How do you pronounce padel correctly?

And what is it commonly confused with?

Padel is becoming more and more popular in Vienna and around the world. Still, the name is often pronounced incorrectly or even called by the wrong term. Especially in German-speaking countries, many variations appear that are not really correct. Here’s a quick overview of the proper name, pronunciation, and the most common misunderstandings

Padel or paddle? What is correct?

The correct name of the sport is simply “padel.” This is also the official name used by the International Padel Federation and all national federations worldwide.

Just like tennis, padel uses yellow balls, a net, and a similar scoring system. You also play with a racket. Officially, however, the sport is not called “padel tennis”, it is simply called padel.

The name comes from the Spanish word “pádel,” which itself is derived from the English word “paddle.” The sport was invented in 1969 by Enrique Corcuera in Mexico and later became especially popular in Spain and Argentina. From there, the name “padel” established itself internationally.

Still, people often use other names such as:

Padel Tennis
Paddle Tennis
Paddleball
Paddle
Paddel
Pädel
Pädl

Internationally, however, the name “padel” has clearly become the standard.

How do you pronounce “padel” correctly?

The correct pronunciation is: „PA-DEL“ The emphasis is on the first syllable. An easy pronunciation guide in English:

„PA“ like in “pasta”
„DEL“ like in “delivery” 📦

That gets very close to the original Spanish pronunciation.

This is how the professionals pronounce it

Here, in an interview with Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello, you can hear how “padel” is pronounced by professional players.

You can also find the current list of the world’s top male and female players there, including direct links to their Instagram accounts.

Padel: the most common confusions.

The name sometimes leads to funny misunderstandings.

Some people confuse padel with “paddle,” meaning stand-up paddleboarding (SUP). Others hear “poodle,” which of course has nothing to do with the sport. 😄

Recently, another confusion has become more and more common: people mix up padel and pickleball. Both sports are played with rackets and are growing rapidly worldwide. However, they are completely different sports with different rules, rackets, and courts.

By the way, you can also play pickleball in Vienna.

So in short: