Passez à l'illimité avec Magzter GOLD
Obtenez un accès illimité à plus de 9 000 magazines, journaux et articles Premium pour seulement
Essayer OR - Gratuit
Anyone for padel? No, I hadn't heard of it either
The Observer
|October 19, 2025
It's loved worldwide and I knew zip about it. Time to get swinging
I told my boyfriend we'd have to finish lunch early, as I had to get to east London to watch a game of padel. He narrowed his eyes and asked me if padel was the same thing as pickleball. “Hmm,” I replied, realising that I actually had no idea what either sport involved.
That was always the deal with this column: I was to go and watch a sport alone once a month, without learning anything about it beforehand. I genuinely had no idea what to expect from padel.
Still, I'd been looking forward to it. There's no glory in suddenly becoming obsessed with football or rugby as an adult. This felt like an opportunity to get in on the ground floor. As I learned from some retrospective Googling, padel only became popular globally during the pandemic. Could I start a new life as a sports hipster?
Cette histoire est tirée de l'édition October 19, 2025 de The Observer.
Abonnez-vous à Magzter GOLD pour accéder à des milliers d'histoires premium sélectionnées et à plus de 9 000 magazines et journaux.
Déjà abonné ? Se connecter
PLUS D'HISTOIRES DE The Observer
The Observer
Can a biopic of the Boss be anything other than blinded by his light?
Heavens above, not another biopic. I'm still in recovery from A Complete Unknown, James Mangold’s attempted unveiling of The Mysterious Soul of Bob Dylan starring Timothy Someone-or-other.
2 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Reeves is still only getting part of the Brexit message
The financial markets, and much of the media, seem obsessed by the level of public sector debt and borrowing.
3 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
The anonymous Twitter troll account set up to discredit Virginia Giuffre
The online attacks came thick and fast, all 479 of them designed to discredit the accuser of Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew.
5 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Badenoch and Farage should stop playground politics of making rules they can't keep
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That's the golden rule I remember being taught as a child in primary school. Not a bad guiding principle.
3 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Museums are in the pink while corporate sponsors remain shy
By embracing private philanthropy, the sector has received record sums, however businesses are feeling burnt by protests, write Nicole Fan and Stephen Armstrong
3 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
'Democrat saviour' or 'commie bastard': Mamdani, would-be king of New York
The 34-year-old socialist set to become the Big Apple's first Muslim mayor may be the left's greatest hope - and biggest threat. Hugh Tomlinson joins the new star of US politics on the campaign trail
8 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Use Russia's money
Europe has missed its chance to hit Putin's finances
2 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Struggling 'clean food' brands dig in for long haul
Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, wrote Keats. Not if you're in the plant-based food industry. Sales at major brands, including Oatly and Beyond Meat, are stalling.
2 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Reeves mission: to build a European Silicon Valley centred on 'golden triangle'
Brexit is costing the UK 80bn a year in lost taxes, hitting output by up to 8% and investment by more than twice as much. The chancellor has her work cut out
5 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Academics sign letter of support after ‘vile’ abuse of Israeli professor
Tom Watson, Margaret Hodge, Michael Grade, Prof Andrew Roberts and hundreds of academics are among more than 1,600 signatories of an open letter condemning a “targeted harassment campaign” against an Israeli professor at a London university.
1 mins
October 26, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size