Fall Padel at Rideau Centre in Ottawa

New game, new court, friendly group; European style

I enjoyed my introduction to Padel this week on Rideau Centre’s new Padel court. You can really feel the European flair playing the game — hugely popular in Spain and across Europe, with the colourful language used for court tactics and shot making.

Ottawa consultant, James Anderson was kind enough to ask me to join him and his regular Saturday morning crew for a great game of Padel at the Rideau Centre’s new court, behind the Tennis Pavilion. The location is spectacular in the fall with the last remaining days of warm sun lighting the blue tile floor and providing a Hollywood setting for game play.

I enjoyed both the company and Padel, a new game to me. My collective court experience of pickleball, tennis, and squash worked well, and I quickly oriented myself to Padel’s unique walled in court

Padel is a game that emphasizes court positioning to retrieve balls hit off the end walls, team strategy, and lots of lobs combined with drive and block volleys. 

Soft technique wins over strength, recovery and court agility beats brawn. But what really counts, and the biggest adjustment for pickleball players, will be learning to adjust their entry to the walls to retrieve balls. 

I struggled with learning the perfect distance to hit a ricochet and getting behind a bounced ball to send it back in a high arc to the end of the court. 

My biggest advantage from pickleball, was the ease in moving from the baseline after the serve through the transition zone to hit a controlled drive or block volleys at the net, without a Kitchen Line to consider. 

Padel is a satisfying game to play. It rewards patience and team work. I hope to get in another fall game before winter comes to Ottawa.

Thanks James. I enjoyed myself!