Interview with Jesus Ballve

We invite you to read this short interview because today we have the pleasure of interviewing the President of the Spanish Commission of the Padel Industry, of which Manzasport is part and that from now on we will call CEIP. Jesus Ballve tells us more about CEIP and answers a few questions about padel.

• What is CEIP?

CEIP is an organization created at the beginning of 2014 at the initiative of AFYDAD (Association of Manufacturers and Distributors of Sporting Goods) to internationalize padel and improve the image of this sector, trying to organize the distribution in the domestic market of many existing brands.

To make this objective possible, CEIP counts on the presence of many companies related to the padel world.

• Where did the idea of founding CEIP come from?

We had been talking about coming up with this initiative for a long time. From AFYDAD they threw me the gauntlet to lead this ambitious project, and after we found some really good reasons to believe in its viability, we decided together with Alfredo Penalver (Bullpadel) and Cristobal Bohorquez (Mystica, Middle Moon and Padel Coach) to promote this project.

• What are the functions of the CEIP?

In CEIP, we currently work in three sub-commissions: the Internationalization Commission. In this commission, we must reach a  meeting point between brands to support those countries where padel has originated and where we see that there are people or organizations that are really betting on the implementation of padel in their countries. To do this, we will have to give them all the support and assurance of the best brands, giving them our advice and supporting them in the promotional events that will be accepted by the commission. Going forward, we plan to create a pool of investors who want to be companions in those padel-court projects that are considered promising and that, for whatever reason, are not fully funded.

• Who can be a member?

Any Spanish company that is a manufacturer or distributor of sporting goods and is in the value chain related to the padel and that can afford the minimum fees we need to self-finance our work.

• How do you think padel will develop in Europe and around the world?

Padel will develop in many countries. France, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and Belgium are the countries that are developing the fastest. Currently, we need to fill the big gap that tennis is leaving, as it is losing players in almost all countries. On the other hand, there is a growing awareness of the sport in general, and we know that padel is a sport that has one of the widest audiences of practitioners. The great thing about padel is that it is easy to get started and enjoyable right from the start. Children, men and women who have never played the sport enjoy it from the first minute. Then there are hundreds of levels of improvement that will captivate you into the sport. The product “PADEL” is highly addictive and social, so sooner or later all countries will adopt it as another sport.

• Do you think that Spanish companies involved in the padel industry should focus on internationalization?

I am not the only one who thinks so, I think that all of us in CEIP strongly believe in this, otherwise we would not devote economic resources and time to CEIP. We must open the borders. Padel in Spain is starting to become a mature industry, and we must make the market bigger for our industry to be sustainable over time.

• Do you see the U.S. market as a future opportunity for the development of padel?

Speaking of southern countries, as you know, padel is already largely developed in Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile, as countries with more fans. The resorts in the Dominican Republic are already beginning to offer padel as another activity. Speaking of the USA, we hope that it is one of the countries that will explode in a few years, as it will be a driving force for others. There are courts in Miami, Houston and Los Angeles. In Miami, there is non-stop talking about new projects, but the truth is that few of them come to fruition when they run into the barriers to court construction that local legislation imposes. They are very demanding in terms of certification, which increases the cost of installation, but in four or five years we will see padel being played throughout the state of Florida.   

• From our perspective, padel is a sport on the rise because it can be played from the youngest to the oldest. Do you think federations or government institutions should encourage this sport? Does CEIP have any action to promote this sport?

We must support the organizations which are responsible for it. On the other hand, we must put pressure on them. The responsibility for these actions lies with the federations and the Superior Council of Sports.

• Will padel ever become an Olympic sport?

Why not? I hope to see it with my own eyes but for this to happen padel must grow internationally and become a global sport.

Finally, we would like you to answer some personal questions.

• Do you play padel?

Yes, I love it, although due to my spinal surgery I’m a bit on the side now.

• At what position?

I’m so bad that it doesn’t matter in which position I play.

• Do you have a favorite male or female player?

Of course, Miguel Lamperti, who is a player in the NOX franchise. Everyone who knows him immediately falls in love with him for his sympathy, spontaneity and the magic that many of his shots have… He is a true idol in the world of padel. On the other hand, I really admire what Juan Martin Diaz and Fernando Belasteguin have achieved at the professional level. I think they would be worthy of the Prince of Asturias Award for being number 1 in world padel for so many years.

• What was the last padel match you saw?

Well, just yesterday, a summary of the Spanish team championship on Padeltv.com.

Thanks to Jesus Ballve for his time, and we hope that after this interview, more people will know what this committee is doing for the good of padel.