My relationship with sport is quite tormented. As an athlete, I twice injured my left ACL at the age of 18, like many young Italians, playing football. In fact, this was a career ending injury as I decided not to undergo a second surgery with the following rehabilitation as I was starting at Medical School and I wanted to turn the page on my athletic (short) career that was causing me so many troubles.

However, due to my passion for sport, I then started practicing different sports, always trying to cope with my knee instability and the osteoarthritis I was developing. As often happens with food, sports that I liked were not good for me, while the ones I detested were the most beneficial. In the meantime, I married and had children, so I wanted to practice a discipline I could perform together with my family.

But which sport was fun, with a low injury impact and possible to be practiced with my family?

The answer was simple: none, for many years. Then padel entered my life. I started to play it and it became an addition for me. I could play it with my family, with friends of all ages, coping with my knee troubles and extremely fun.

My experience, in one way or another, is shared by many people around the world. Padel is growing as a sport because it is a fun and easy to learn activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. Additionally, it is a relatively low-impact sport that can be played indoors or outdoors, making it accessible year-round. The sport is also growing in popularity because it is a great form of social and recreational activity, allowing people to play and socialize with friends and family. Padel is also becoming more organized and professional with more tournaments, clubs and professional players. Additionally, it is becoming more accessible with the development of new technologies and materials that are making the equipment more affordable and durable.

At an amateur level, padel has a low risk of injury compared to other sports. As long as players prepare themselves properly, use proper technique, wear appropriate footwear and use good quality equipment, the risk of injury can be minimized.

Additionally, padel can be a great form of exercise and can help to improve overall fitness and well-being. It can help to improve cardiovascular health, build strength and endurance, and improve balance and coordination.

But padel is not only fun (and beneficial) to play, it is also fun to watch. Professional players showcase a high level of skill, athleticism, and strategy, with spectacular results. Professional tournaments often feature intense and exciting matches and players have unique playing styles and personalities that can make the matches more interesting to watch. For this special issue of the Aspetar Sport Medicine Journal we interviewed the legend of this sport, and for 16 consecutive years the number 1 ranked player in the World, Fernando Belasteguin.

Being a relatively new sport the science behind it is not as developed as it is for more established sports. However, there are some areas of padel science that are beginning to be studied and understood. It's likely that as the sport continues to grow, we will see more studies on the sport and its effects on the body and mind. Despite this lack of evidence, our authors provided high level articles on different aspects of padel medicine and for this reason I am even more grateful to them. We hope to give a small contribution to the science behind padel with our special issue. So, enjoy the reading and start playing, it’s easy, fun and beneficial!

Cristiano Eirale MD PhD

Sports Medicine Physician

Aspetar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital Doha, Qatar