The Joy of Padel podcast with Najwa Salhab (JOPS03E12)

Najwa Salhab, a Saudi-Lebanese padel player, shares her journey from casual player to national team member. She discusses the rapid growth of padel in Saudi Arabia, the importance of strategy in the sport, and how it has impacted her life beyond the court. Najwa offers insights into the differences between men’s and women’s approaches to padel partnerships and highlights her favorite professional players. The conversation explores the evolving landscape of women’s sports in Saudi Arabia and Najwa’s aspirations for her padel career. 

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About the host: Minter Dial

Minter Dial is an international professional speaker, author & consultant on Leadership, Branding and Transformation. His involvement in sports has been a lifetime passion. Besides playing 18 years of rugby, captaining athletics teams, coaching tennis and playing squash for his university, he’s been a lifelong player of padel tennis, starting at the age of 10, from the time of its very first public courts at the Marbella Club in 1974.

Then, after a successful international career at L’Oréal, Minter Dial returned to his entrepreneurial roots and has spent the last twelve years helping senior management teams and Boards to adapt to the new exigencies of the digitally enhanced marketplace. He has worked with world-class organisations to help activate their brand strategies, and figure out how best to integrate new technologies, digital tools, devices and platforms. Above all, Minter works to catalyse a change in mindset and dial up transformation. Minter received his BA in Trilingual Literature from Yale University (1987) and gained his MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau (1993). He’s author of four award-winning books, including Heartificial Empathy 2nd edition (2023), You Lead (Kogan Page 2021), co-author of Futureproof (Pearson 2017); and author of The Last Ring Home (Myndset Press 2016), a book and documentary film, both of which have won awards and critical acclaim.

It’s easy to inquire about booking Minter Dial here.

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Full transcript of interview via Flowsend.ai

This transcription comes courtesy of Flowsend.ai, an AI service for podcasters.

Minter Dial: Foreign. I am. I don’t know if that’s how I pronounce it. You’ll correct me if I’m wrong. I am thrilled to have you on the show. I had the great privilege and pleasure to meet you and play with you in Riyadh back in the. Just before the world championships and was such fun. And I said, I need to have this lady on my show. So, in your own words, Najwa, who are you? And correct me when I say anything wrong.

Najwa Salhab: Hi, it’s a pleasure to be here. And yes, you pronounced it right. And it was so much fun to also play with you. You’re a good player. And I remember we did a social and it was really great. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Minter Dial: With your sister. With your sister too.

Najwa Salhab: Yes, yes, yes, yes. So, I’m Najwa Salhab and I’m from Saudi Arabia. I’m half Saudi, half Lebanese, but grew up my whole life in Saudi. And I started playing Padel about three years ago and I have like a nice story with Padel. I started just for fun. And me and my sister and two other people, we used to play once a week. We had the court booking and there was only one Padel Court at that time, or maybe two. Just a very few Padel courts in Riyadh.

Minter Dial: This is in Riyadh.

Najwa Salhab: This is in Riyadh. I think it was 2021 if I remember correctly. And then we started playing, never thinking that anything would come out of it. It was just something we did once a week just for fun. It was. I remember our court booking was every Thursday at 8. And then padel’s started to become more and more popular, but there were very few courts. So, I remember our booking was in high demand and even when we would travel, we would never give our booking away. Like we would actually trade it, so. So, we wouldn’t lose our booking anyway. Yeah, seriously. A few months go by and then we hear that a committee has been formed and they want to scout for the national team. So, we’d never even thought anything about it, but my sister pushed me to go. So, she went to the scouting before me and she’s like, you should go. It’s fun. You never know. We’ll come out of it. And I was like, I don’t know if I want to. I never took this seriously. It was something just for fun. It’s like, no, do it, do it. And so, I went and me and my sister got picked and literally a week later we started an intense training camp for two weeks and then Two weeks later, we traveled to Dubai and. And we played our first ever tournament. It was a Nast tournament in Ramadan. And then that’s when the journey began for us.

Minter Dial: How did it feel to be playing for your country?

