Game, set, padel: The racquet sport to try on your next resort getaway

Standing on a pristine court surrounded by carefully pruned coconut trees swaying in the gentle seaside breeze, I was getting ready to serve. Under the golden hued sunset, I almost felt like a tennis pro. Luckily for me, I was not facing the pressure of landing an ace in a tennis game, a sport that is stunning to watch but, frankly, not as forgiving when it comes to learning.
Instead, this is padel, a sport that combines elements of tennis and squash played on a special glass-walled space about one third the size of a tennis court. Usually a doubles game, it is played with a perforated racquet-bat that is far easier to handle than a tennis racquet. That is just one reason padel is loved as a social and relatively easy sport to pick up, with lots of room to have fun — even if one’s backhand is not quite Wimbledon-worthy.
Widely regarded as one of the fastest growing sports in the world, the game was invented in Mexico in the 1960s but has really exploded in popularity post-pandemic as more people gravitated towards healthy, social activities.
Now, it is also the leisure sport of choice at luxury resorts, offering vacationers a workout that is as inclusive as it is enjoyable because of its easy learning curve and social vibe.
Curious about the appeal of the game, I hopped on a breezy one-hour ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Bintan, to check out the newly installed padel courts at The Sanchaya.
The luxury resort, which recently completed a renovation of its main building, the Great House and its suites, also launched two new padel courts in March.
“We wanted to offer our in-house guests more activities and having been introduced to padel, we recognised its growing popularity and user-friendly nature. It is accessible for beginners, non-athletes and families, which ticked a lot of boxes for us — padel is a game that both professionals and first-timers can enjoy,” said The Sanchaya’s general manager, Greg Williams.
Indeed, the basics of the game are easy to grasp. Unlike the overhead serve of tennis, which requires perfect timing, padel features a simple underhand serve. Just bounce the ball off the ground and send it across the net with a swing. At a more advanced level, players can also use the walls for more strategic play.
There is no better way to experience a sport than diving in, so my group of padel newbies squared off in a friendly doubles match. To our surprise, we soon found ourselves squealing and laughing merrily as we took turns to scramble to hit the ball, jumping and cheering in satisfaction whenever someone scored. (Padel uses the tennis scoring system but can easily be simplified to a points-based match without impacting the game.)
Pleased with the fun-filled sweat sesh and ready for sundowners and dinner, we made a pact to meet again at the court in the morning for another round.
The game’s infectious conviviality is already prompting a growing number of luxury resorts to add padel courts to their already impressive list of facilities. Besides The Sanchaya, high-end resorts like Rosewood Phuket, Nihi Sumba, and One&Only Desaru Coast are keeping guests on the ball with their own padel offerings.
On home ground, the newly reopened Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa has three padel courts on its premises and offers a coaching clinic on Saturdays. For those hoping to refine their padel skills, a private lesson or two can be a game changer, especially if you are directionally challenged or have two left feet, like I do.
During a separate visit to One&Only Desaru Coast, I signed up for a one-hour coaching session with in-house coach Lukman Hakim, an experienced instructor who was a former national player for Malaysia. The courts, which are situated within the resort’s impressive Club One sports recreation hub, were immaculately maintained and surrounded by lush greenery, creating the perfect setting for a workout.
Coach Lukman started the session with a focus on fundamentals such as how to hit the ball with control and precision and the all-important positioning for returning shots. As someone whose default mode is to cower for fear of being hit by a ball ricocheting towards me, his drills and emphasis on footwork and reading the ball’s trajectory helped me feel more comfortable with the pace of the game. By the end of the hour, I had at least learnt to better time my shots and even managed to land a few winning volleys. No aces yet but we decided to save that for another day.
To keep the padel momentum going, several resorts are also introducing more ways for guests to connect on the court. This could include casual arrangements, such as by roping in staff to play with guests or introducing interested guests to one another so they may make their own plans to meet at the court. The Sanchaya also organised its inaugural Padel Cup in March, which featured professional padel champion Luis Ruiz, who conducted coaching clinics before the competition.
“Everyone got a chance to understand the game and as the tournament progressed, it was quite competitive but there was a lot of fun in between,” said Williams, adding that there are plans to hold the second Padel Cup at the resort next year.
In the last six months, the resort has had groups of returning guests from Singapore squeezing in as much padel as possible between poolside relaxation and other luxurious indulgence.
“You can play a lot more padel here without being restricted to time slots like in a major city. And you can also enjoy a leisurely afternoon by the pool with cocktails, have a well-deserved pampering session at the spa or indulge in a lobster barbecue on a Saturday night,” said Williams. “This really ticks all the boxes — mixing competitive padel with plenty of relaxation and pleasure.”