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World padel champion, Willy Lahoz partners with Balwin Properties to grow padel in South Africa.
With 25 million players across 90 countries worldwide, padel is becoming one of the fastest-growing sports in South Africa
To promote the sport and develop underprivileged players, padel legend Willy Lahoz will visit South Africa for an extended period
Lahoz’s visit is the brainchild of Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin Properties, as part of the Group’s aim to promote a healthier lifestyle among clients, staff, and all South Africans through Balwin Sport
01 FEBRUARY 2024 - Balwin Padel, a division of JSE-listed Balwin Properties (“Balwin” or “the Group”) has partnered with renowned padel player, Willy Lahoz, to take padel sport to new heights in South Africa.
Lahoz, a winner of two world championship titles and generally regarded as the greatest padel player to date - arrives in South Africa on 6 February. He will host several coaching clinics for corporates, individuals, and groups countrywide for the next 12 months.
A large emphasis of Lahoz’s tenure in South Africa will be on identifying and developing underprivileged players with talent.
Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin commented: “Padel is a sport that connects people more than any other – it is therefore an ideal addition to our family-orientated lifestyle estates.
“Highly skilled players can compete with beginners and it’s a great sport to watch. Having Willy share his experience and knowledge could be a catalyst for padel in South Africa to rise to the next level by coaching experienced players as well as beginners and introducing more youth as part of growing talent in the country.”
To further promote the sport, Lahoz will pair with Cape Town-based and South Africa’s number one padel player, Jason Blakey-Milner to participate in exhibition and celebrity matches.
“Padel is a strategic game, hence it requires coaching. Lahoz, who works with some of the world’s top players is excellently positioned to grow the Balwin Padel brand and unleash new talent,” said Sebastian Brokmann, Chief of Padel at Balwin Padel.
According to Brokmann, South Africa has 400 padel courts with the potential to grow to about 2 500 courts. Coaching clinics will be held across the country at select Balwin lifestyle estates, where interested players and residents will be able to interact with Lahoz. These include Izinga Smart City in Durban, Munyaka at Waterfall City, Thaba Eco Estate south of Johannesburg and Mooikloof in Pretoria among others.
Balwin Padel, which launched in 2023 aims to promote a healthier lifestyle among its clients, staff, and all South Africans.
For 2024, Balwin Padel has increased the prize money of its annual padel tournament from R375 000 to R1 million. The tournament will take place at the iconic Thaba Eco Estate, sporting state-of-the-art lifestyle facilities that are also available to the public on a membership basis.
Tournament dates will be confirmed at a later stage.
Padel – a mixture of tennis, squash, and badminton originated in Mexico in the 1960s. Today, it is the fastest-growing sport globally with more than 25 million players in over 90 countries, according to Padelathletes.com.
It is the second most popular sport in Spain after football with 6 million players. Lahoz, who runs a padel academy in Spain where he coaches professional players, led the Spanish national team to victory at the world championships in 1998 and 2010. He was awarded a silver medal for sporting merit by the Royal Spanish Padel Federation.
Data from Padelathletes.com. shows that padel players can burn on average 750 – 1 000 calories per hour of play.
