Oliva Nova promotes paddle tennis in a secluded environment that provides the perfect conditions to improve players’ skills in this intense racket sport.
Paddle tennis is one of the sports to which Oliva Nova has made a firm commitment. Last year the resort opened seven new courts, in collaboration with one of the leading European companies in training and competitions – Game4Padel. This commitment has made it possible for Oliva Nova to be, at present, the reference in the practice of paddle tennis in the Valencian Community.
The resort does not want to lower its guard and therefore takes care to the smallest detail of other aspects related to this sport such as training and coaching. In this regard, last March, Ximo Piera, who was trained in Madrid as a player and coach by some of the best professionals in Spain, such as Jorge Martínez and Hugo Cases, joined Oliva Nova as head of the paddle tennis area. Previously, Ximo Piera had been a professional tennis player, but in 2011 he decided to take the leap to paddle tennis for two reasons – on the one hand, his age, and on the other hand, “the motivation for a new sport that was booming at that time,” says Piera himself.
WINNING THE POINT BALL BY BALL
The main difference that Piera had to face when changing from tennis to paddle tennis was to understand that, in paddle tennis, each point has to be developed, while in tennis the tendency is to win the point as soon as possible. When it comes to training at Oliva Nova, Ximo Piera’s first wish is to “transmit to the players that they enjoy themselves, that they should not be afraid of making mistakes”, whether they are amateurs or professionals. “Padel is a friendly game,” Piera recalls. “Are you going to play with friends and be under pressure?”, asks the head of the resort’s paddle tennis area.
When it comes to training, Ximo Piera points out that “every player is completely different”, but there is one thing that brings them together – “Everyone wants to learn quickly, but paddle tennis is a racket sport and you have to make your brain understand that in your hand is holding a tool. It is a long-term sport. Just like amateurs, professionals also have that anxiety to improve quickly, skipping the natural steps of the process”.
Piera acknowledges that the resort environment makes learning easier because “the conditions are perfect”. He explains that “in Oliva Nova, you walk on courts with professional grass in a secluded environment where nothing distracts you from the game – you can completely relax, whether you are training or playing”.
A SPORT TO GET TO KNOW YOURSELF BETTER
80% of the players trained by Piera are foreigners. Most of them arrive with a background in tennis, “with good volleys and shots, so they adapt quickly to the game of padel”, admits the trainer. In addition to the easier adaptation, paddle tennis is physically less demanding than in other sports, as the trainer acknowledges: “ Paddle tennis doesn’t cause major injuries apart from those resulting from bad technique. Paddle tennis does not provide great endurance or speed, but it does provide explosiveness, recovery capacity and breathing control, as well as greater stability and coordination, and this can be worked on at all ages”.
Finally, Ximo Piera points out another great advantage of playing paddle tennis, which is no other than the promotion of sociability. “Paddle tennis teaches you to know yourself and to work as part of a team”, says the coach. “It teaches you to treat your partner and your rival, but also to know how you like to be treated; in short, it teaches you to be a better friend and partner”, he concludes.
Ximo Piera
“The practice of paddle tennis promotes coordination and balance at all ages”.
Oliva Nova Padel Club
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