Interview with Bogaart, StarVie player who will participate in Padel World Cup in Paraguay

How and why did your passion for padel begin?

My passion for padel started in La Nucia at Padelpoint from Alejandro. My parents own a second home in La Nucia and about 6 years ago they informed about the new sport facilities built in La Nucia. I saw the courts, they let me try padel and I was hooked.

I started training in Huizen and became the captain of the Dutch team. I started to play FIP100 tournaments around Europe and saw padel growing. To be able to train closer to home, I have started my own indoor center with Patty my wife. The name is La Playa and we now have 5 indoor courts, 2 beach volleybal courts and 2 speedsoccer courts. I train twice a week.

You are the official StarVie distributor in the north of Europe … How does padel grow in these countries? Is it a popular and much practised sport?

The growth of padel outside Spain is going fast now. Although compared to Spain it is still small but increasing more than 100% a year. In The Netherlands there are more than 200 courts, Belgium is ahead with about 300, Germany is slowly growing due to safety hazard challenges in the beginning, but now a few big projects are about to start. In Scandinavia and especially Sweden the growth of professional big padel centers is amazing. This year another 200 courts are projected to open.

We now also have s Starvie padel team in Sweden. Great ambassadors and great players, just to promote the sport and of course to make people aware of the nice padelbats Starvie has to offer and to let them try.

Netherlands national team has been classified for the Padel World Cup in Paraguay, how do you feel about that?

More countries are playing padel now and their level is increasing quickly. E.g. Lituania, Finland and Poland are getting better every day. Against Poland in the playoff 2nd match, we were 0-5 down in the 3rd set tie-break. Amazingly we won 7-5 in the tie-break and also won the 3rd match. The women’s team did a great job in the qualifying round by beating the Swiss team 3-0. It is the first time our ladies will represent The Netherlands at a World Cup.

To be able to play at the highest level is an honor and will boost padel in our country. For sure many people will try to look at live-streams and support us.

What do you think about you will play with the best rackets of the world?

The World Cup is the best marketing instrument for padel outside Spain for a country. It generates awareness, gives a lot of energy to the players / team. You can play and train at the highest level. For sure we will be no challenge for the best players in the world, but we will play our best game. Winning as a couple is nice, but it is always a total team effort.

Define yourself as a padel player

I am a typical left side player. Aggressive on the volleys, and I like to play at the net. Thanks to my trainer the defense is much better than it was before so I can really enjoy it now too. As I am 45 now I try to play smarter and play more strategically.

Any funny stories about padel to tell

For many years padel was a forbidden word at home. The word padel brought some negative associations with it. Me being away for training or for a tournament. Now my wife and youngest daughter are playing regularly too. So padel can be called padel again at home.