{"id":575001,"date":"2026-05-09T16:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/575001\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T16:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:28:12","slug":"princess-of-wales-discusses-her-love-for-fastest-growing-sport-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/575001\/","title":{"rendered":"Princess of Wales discusses her love for ‘fastest-growing sport in the world’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Princess of Wales disclosed her enthusiasm for padel during a Buckingham Palace garden party on Friday, describing the racquet sport as an ideal activity for family bonding.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Lawn Tennis Association representatives, the 44-year-old royal expressed her fondness for the game, asking: “Have you adopted padel? I love padel, it’s such a good game, such a great leveller for those who don’t play tennis.”<\/p>\n

Catherine also highlighted the sport’s inclusive nature when chatting to another attendee.<\/p>\n

“It’s so sociable and all generations can play – I play with my parents,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Princess<\/p>\n

The Princess of Wales disclosed her enthusiasm for padel during a Buckingham Palace garden party on Friday, describing the racquet sport as an ideal activity for family bonding.<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

The future Queen has sporting interests ranging from taking part in rugby training sessions to spin bike competitions against Prince William.<\/p>\n

Padel has experienced a remarkable surge in popularity despite being invented during the 1960s, with the Lawn Tennis Association now labelling it “the fastest-growing sport in the world”.<\/p>\n

The organisation characterises the game as “an innovative form of tennis” that appeals across generations, from young children to grandparents.<\/p>\n

The sport’s appeal lies partly in its low barrier to entry, with players of any age or ability can quickly pick up a racquet and participate.<\/p>\n

\"Princess<\/p>\n

Catherine also highlighted the sport’s inclusive nature when chatting to another attendee.<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

Catherine’s endorsement of padel as “a great leveller” for non-tennis players reflects this broader trend of the sport attracting newcomers who might find traditional tennis more challenging.<\/p>\n

The Prince and Princess of Wales hosted the event, which marked the second garden party of the season, alongside Zara Tindall and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

Catherine wore an outfit from Self-Portrait, one of her favourite designers.<\/p>\n

\"Princess<\/p>\n

Catherine wore an outfit from Self-Portrait, one of her favourite designers.<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

Her monochrome ensemble featured a tailored white blazer with black buttons and a cinched waist, paired with a flowing pleated skirt adorned with delicate black polka dots.<\/p>\n

The Princess of Wales completed her look with a white hat embellished with black floral details.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most notably, she wore a pair of earrings that once belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II, adding a touching tribute to her grandmother-in-law to the occasion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Princess of Wales disclosed her enthusiasm for padel during a Buckingham Palace garden party on Friday, describing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[196576,6491,96,119,1852,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-575001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-carole-middleton","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-princess-of-wales","tag-royal","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}