Najwa Salhab: So, good. It was. It’s such an honor. It’s something that I’ll hold very dear in my heart for. It’s like, really, I never even thought it would be possible. So, it’s even a dream that I never thought I could have.

Minter Dial: Right. Well, there are several parts to that dream. At some level. There’s the amateur, you, Najwa, who works, you know, Guess, has a day job. You’ve just discovered this and you’re in Saudi Arabia. And let’s just call a spade a spade. We wouldn’t imagine so often that there’ll be a women’s team from Saudi. It’s, you know, from the outside, it, you know, from the history, anyway, it seemed like it would be an probable idea that you would be out there sweating and representing your country on a padel court.

Najwa Salhab: I think this, this is changing. I think the image that a lot of people had about Saudi is no longer the right image. A lot has been changing. And even you came to Saudi and you saw this yourself.

Minter Dial: Of course.

Najwa Salhab: Yeah. So, the change is massive and there’s a huge push and investment in sports and a lot of women are actually taking up sports and we’re seeing more and more women and in lots of different sports. So, I think now a lot of young girls, for example, me growing up, I never thought about sports because this was never a dream that I thought could be possible. But now a lot of young girls, they have a dream to maybe take this as a career or to maybe really take sports as a profession. So, I’m so excited for that. To actually see more Saudi women on international platform.

Minter Dial: Yeah, so am I. And it makes me great pleasure. That’s why I really wanted to have you on the show. So, here’s the thing I was going to ask you was, do you play with your sister as a team? Because let’s say, here’s the context. Playing with a partner is one thing. Playing mixed is another. Playing with your family is another. And you obviously can see that there are teams that are brothers that play, you know, like the. The Nunez, the from Portugal. They’re an amazing team together. Do you play with your sister? Is that something you want? How is, how is the selection of the. Of the team made with regard to the fact you have two sisters on it?

Najwa Salhab: I think Sara is actually one of My favorite Saudi players. And I’m not saying this just because she’s my sister, but I think she’s a. She’s a great player. She’s one of the top. She’s very smart on court, and I love playing with her because she’s so supportive also on court, and she doesn’t get upset. So, actually, it’s. For me, it’s such a pleasure to play with her. I love to play with her, but we don’t always play together. We play together sometimes, and sometimes we change partners, which I also think is. Is a good thing because you discover different.

Minter Dial: Different. Yeah. Right, right, right. And so, in terms of your. Your game, did you play any tennis before? How did you get into. I mean, the idea of playing padel? Was it just because the court was there, or had you been already a sports woman previously?

Najwa Salhab: So, in the family, we were always very active. Since we were young, we used to go with, like, my siblings, my parents. Whenever we would travel, there was always a sports element. Like, we would either go swimming, play tennis. We used to play tennis with the family, play golf. My parents were very active, so they always encouraged us to also be active. But we never. None of us, except for my youngest brother, none of us ever took it seriously or professionally. But. So, we had a bit of a tennis background, but never like professionally. So, when we. And we love to try new things. When we heard about Padel, we didn’t even know what Padel was, and it looked like. It looked interesting. It’s like a smaller tennis court with a glass. It looked like it looked interesting. So, we’re like, why not? Let’s give it a try. And then we fell in love with it, like a lot of people.

Minter Dial: That’s right. How would you. Well, in your words, how do you describe the love that you have for padel? What is it that makes it such. The sport that you’re playing it so frequently?

Najwa Salhab: I think there are different elements, and combined they make Padel such a special sport that I don’t think you can find in other sports. First of all, it’s easy to play. So, when you start playing, you’re like, oh, wow, I can actually play the sport even as a beginner. So, you find more and more people that want to join Padel because they feel they’re not bad at playing it. And then it’s something that’s very social also. So, there is that social element. So, the social element, the active element, putting it together makes it such a great and fun sport. And you can play, for example. Sorry, go Ahead, for example, tennis, when you play it, it’s also so fun, but you feel it’s, it’s physically exhausting. Whereas Padel, you can play much longer and still enjoy and still have long, long rallies. And you’re also, it’s a more strategic. So, you’re using your brain more to where to place the ball. It’s not just about. So, I like that element as well.

