The Bandeja Magazine Issue 1

feature
Feature
The tennis-mad beauty queeN
who sparked a racket
sport revolution
The history of padel is well-documented
and correctly attributed to Mexican millionaire
Enrique Corcuera. But there’s more to the
story than this, with its early development
driven by love amidst the jet-set.
Victor Dial was an early adopter
of the game, mixing with the
Corcueras and partnering Henry
Kissinger on their neighbour’s
court. Here he gives his account of
the game’s inception and growth.
Padel tennis is the best of all the
racquet games: better than lawn
tennis, better than real tennis,
racquets, squash, platform tennis (often
referred to as paddle), pickleball,
and table tennis.
The story begins in 1969 with Enrique
Corcuera, an elderly Mexican
gentleman and his young wife Viviana,
Miss Argentina 1964 and beautiful,
energetic, vivacious. They were living
on the outskirts of Acapulco in a large
house with extensive gardens, including
a tennis court. Viviana retained a tennis
coach to train with her several times a
week while her husband was enjoying
a siesta or away on business. All went
well until one day Enrique announced
he’d bought land nearby in Las Brisas,
where he intended to build a house.
When he showed her the drawings
Viviana noticed at once there was
no tennis court - impossible because
of the steep slope on which most of
the properties in Las Brisas were built.
There followed, so goes the story, an
emotional exchange best summarised
as ‘no tennis, no Viviana’. To calm the
situation, Sr Corcuera ordered his
architect to find a solution.
The architect proposed a miniature
court built into the hillside, using a
retaining wall on the uphill side and
stilts to support the platform on the
downhill side with walls and strong
wire fencing all around for safety.
It would be expensive, but in Enrique’s
eyes, worth it.
The couple developed specific rules
for their game which were enshrined
in the official ‘Paddle Corcuera’ rule
book: a tennis-like net in the middle
with marked service boxes. They used
tennis balls and wooden paddles (à la
platform tennis) to slow the ball, with
the option to play off the walls, as in
squash. The server had to bounce the
by Victor Dial
Enrique Corcuera with his wife Viviana.
ball once and hit it no higher than his/
her waist. Lawn tennis scoring would
be used, but ping-pong scoring was
also allowed. Padel tenis [sic] was
born. Enrique usually gets the credit for
inventing padel but I believe Viviana
deserves the lion’s share; without her
intransigence the court and game
would never have seen the light of day.
It rapidly became apparent that playing
doubles was more fun than singles,
so Viviana touted her new game to
her entourage and guests. One of
their neighbours was an extravagant
Texan couple, Sandra and Ricky. They
owned a large house which they
filled with glamorous house guests
and memorable parties. The property
had a luxurious padel court built to
Enrique’s design. In 1973, Prince Alfonso
Hohenlohe, a charming Spaniard visited,
and Viviana proudly showed him their
creation. Alfonso enjoyed the game so
much that he decided to build a replica
at his Marbella Club Hotel in Spain,
carefully noting the measurements
before he left. I know all this because
Alfonso and Viviana each told me.
Julio Iglesias
Prince Alfonso built Spain’s first court
at his club in the spring of 1974. There
were many guest celebrities, including
the Julio Iglesias family, who started
playing. But it took a while to convince
hard-core tennis players to grasp the
fun of it. I admit I was slow to adopt it,
in spite of the urging of Alfonso and
others. When I tried it some months later
I quickly became an addict. From then
on, when in Marbella or any other place
where there was a court and three
other players, all I wanted to do was to
play padel (as with my sons Minter and
William, both excellent players).
A couple of years later friends invited
me to stay in Las Brisas and Ricky
and Sandra, the Texans, invited me to
play padel on their elegant court. The
court was lit with Hollywood-style klieg
lights for night play when it was cooler
(except for the lights!). Alongside the
court there was an open but covered
and air-conditioned gallery complete
with plush leather sofas. White-gloved
waiters served refreshments.
Kissinger connection
My partner on the first of the many
games I played there was Dr Henry
Kissinger, former US Secretary of State,
vacationing nearby. He seemed to
enjoy playing with me, and to my
surprise called regularly to ask me to
be his partner: “Viktor, do you vant [sic]
to play today?” I was flattered by his
interest in me (there were surely other
choices) and asked why: “Because I
vant to vin.” I enjoyed his wit.
On one occasion while I was (as usual)
running all over the court retrieving
balls, he was (as usual) trying mostly
to stay out of the way. Inspite of my
best efforts, a ball went past me and
hit him full on in the stomach. “Zat’s
de best shot I’ve made all day!” he
said, triggering gales of laughter from
the elegantly dressed, bejewelled,
and neatly coiffed spectators, mostly
admiring and fawning females.
Following our match I would usually
collapse in a heap of sweat and fatigue
– completely ignored except for one
of the waiters. Kissinger, however, was
surrounded by the ladies, who listened
breathlessly to his every word.
Argentine take-over
Prince Alfonso’s padel courts were the
first in Spain. Now there are thousands.
It’s said to be the second most popular
sport in Spain after football – more
popular even than lawn tennis (in the
home country of Rafa Nadal). The game
itself has advanced beyond recognition.
When we first started playing there were
no pros to teach us, we just picked it up
the best we could and the court and
the rules have evolved. Now technique
and strokes specific to the game have
been perfected and there are many
outstanding teachers and players. The
first country to adopt padel massively
was Argentina in the 1980s, no doubt
inspired by Viviana’s many connections
there. But with proper backing and a
Victor Dial with Henry
Kissinger and Baroness
Sandra di Portanova.
more solid economy, Spain took over in
terms of number of courts and players.
Today, the Spanish and Argentinians
dominate the top rankings of both the
female and male professionals.
Thank you, Enrique and Viviana for
inventing the game. Thank you, Prince
Alfonso for bringing it to Spain. And
special thanks to you, Mr Secretary,
for being my most famous and
enthusiastic partner.
About The Author
Yale graduate Victor Dial spent a
30 year career in Europe as a senior
executive with Ford Motor Company
and Automobiles Peugeot. He
was also President of the Board of
Governors of the American Hospital of
Paris for 17 years and is now enjoying
retirement in Gstaad, Switzerland,
and Baltimore, Maryland
References:
Enrique speaks about the
development of the game
https://auspadel.com.au/blogs/
padel-history-enrique-corcuera/
An interview with Viviana
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=BIrOHCsvF0s&ab_channel=
WorldPadelTour
A recent tribute to the Corcuera’s
influence on the game
https://blazetrends.com/the-acapulco
-exhibition-a-tribute-to-the-inventor
-of-paddle-tennis/
30 thebandeja.com the UK padel magazine - May 2022
31