Sports

7Padel: Chennai’s Premier Sports & Lifestyle Haven by MS Dhoni

7Padel: Chennai’s Premier Sports & Lifestyle Haven by MS Dhoni

In early August 2025, former cricketer and Chennai’s pride MS Dhoni inaugurated his new venture, 7Padel, on East Coast Road (ECR) in Palavakkam, Chennai. It covers over 20,000 square feet and serves as a center for sports, fitness, and holistic community development. 7Padel offers something for everyone, from athletes and fitness enthusiasts to families looking for enjoyable and healthy activities.

The Vision Behind 7Padel

Dhoni has strong ties to Chennai and a great deal of affection for the city, having spent a large portion of his cricketing career there. The choice to open 7Padel here was made with great emotion: “It feels only right to launch my first padel center here… Chennai has always been special to me.”

His idea that sports should be interesting, approachable, and social was reflected in the design of 7Padel. Padel, a fast-paced, inclusive racket sport that combines tennis and squash, is ideal for a venue looking to connect community energy, pleasure, and health.

Facility Overview

Occupying an expansive 20,000 sq ft, 7Padel is much more than a sporting arena. Inside, visitors will find:

  • Three dedicated padel courts: designed for dynamic doubles play and wall-based strategy, ideal for both casual matches and intense rallies.

  • One pickleball court: offering an alternate racket sport option with wide appeal.

  • A swimming pool and a fully equipped gym: for fitness-focused users and athletes seeking comprehensive training.

  • A recovery room and sauna: catering to rehabilitation and wellness enthusiasts.

  • An on-site café: fostering a social atmosphere around sport and strengthening community ties.

This thoughtful mix collectively positions 7Padel as a multi-use hub—where sport, fitness, and leisure seamlessly converge.

Why Padel? Its Rise and Appeal

Padel is one of the racket sports with the quickest rate of growth in the world. In order to restrict the tennis ball, Enrique Corcuera built walls around a smaller-than-tennis court in Acapulco, Mexico, approximately 1969. This led to the unintentional creation of a new sport.

The sport caught on quickly. Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe introduced padel to Spain in the early 1970s when he built the first courts at Marbella Club. It subsequently flourished across Spain and Argentina, becoming widely popular by the 1990s and forming foundational federations and professional circuits.

By the 2020s, padel had spread to over 90 countries with more than 25 million active players and an estimated €2 billion annual market value—affirming its global momentum. In India, the sport was first introduced in 2016 in Bengaluru, and by 2024–2025, around 100 to 150 courts are operational in major cities, with a notable upward trend in popularity.

Urban centers like Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR are now embracing padel, with clubs such as Padel Rushh seeing rising memberships across all player levels—underlining the sport’s growing appeal in Indian urban lifestyle culture.

7Padel’s Role in Chennai’s Sports Landscape

By introducing 7Padel, MS Dhoni is bringing padel into Chennai’s mainstream sporting consciousness, positioning it as a rich, socially engaging alternative to traditional sports. The facility caters to a wide audience—from families and amateurs to fitness lovers and aspiring athletes—embodying Dhoni’s vision of inclusive play.

Moreover, the launch event, featuring Dhoni and music sensation Anirudh Ravichander, instantly went viral—spotlighting padel’s celebrity appeal and bolstering the brand’s visibility right from day one.

Culturally, 7Padel is a trailblazer for Padel Lifestyle—a concept where sport converges with health, community, and leisure. It’s a space where fitness meets socializing, redefining how urban residents engage with physical activity.

Challenges & Growth Potential

Padel’s rapid development is not without its challenges. High court building costs in India, ranging from ₹16 to ₹22 lakh per court, provide a significant barrier to development, especially in cost-sensitive districts.

However, particularly in Tier 2 cities, the Indian Padel Federation (IPF) and corporate sponsorship from different businesses, most notably JSW Sports, are aggressively attempting to reduce costs, promote coaching, and improve infrastructure.

7Padel is a great example of how high-end, all-inclusive accommodations may encourage more people to play the game. Its comprehensive strategy, which integrates sports, wellness, and lifestyle, has the potential to impact future centers throughout India by boosting padel accessibility and social integration.

Community & Lifestyle Impact

At its core, 7Padel is more than courts—it’s a community nucleus. Expect:

  • Facilities for casual gamers and families to enjoy padel over weekends.

  • Fitness enthusiasts and athletes to utilize gym, pool, and recovery amenities.

  • Social networks to form organically—friends and neighbors meeting at the café post-game.

  • Corporate engagement, rekindling padel as a team-building and wellness activity.

  • Youth development, with coaching and possibly junior leagues on the horizon.

Dhoni’s public image and 7Padel’s grounding in Chennai’s identity may inspire padel education in schools, tie-ups with wellness brands, or community tournaments—fueling both grassroots engagement and awareness.

Conclusion

MS Dhoni has redesigned Chennai’s athletic future with 7Padel, creating an environment that promotes sport, health, and community. This daring endeavor combines padel’s worldwide appeal with community-centric facilities, establishing a new standard in India’s sports-lifestyle environment.

For those in Chennai, here is your chance to reimagine recreation—to rally on the court, recuperate in the sauna, get a coffee, and participate in a communal journey of movement and connection. The 7Padel chapter has begun, and it is meant to change the way we play, live, and bond.

FAQs

1. What is 7Padel and where is it located?
7Padel is MS Dhoni’s new sports and lifestyle centre in Palavakkam, Chennai—covering 20,000 sq ft with padel courts, pool, gym, café, and more.

2. Which sports can you play at 7Padel?
You can play padel and pickleball, and make use of fitness and recovery facilities like the gym, pool, sauna, and recovery room.

3. Why did Dhoni choose to build this centre in Chennai?
Dhoni emphasized his affinity for Chennai—it felt right to launch his first padel centre there as a tribute to his strong connection with the city.

4. Why is padel becoming so popular globally?
Padel blends elements of tennis and squash, is social, inclusive, dynamic, and relatively easy to learn—factors driving its popularity worldwide.

5. How big is padel’s footprint in India?
Since its introduction around 2016–17, India now has around 100–150 padel courts, supported by the Indian Padel Federation and growing grassroots interest.

6. What challenges does padel face in India?
The main challenge is the high cost of setting up courts—₹16–22 lakh per court—but organizations are working to make the sport more accessible.

7. What membership or usage model will 7Padel follow?
Details haven’t been publicly revealed, but it’s likely to include bookings for individual sessions, recreational programs, and training—similar to modern sports-wellness hubs.

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