Minter Dial: What’s fun for me, naturally, when I go to a club, I, I see these outright beginners laughing and hooting and howling and, and of course their points don’t last much because they can’t really do much with the ball. But they’re still having tremendous fun and it’s so exhilarating to see that and share that fun. As far as your game is concerned, do you play right, do you play left? And, and what’s your strongest suit?

Najwa Salhab: Okay, it’s been now more than one year that I switched to right before I was playing on the left because my partner previously was a lefty. So, I was playing on the left. And then I decided, no, I feel like I want to maybe try the right. And I think at my level I shouldn’t pick sides. I think I should be try to play both sides. So, I’m not a professional, I should know how to switch right and left. But most of the time I play on the right and I like playing on the right.

Minter Dial: Well, I, I mean for one, I think Najwa, it’s absolutely necessary to know both sides. For one, you know, like from an empathy standpoint, if you’re playing on the right and you have your left-handed player, the person playing on the left who’s got to play certain shots, you kind of know what’s going through their mind. There are different strokes, different pressures on the left player for the right player to know and vice versa. So, knowing that, and then on top of that there’s the occasion where the ball goes over your partner, you have to circle back and now you find yourself on the other side. So, you better be comfortable for that moment. I mean even for, you know, when you watch the Jose Maria Paola when she has, she’s a lefty and so on occasion she ends up having to, she switches and she’s now playing on the left even though she’s left-handed. So, it happens all the time. And what about your strength now that you’re playing on the right? What do you find as your go to, what do you find is your strongest suit?

Najwa Salhab: I’m trying to think, I think my forehand My forehand volley.

Minter Dial: Forehand volley.

Najwa Salhab: Right.

Minter Dial: All right. All right. Great. And what about the stroke that you’re trying to work on? Which is the one that’s most difficult for you to get improved or.

Najwa Salhab: A lot of things, but mostly actually two things that I want to really improve. The first is my backhand volley and my backhand defense. I think the backhand is always the hardest to get right. And the second one, which is my favorite shot, it’s so simple, but I love it, is the Chiquita, because the Chiquita is such a gentle shot, but I find it to be so powerful because it slows down the game. It’s a defensive shot. It’s also an attack shot. It’s everything. But it’s so gentle. I like it.

Minter Dial: I love the way you describe that. I mean, that gentle shot. Of course, it also takes a good hand eye. You would need to. To drop it in there, because if you get it wrong, you’re punished very quickly.

Najwa Salhab: It’s true.

Minter Dial: And yet it is interesting. It is. It is entirely an attacking shot when done well, you know, if you choose the right one and then it goes to their feet and all of a sudden gives you time, if you’re quick enough to pounce in and get the next shot.

Najwa Salhab: True.

Minter Dial: Next thing you know, then that’s yours. What about padel in Saudi? Tell us now. I mean, obviously you had one court in all of Riyadh. I’m guessing it’s quite booming. I mean, certainly in parts of the Middle east, it’s really booming. Give us an idea to what, what, what. How can you describe the state of Padel in Saudi these days?

Najwa Salhab: It’s still in its booming phase. So, there are still more and more people entering the sports, and there is a bigger obsession for it, and people are playing just as much. So, when Padel first started, which I think was 2021, when we saw more courts opening, I think people were saying, I used to hear this a lot. It’s a trend. It’s a trend. It’s not going to last long. Maybe people were hesitant. They didn’t want to build courts because they thought it was a trend. Now we see, no, it’s here to stay. It’s actually a sport that’s getting. That’s only getting bigger. And we see more courts, more investment into it. Even if you look at in Riyadh, I’m going to speak for Riyadh. Most of the courts that opened in the beginning were all outdoor courts. And then, no, now we’re seeing more investment in Indoor courts. Because people see that. Oh actually no, there is a huge demand for the sport.

Minter Dial: And I mean playing outdoors in Saudi, I mean 80% of the year must be sort of intolerable heat.

