Focus on…Norway. Euro-Qualifiers in a nation where padel is ever more popular

Oslo and the Nordic Padel Club are ready to host the FIP European Padel Championship Qualifiers from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th. Matches will be played in Norway, a nation where padel has seen remarkable growth in recent years thanks to the drive of the Norges Tennis-og Padelforbund, the Norwegian federation, affiliated to the FIP since 2018: as noted by the FIP Research & Data Analysis Department, in six years it has grown from less than 20 clubs and 40 courts to the approximately 135 clubs and facilities and 560 courts today. There are also an estimated 150,000 amateur players and more than 200,000 fans following the sport on social media.

Two FIP international tournaments have been held in Norway, both in the Rise category and both in ‘combined’ mode: one in October 2022 in Drammen with the only victory by a Norwegian athlete – Hannah Lehfeldt, paired with Spain’s Sol Iturbe –, and another in November 2023 in Oslo. There are currently 18 Norwegian players in the men’s and 13 in the women’s FIP rankings: the best are Fredrik Ask (13 points, world number 498, with two round of 16 finals in as many FIP Rise events played in Sweden) and, among the women, Emma Karlsrud (number 438), who reached the quarter-finals in last year’s FIP Rise Norway in Oslo.