspect attached to it with players earning a decent amount of money. So that sort of incentivises them. So that is also in the cards.
