'The sport everyone’s playing on holiday has got me totally hooked'

"Our philosophy is friendship,” my coach declares, as he hands me a weird-looking racket with perforated holes for my first foray into padel. It’s said to be the fastest-growing sport in the UK, and is also expanding in key holiday resorts.

Spain is king in this up-and-coming game that’s a cross between tennis and squash and first found ground in Mexico.

But Portugal is also getting in on the action, so I’ve come to Pine Cliffs Luxury Collection Resort, an immense 72-hectare cliffside family-friendly enclave in the Algarve, awash with Moorish touches and Portuguese tiles – and an architectural gem of an inner courtyard in the main hotel.

It offers everything from the prestigious Annabel Croft Tennis and Padel Academy, to a nine-hole golf course, state-of-the-art gym, award-winning spa, yoga, Pilates and, more importantly, a recently expanded padel facility.

This year, due to demand, one of the tennis courts has been adapted into three padel courts to bring its total to four, complete with glass back wall and metal fencing enclosures. Perfect for trying this sport out with my Gen-Z daughter, Grace, to see how inter-generational it is. Coach Labisa Palmera, co-founder of the first padel club in Albufeira, recalls: “It’s been a huge phenomenon in Spain and 12 years ago it went crazy in Lisbon. Now, so many people, aged eight to 80, are playing padel and you don’t need many lessons.”

It’s also a sociable game, given the generations can play together. Ideal, then, for a family holiday.

And it’s reported to be the fastest-growing racket sport in the world, with more than 25 million active players in 110 countries. The Lawn Tennis Association says participation on home turf trebled last year, with over 400,000 players inBritain.

Former Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi was seen last year playing padel with David Beckham, while sporting superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and singer Shakira have caught the bug.

The premise is simple: you only play doubles, it is scored like tennis, you serve underarm and receivers can return the ball either as they would in tennis or off the wall after it has bounced.

“We have found 40-55-year-olds who have done no sport in life found that they could do padel. The difference is that it’s a really sociable game, not too competitive, easy to learn and the whole family can do it,” Labisa enthuses.

Well, he might not think it’s competitive, but that depends who you play. There are weekly tournaments here, and the academy can pair up solo players with others of similar abilities and organise fun clinics for all levels.

Finding a sport you love doesn’t make exercise a chore on holiday, and the same goes for healthy eating, as we discovered in many of Pine Cliff’s 15 restaurants, each of which has a unique setting which makes you feel you’re in a different resort.

We dine under the trees in a beautiful lemon grove, enjoy freshly caught sea bream and other catches of the day looking out on to the Atlantic Ocean at the resort and feast on “art on a plate” sushi and other Japanese delicacies at Yakuza, a restaurant in partnership with Olivier da Costa, one of Portugal’s most recognised chefs.

Tangy ginger breakfast shots devoid of alcohol, acai bowls and other delicious, nutritious fare with nuts, organic honey and lashings of fresh fruit will set you up for a day of sport, or leisure, if you just want to lounge in the grassy area under the shade of the pine trees.

There are some 5,000 trees around the resort, which provide a more natural and cooler alternative to huddling around the multiple swimming pools. We’re here in peak season but the park-like green space makes the whole development seem roomier and less busy.

I prefer to swim in the sea and a lift takes us down to a wooden walkway between the cliffs, which leads to Falesia Beach, known for its long stretch of golden sand and the distinctive burned orange cliffs that frame it. Little wonder it was named the “world’s best beach” by Tripadvisor users in the 2024 Travellers’ Choice Awards.

Here, thrill-seekers can pound the waves on jet skis or try their hand at paddleboarding, while families have fun with bodyboards riding the surf of the refreshing Atlantic.

We try other sports during the week – tennis with head coach Brunno Cappelletti Rocha, whose patience with us is admirable, golf, where we hit (and miss) a few balls on the driving range, and yoga of the gentler kind, thanks to our teacher, stretching my many unused muscles. That can be done in a studio or on the beach.

A sports massage at the Serenity – The Art of Well Being spa, housing 13 treatment rooms, hydrotherapy pool, various sauna and steam rooms and other wellbeing delights, irons out my aching limbs and prepares me for the next sporting challenge.

And for me, padel is the star.

Certainly, it requires less court coverage than tennis, being a third of the size of a tennis court, and beginners can quickly pick up the techniques – the all-important lob, the volley, the “chiquita” (aiming to put the ball at your opponent’s feet) and the position and timing needed to hit a ball off the glass wall.

I hadn’t played tennis or squash for years and felt I was done with these high-intensity sports, so I’d taken up pickleball, an easier padel relative, with a group of like-minded midlifers.

But I was keen to enter a new multi-generational pastime which might engage my grown-up children.

On a holiday where I didn’t fancy spending my time pounding the treadmill in a gym alongside my much fitter daughter and wanted to enjoy exercise without it feeling arduous, padel seemed a good choice.

Playing as partners, Grace was told she had a great volley. I, as the more experienced racket-sport enthusiast, was informed my backhand was a killer. On the second session, Labisa teamed us up with Irish sisters Isabella, 14, and Molly, 12, who he said were good at tennis and would make suitable opponents.

Indeed, despite our age difference, the games went to deuce and we had a fun-filled match, as lobs were practised and volleys smashed. Back in the UK, we’re looking for a court nearby where we can practise our volleys, perfect our timing when the ball bounces off the glass wall, and nail that chiquita.

GET THERE

Flights to Faro, Algarve, Portugal, are available from multiple airports across the UK.

BOOK IT

Rooms at the Pine Cliffs Resort near Albufeira, Algarve, start at around £218 a night in October.

• Adult tennis or padel weekly coaching courses start from £300 £326 in October, children £291. pinecliffs.com

MORE INFO

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