Is padel the next best sport coming to Downbeach towns?

It’s so new, even Longport's borough engineer who designs such things didn’t know much about a supposedly up-and-coming sport that could rival pickleball.

The Board of Commissioners recently discussed a resident's request to turn one of the remaining tennis courts at the 33rd Avenue recreation center into a padel court.

Padel or paddle tennis is a rapidly growing sport that started in Acapulco, Mexico, that is a cross between tennis and squash. Like pickleball, it’s easy to play for people of all ages and abilities. The court is a third of the size of a tennis court and is fully surrounded by solid walls and fencing.

Padel is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, with more than 20,000 paddle courts and 4 million players, according to the PadelJoy website. It is played in doubles, which provides the opportunity for it to be enjoyed by more players.

The ball, which is similar to a tennis ball but is softer, is put into play using underhand serves with a composite paddle. During game play, the ball must bounce off the floor and wall before the next player hits it over the net. It is scored similar to tennis.

Administrator A. Scott Porter said a resident has approached the borough asking to remove one of the borough’s three tennis courts and convert it into two padel courts.

Considering the coastal environment and wind load off the beach, the padel courts should include solid timber walls instead of glass, borough Engineer Ed Dennis Jr. said. It could cost as much as $100,000 to convert a tennis court into two padel courts.

Recreation Supervisor Mary Pat McKenna, who has established an online reservation system for pickleball and tennis, said pickleball is extremely popular and the courts are booked solid until mid-afternoon weekdays, and all day on weekends.

The borough has already converted one of its tennis courts into two pickleball courts. Converting another tennis court could yield as many as four pickleball courts, she said.

Porter said the “donor” is aware that the conversion, if approved, would not be possible this year.

Officials recommended doing a survey of residents to see if there is any interest in the sport.

“A lot of people ask me if we are going to make more (pickleball) courts,” McKenna said. “The tennis people are not thrilled to share the space.”

She said she would like to know more about how players would feel about sharing space with a third racquet sport.

There are currently 30 padel courts in the U.S. with a third of them built in 2023. There are courts located in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida and in other states as well.

“This is an up and coming sport that is going to take the country by storm like pickleball did three or four years ago,” Porter said.

Mayor Nicholas Russo said the borough would likely conduct a survey to determine if the residents are interested.

"One reason to hear from them is to determine if a court with walls is appropriate for our beachfront community. We have to think about aesthetics too," he said.

The board agreed to hear more from residents before proceeding with any plans to convert to tennis to padel or pickleball.