Najwa Salhab: I think we got used to it. Again, again, I’m speaking for Riyadh. Riyadh’s weather is very dry. Even if it’s very hot, it’s still bearable to play outdoors if you play at night. But yes, it’s not, it’s not ideal because it is if you play outdoors, I going to struggle here. But I think we’re built for it, we’re used to it, so.

Minter Dial: Right, right. Well it reminded I did play in Las Vegas and where it’s very, very dry heat outdoors. And I remember, I mean by 10 o’ clock it was, you know, 40 odd degrees and it was a workout. Especially when you play padel, as in, you know, the long points and you have slow and fast and you can get out of breath. Well that, that’s great to hear. What about coaching? How’s the coaching going? Because in, in so many of these developing countries, I say developing from padel perspective, coaching is an issue. How, how is it for you in terms of finding coaching and bringing good, good levels, you know, improving the Saudis in their padel level?

Najwa Salhab: Every club, they have their coaches. Actually not every club, some clubs don’t have coaches, but most of the big clubs have coaches and most of them come from Spain. So, they have coaching certificates from Spain and they’re so in demand and you see that they really make a difference to improve the game of the players. And actually I have a funny story also about this. I remember when me and my sister first started playing Padel in an outdoor court. We saw two girls being coached by a trainer and we looked at that, the girls taking coaching and we’re like, this seems a little bit ridiculous. Like why would you take coaching for sports that’s just for fun and then forward a few years later and we’re getting coached almost every single day. And it actually makes a huge difference because Padel said it’s not just about the skills, it’s also so much strategy. So, when we get the coach, it’s important that the coach not only understands how to teach you the technique, but also explains to you the strategic element, like where to put which ball, how to move on court, which is also so important. So, when picking a coach, yes, it’s important for the coach to know the technique, but it’s more important for him to understand the game. Clubs know that when they get Coaches.

Minter Dial: Well, you know, I certainly you. You. If you have one who understands the strategic and tactical elements of the game. I was having a big debate with someone the other day. Oh, padel’s not strategic. I’m like, excuse me. Maybe. Maybe not the way you’re playing it. And. And then it. It feels sometimes when you have a new sport like that, well, people want to poo poo it. You know, it’s. It’s. It’s a new thing. It. A trend. It’s. It’s not really that difficult. However, when you get into it, isn’t it just that it’s amazing how complicated some shots are, because even though it’s an easy shot, you got to think where the opponents are. Where’s your partner? How hard do you want to hit it? What sort of spin? When. When you talk about the t. Strategy or tactics with your coach. Give us an example of something that you and your partner are working on. Because, I mean, I want this to be educational for people who are listening, you know, that there is truly a strategic element. What kind of. Give me an example that would be illuminating what you do.

Najwa Salhab: I think, for example, I can say what I’m trying to change in my game. And maybe most beginners do this. When we first start playing Padel, we love to hit strong shots because it looks much nicer. It looks like, whoa, I’m amazing when I hit a very strong shot. But after years of coaching, we realized that actually the slower balls, the more controlled balls, are way more difficult for the opponents. And it’s not just about having a nice shot. It’s about really knowing how to put the ball. So, now what I’m trying to focus on is not that powerful shot, but more those slow shots. That’s why I said I like the Chiquita. Because it forces you to go slower.

Minter Dial: Yeah, 100%. And of course, slow doesn’t necessarily mean easy. You know, like the chiquita, the engulf. There’s a saying, you drive for the show, you putt for the dough. And in that respect, you know, there’s the showy element, you know, the big por tres, you know, where you smash it out. But really, the hard work is figuring out the sequence, putting the bandeja between the players so it gets to the back wall, even though you didn’t hit it hard, giving you the time to get up there and then. And figuring out what slow is. It’s. It’s remarkable for me, Najwa, how often I. Playing with very talented, very athletic individuals, but they don’t get that element. They just keep on wanting to, you know, hit the shot because that’s all I want to do. And you wonder how they ever win a game afterwards, because it looks better.

