ABSTRACT
Sportification has influenced many sports activities in one way or another, resulting in environmental consequences. This chapter discusses padel, a fast-emerging racket sport in Europe, especially Sweden, and some of its conditions and consequences in relation to different aspects of sportification (such as institutionalisation, eventification, and commercialisation) and environmental sustainability. It aims to answer the following questions: when is sportification a fruitful perspective to understand environmental challenges in padel? When is lack of sportification a hindrance or an advantage in solving these challenges? The analysis shows that some resistance or at least flexibility in relation to sportification is prevalent in padel, compared to tennis. Moreover, the players’ purchase of new equipment to improve their performance (according to the logic of sportification) can be seen as a materialisation of wishes and hopes. Further, three examples of environmental efforts in padel centres are analysed. Environmental work among Swedish padel actors appears to be inadequate and this can partly be related to sportification. Thus, the chapter concludes by identifying a key future question: how can padel actors get more motivated to create systems for environmental sustainability that can not only recognise the force of sportification but also challenge it when needed?
