Now that summer is coming, a high percentage of padel players prefer to play in indoor courts, due to the high temperatures that we can face or other factors that can condition the game.
However, many other players love to play outdoors once the heat arrives, so the question would be, in general terms, where do you prefer to play?
We must consider that the game changes completely, but we are going to try to break down the advantages and disadvantages of playing Indoor or Outdoor.
First, playing Outdoor means that there are many factors that can affect your game:
Disadvantages:
- Sun
- Wind
- Wet court – humid
- Temperature
- Sun and shade
- Older and concrete wall courts
- Rhomboidal fence (although it is true that clubs are changing them, and they are becoming less and less common).
But we also must look at the advantages of playing padel on Outdoor courts:
Advantages:
- Playing outside
- Lob height
- Easier strategies when you play in the area where the sun is behind you.
However, in an indoor court, all these factors that we have just mentioned would not come into play, but we do have others that can affect the player:
Disadvantages:
- Low ceilings
- Reflexions
- Noise
- Club air-conditioning
On the other hand, we have the following advantages:
- Unaffected by bad weather
- All courts are usually made of glass with electro-welded wire fence.
- Better condition of courts
Nowadays many clubs are choosing covered courts, which are not the same as indoor courts. They are a hybrid of indoor and outdoor courts and that is why they are becoming more and more popular. This means that you can continue playing outdoors, but at the same time, you avoid getting wet on rainy days, although it is true that depending on the enclosure and how it rains, water may end up entering some areas of the court.
It is unquestionable that, on very hot days, these covers can take away 5 to 6 degrees, which makes the feeling when playing more pleasant and allows you to play at times of high temperatures.
Two of the disadvantages is that the ceilings are usually somewhat higher than the indoor ones, but sometimes, depending on the structure, it can condition the aerial play due to the beams or studs they may have and, depending on the enclosure, the sun can bother people.
In general terms, playing in outdoor courts makes strategy very important as it can balance the forces if a couple is far superior and means that the couple that best adapts to the conditions can win the match. In the case of playing in indoor courts, the higher-level couple has a slight advantage, and as there are no weather conditions, the matches are more attractive.
In my case and it is an opinion, entering the field of professional padel, I would like to see more tournaments Outdoor as it is very close to amateur padel, equalizes the matches and you see the great players suffer just like a club player.
