The invention of Padel
In 1969, Enrique and Viviana Corcuera created Padel while on holiday. With millions of players around the world, Padel is now the fastest growing sport on the planet.
Have you ever invented a game to pass the time while on vacation? Well, what if that game became a global sensation?
In 1969, Enrique and Viviana Corcuera created Padel while on holiday. With federations in six continents and millions of players around the world, Padel is now the fastest growing sport on the planet.
Viviana shares her experience with Hunter Charlton. It’s an Ember Audio production for BBC World Service.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.
Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.
(Photo: Enrique and Viviana Corcuera pictured in the 1980s. Credit: Viviana Corcuera)
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Sporting Witness
Personal stories of amazing moments from sporting history told by people who were there