Inside Chanel Ayan & Lesa Milan's Glamorous Padel Workout: "It's Huge in Dubai"
Does RHODubai have you inspired to try padel? Learn about the sport and shop essentials inspired by the Season 2 premiere.
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In the Season 2 premiere of The Real Housewives of Dubai, Chanel Ayan and Lesa Milan pick up their racquets for an extremely stylish game of padel. Yes, padel, the sport we're just learning about but already love. If you're hoping to learn more about padel and shop RHODubai-inspired workout essentials while you're at it, you're definitely in the right place. Because in the words of Ayan, "Why be basic when we can be this fabulous?"
The 'Wives got together in 90-degree weather for a match and chitchat. "You're not gonna need the gloves; you're not gonna need the jacket; you're not gonna need the bag," Lesa said to Ayan, looking over her friend's chic look.
"No gloves?" Ayan gasped theatrically.
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"It's amazing that you love this activity," Ayan said to Lesa, who tried to teach the entrepreneur the proper way to stretch before a workout.
"I'm really proud that you showed up," replied Lesa. In her interview, she elaborated that "Ayan does not play sports. She does not know the difference between a football and a basketball." The designer then joked that "[Ayan] only shows up for padel because she knows I have my little padel friends, and she does not want to share me! The end."
Or Ayan might say: Period. Dot.
What is padel, the sport Chanel and Ayan play on RHODubai?
If you're not super familiar with padel, you're not the only one. In an interview during the episode, Ayan confessed that she knew "nothing" about the sport.
"Padel is not big in the U.S., but it's huge in Dubai," Lesa explained in her interview. "It's a little bit like tennis, but better. This is where we burn some calories, get to dress cute, [and] gossip with my girls."
If you're looking for specifics, let's go to the experts for this one: The International Padel Federation says that padel, also known as padel tennis is a sport that originated in Mexico.
Dutch padel gear company Macron further explains that padel is played on a raised platform that mimics a smaller-scale tennis court and features tennis' scoring system. A traditional padel court includes walls, which is a detail borrowed from squash. Per Macron, a friend of the initial founder brought the game to Spain in the '70s, which is likely why it's enjoyed more popularity in Europe than in the Americas. But considering how chic it looked on RHODubai, viewers across the world will likely be picking up their perforated padel racquets before too long. If there's not yet a padel court near you, you can always pickup a game of pickleball, just like The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Shop padel essentials inspired by RHODubai
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RHODubai airs Sundays at 9/8c on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.
