From Polo to Padel – Argentine sport hits home in Wellington
As the polo winter capital of the world, Wellington’s sporting connection to Argentina is well established. Last winter that sporting link was extended. Polo player Gus Larrosa feels more at home in Wellington than ever these days now that he is able to revisit the sport of his childhood in Argentina, padel.
Usually played as doubles, padel played with a solid racquet and low pressure balls, has aspects of tennis and racquetball combined. A unique set of rules sees players exchange plays across a net as well as use the glass backboards and even the outside of the meshed court area, to gain an advantage. Two extensive indoor padel facilities are located in the Wellington area having opened last winter. Relatively new to the USA, padel has long been a popular sport in Argentina, especially among the polo players.
Played in Mexico since the first padel court was built in the ‘60s, the sport migrated to Spain and from there, back across the Atlantic to Argentina, imported by a millionaire in 1975. Today there are more than two million officially licensed padel players in Argentina, and more than 10,000 padel courts.
“You finish playing polo… and everyone is waiting to play padel,” said Gus of the scenario in Argentina, where many leading players have padel courts alongside their polo fields. “I change my boots and put on my Nikes. We play for a couple of hours before dinner. It is super fun. It’s like an addiction.”
Gus grew up in a family of avid padel – pronounced ‘paddle’ – players. His father played and his brother was a first division player and coach. Gus himself was a Junior international player. “I started to play when I was, like, seven years old,” he said. “I trained every day and I played tournaments every weekend.”
Like many sports in Argentina, padel suffered during the country’s economic crisis in the early 2000s. Padel courts, once prolific in city centers – aside from on private properties – disappeared, replaced by parking lots and football facilities. But the sport has enjoyed a resurgence.
“Four or five years ago… people started to come back to play,” Gus said. “Now clubs are everywhere and at a much better level.” Modern courts with artificial turf and glass walls have transformed the game, making it easier on athletes’ joints and more appealing to newcomers. The two Xcel Padel facilities – one in Westlake and one close to Wellington on Southern Boulevard, the largest in the country – are state-of-the art indoor venues, a plus in South Florida, making the effects of heat and rain irrelevant.
Gus took up polo as an adult, after meeting his husband Chip McKenney, founder of the Gay Polo League [GPL], at the Argentine Open Polo Championship in Buenos Aires. They run the tournaments together, and Gus, as a talented multidisciplinary artist, designs the eye-catching team polo shirts for highly popular events.
When Gus first traveled to the US, he was surprised that references to padel caused bewilderment. “When I first came here and said I played padel, people would look confused and say “What is that?””Gus said.
Unlike tennis where a certain skill level is needed to really participate, padel can be picked up quickly. “I always like to say padel is the ultimate child of all racket sports,” said Lance Rozenfeld, who owns the family-oriented business Xcel Padel alongside Leon Rozenfeld and Dmitriy and Josh Gershfeld. “If you’re a tennis player, a pickleball player, a squash or racquetball player, you can adapt to the game very easily. It’s a little less strenuous than tennis but more than pickleball, so you’re keeping yourself moving while also getting your brain thinking with the angles and strategy. That’s what makes the game so welcoming to people of all ages and abilities.”
The rapid growth of the sport is also being driven by its social atmosphere and the access in all weather. “Padel’s very, very community driven,” said Corey Thompson, COO of Xcel Padel and a padel professional . “People go there as a place to hang out. And if it’s raining and you can’t play polo, you can always come here to play padel.”
Gus found many willing polo players to join him on the padel court last winter. “It’s not a connection between padel and polo,” Gus said. “It’s the Argentine connection.” Many of polo’s biggest names are enthusiastic padel players. Nico Pieres, Facundo Pieres, Polito Pieres, Michel Dorignac and his son, Milo and members of the Panelo and Laplacette families are among those regularly seen on court.
“I think all these professional polo players are good at tennis, good at padel, good at golf,” Gus said. “It is good hand-eye coordination.”
The similarities between the two sports go beyond nationality. Gus believes padel develops many of the same qualities that make successful polo players.
“You need to make a fast decision,” he said. “With polo… you have the ball, you receive the ball, you have players everywhere, you need to do something in one second – with padel it is the same.” He also points to the tactical element.”It’s super strategic,” he said. “You think about where to place the ball, or you go to block – you may not have the ball but you are moving another player to open up the game for your partner.”
The Xcel Padel clubs host pizza nights, social events and mixed games where players rotate partners throughout the evening. “It’s been amazing to see how we’ve been able to tap into the polo community especially in the winter months,” Lance said. “A lot of the polo players have roots in Argentina, where padel is a very prominent sport. We felt it was an amazing opportunity to bring the polo players to our facility – to play, socialize and connect over those four months. When you’re playing polo, everyone is an opponent, but aside from the game, everyone can still be friends. That’s really what we fostered at Xcel, playing games together, having drinks after a game and building stronger friendships.”
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