Padel tennis was invented by Enrique Corcuera in Mexico in 1974 (or 1969 according to some sources). It is said that he didn't have enough space for an ordinary tennis court, so devised a new game, based on an idea he had seen, that could be played in a smaller space, by building a high wall.

A padel tennis court still has high walls, something like a squash court. Because the ball can be bounced off these, again like squash, the rules are a little different, but it uses the same type of ball as tennis and the scoring system is the same. It is more usual to play doubles than singles.

Padel is mainly played in Latin America, though it is now starting to spread to other parts of the world and there is even a branch in the UK now.

You can learn more about padel, including the rules, here.