Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are just some of the footballers who’ve been bitten by the padel bug — but ex-Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munch winger Arjen Robben might be the most dedicated player of them all.
Last weekend, the former Champions League winner played in a Cupra FIP Bronze tournament in Westerbork, Netherlands, and qualified for the main draw!
Teaming up with partner Werner Lootsma, they saved six match points before beating Ralph Boekema and Mark Weldmate (the latter also a former footballer) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the final qualifying round.
In the first round of the main draw, however, the pair weres defeated 6-1, 6-0 by Sten Richters and Thijs Roper, ranked 155th and 144th respectively.
Richters was nonetheless surprised by the level of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finalist. “He’s the best former professional footballer we know who plays padel”, he said.
Hundreds of spectators were drawn to the stands by the presence of the Dutch legend, who discovered padel in Germany (“I played three times a week”) and has previously played with ex-Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, as well as padel legends Juan Lebron and Ale Galan.
Such is Robben’s passion for padel that he had a padel court built in his garden. “I don’t think I can take myself too seriously,” he said. “I started with low expectations, even though I tried to fight on the court and score as many points as possible.”
Previously Robben has said: “Zlatan Ibrahimovic made padel an important sport in Sweden, I think I can do the same in the Netherlands.”
