Top padel star Juan Lebron to crown Red Bull Local Hero Tour winner

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The UAE is playing host to a unique padel tournament – the Red Bull Local Hero Tour, under the supervision of nine-time padel world champion, Juan Lebron.

The four-stage qualifiers kicked off in Ajman, with matches held at Padel Square on Tuesday, followed by matches at the Let’s Padel Academy in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

The last two stages of the qualifiers will be held in Dubai at 4 PM over two days, on the courts of the Let's Paddle Academy on Thursday and at the World Padel Academy on Friday.

Ballers – Dubai will host the final on Saturday.

While padel or padel tennis is one of the fastest growing sports in the region, the current tournament is being held in the Americano Padel format, which differs from the Traditional Padel, in terms of the way the teams are arranged for their matches.

Instead of playing with fixed teams, Americano players will change partners after every round. Once all the matches are over, players should have played with every other person at least once. Other than that, the scoring and other rules remain the same.

According to the rules of padel, matches are typically played in doubles on an enclosed court about 25% smaller than the size of a tennis court. Points are scored in the same way as in regular tennis, i.e., when the ball bounces twice on the opponent's side, when the opponent hits the net or the player, or hits the ball into their own grid or outside the play area.

The tournament allows padel enthusiasts and promising players to get acquainted with the world champion, Lebron, get advice and guidance on the sport, as well as the opportunity to win an unparalleled experience at his academy in Madrid. Lebron will choose the winner (based on the most points), who will get an all-inclusive trip to the Spanish capital to train at Juan Lebron’s Academy Camp.