Jack Levin’s bid to have padel recognised at the Maccabi Games

By Jaime Uranovsky

Padel can be described as a hybrid of tennis and squash.

Played on a court about a third the size of a tennis court, with a net in the middle and enclosed by glass and wire mesh, players can hit the ball off the wall. The game was invented in Mexico and is popular in South America and, increasingly, in the US and across Europe. It was played during the Pan American Maccabi Games, in Mexico in 2019. However, padel is not yet played at the Maccabi Games in Israel. Cape Town-born Jack Levin, who has lived in Houston for 44 years, wants to change this.

Jack, who turns 80 this year and has been playing padel for two decades, contacted the Maccabi headquarters to get padel recognised for the 2022 Games. While the organisation says this is a future possibility, Israel lacks the facilities to achieve this in 2022. Jack is in touch with Jewish padel players all over the world and is looking for more players to add their voices.

Jack, a 1958 Herzlia graduate, says it is a dream of his to have padel included.

Contact Jack at jacklevin1008@gmail.com

• Published in the PDF edition of the June 2021 issue – Download here.

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