Zverev swaps tennis shoes for padel: short visit to the Mallorca Country Club

Zverev swaps tennis shoes for padel: short visit to the Mallorca Country Club

Olympic champion tries the island's trending racket sport in Santa Ponsa

Late on Monday afternoon, as the sun sank lower behind the pines on the Passeig in Santa Ponsa and the wind from the sea brought a cool breeze, not only tennis balls were rolling on the court of the Mallorca Country Club: Alexander Zverev was a guest and picked up a padel racket. An unfamiliar sight for the regular players, but one that by now hardly surprises anyone.

Padel has carved out its own lane on Mallorca in recent years: at training courts, on promenades and in the conversations at sports cafés. On the club's courts you could hear the usual click of the balls, the murmur of people in the stands and occasionally an appreciative laugh when the match-play rhythm of the pros met the relaxed pace of the hobby players. In one of the photos, Zverev can be seen together with Edwin Weindorfer, the operator of the facility, a picture that documents the short visit. A similar late-afternoon celebrity padel was covered in When Klopp and Sabatini Play Padel: Santa Ponsa Listens.

For the island, such an appearance is more than just a headline: it brings attention to a sport that energizes local clubs, attracts youth teams and fills indoor hours when the tennis courts quiet down in winter. Clubs like the Mallorca Country Club benefit directly, because visibility often leads to registrations — and thus income for coaches, court maintenance and youth development.

The switch from tennis to padel is not a break for Zverev, rather a small change in the training routine. He has trained on Mallorca frequently in the past, including in football-and-tennis environments and at the island's better-known academies. His sporting achievements — including numerous singles titles, the Olympic victory in Tokyo and triumphs at major season finales — speak for a career in which such short excursions into other racket sports fit well: even a brief sweep across the court reactivates reflexes and is fun at the same time.

What began in a small circle has a larger effect: young players who used the club that evening may try padel more often in the future. Coaches on site take note of the pros' movement sequences to translate them into drills. In cafés along the coast, where people talk about training plans between espresso and sea views, the mood was cheerful: a local event that loosens up the season.

Anyone who strolled through Santa Ponsa that spring day could easily understand the scene: parents with prams, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, the sounds of rackets and the distant hum of the highway. This mix of everyday life and celebrity is what Mallorca is about: a place where elite sport more often collides by chance with the Sunday outing. For a profile of another sports figure on the island, see Gabriela Sabatini: The Quiet Force on Mallorca's Streets and Courts.

Why is that good for Mallorca? Visibility attracts people. When well-known athletes choose the island — even just for a training session or a round of padel — interest in local offerings rises. That strengthens small clubs, creates additional bookings and can, at best, motivate young talents to train a little harder. At the same time it serves as a reminder: Mallorca is not just beaches and hotels, but also a training location with good infrastructure.

A simple suggestion for clubs: make use of such short visits deliberately, for example with open coaching sessions for youth or short meet-and-greet slots that promote memberships and court bookings without disrupting operations. For the town of Santa Ponsa this means: keep routes clear, coordinate delivery zones and involve local businesses — then more will remain than just a photo.

At the end of the day the insight remained that many already know: sport demands not only performance, it connects. A top player, a little time, a padel court — and once again the island showed how much life is possible on and beside the court.