Najwa Salhab: Like I even. I feel. Even I feel so good when I hit a smash. It’s like, wow, it looks like an amazing shot, but it’s not the best shot usually. And it’s actually much harder to slow the game down. It’s easier to make the game faster. So, players who know how to slow it down, I like how they play.

Minter Dial: So, let me just be sure. You have a day job as well. You’re not yet a pro. You’re not making money out of padel just yet. But when we talk about strategy, I. And something I’ve been doing with the joy of Padel is bringing strategy from the Padel court into the business. What parallels or, or what sort of life lessons has padel brought to you in general or specifically in your work? Because I know you would actually work in the sports industry.

Najwa Salhab: Yeah, a lot, actually. Not just in work, but in life too. For example, the first thing is that Padel is a sports where you play in pairs. So, the first thing you need to learn is communication. So, I think that’s the skill that maybe this. Since I started Padel and now I think the skill that I have improved is my communication skills. Especially when you play with different partners, what works with one partner might not work with another. So, you also have to be adaptable and flexible and to know how to speak to different partners, to lift them up. And also in sports, maybe more than in life, in sports, if you’re losing, you’re clearly losing, like it clearly shows. But you have to keep yourself in the game. You have to keep yourself fighting till the end, which can also be hard. So, it’s also your self talk with yourself on court and then you need, you know that you need to have a positive self talk or else the game is just going to get worse and worse. And I think, yeah, I think that’s really good because in life to have a positive self talk is also very important. So, I think father helped me with that too.

Minter Dial: Yeah, that’s. That’s so true. I mean, a few of the pros I’ve interviewed talk about the selection of their partner in the same type of vocabulary you have about your life partner, the one you marry kind of thing. And, and, and it’s a complicated thing to find the right partner.

Najwa Salhab: It’s true. Yeah. Because it’s not just about skills, right. I mean, you can have an amazing partner, but who’s always criticizing you on court, always bringing you down, then your game is just going to get worse and you’re going to feel worse about yourself. So, you I’d be like, oh, it’s not worth playing with this person. I’d rather play with maybe a person that’s not as good, but who’s really motivating on court.

Minter Dial: Yeah, I, I, I’ve interviewed Ksenia Sharifova and Marta Talaván, who are a couple, and, and one of the things that was interesting to hear from them because I’m just a dude, is to hear about how different it is for women. And I was wondering to what extent you think you, you observe the same kind of elements between the way women communicate and choose each other and the way men communicate and choose each other. Obviously, we’re talking about the padel component.

Najwa Salhab: Again, I don’t know how men view it, so maybe you can tell me from a man’s point of view, but from as a woman, for example, what I noticed is that we can’t deal with Detach. If I don’t get along with you outside of the court, there’s no way I can play with you on court. But I feel with men, even if they hate each other outside of the court, somehow they enter the court, if they make a good team and they make sense, they can play together. I don’t know if I’m right. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Minter Dial: Well, it’s definitely the, the trend to what you’re saying there. And yet I, I feel I played rugby for 18 years. And when you, when you have a, when you go to town, go to bat, when you tackle somebody, you throw your body at full rate, you know, speed into somebody else and with the risk of hurting yourself when you do it and you feel comradery with the others, that’s, that’s a bond. And that will last until you go to the pub afterwards where you’re drinking a beer and you’re talking about stuff and you, and you’re connecting and bonding. So, I think it’s just, it’s very different style of bonding, but the men do tend to be more transactional. And, and, and I would even say, and this is not to say that women are competitive but are more interested in being number one than just, I mean, I mean, more interested in being number one, being the hero, you know, getting that, that sense of we’re doing this for one. I don’t care if I don’t like you as long as we win.

Najwa Salhab: Really?

Minter Dial: Yeah. That’s sort of a dedication to winning. Not that women are competitive, it’s just that I feel like they. The transaction of the win dominates everything. Whereas I think for women and for some men, of course the idea of the journey, the togetherness is, is, is supremely important and, and again it doesn’t take away from the need to win. It’s just a different route. I mean I even looked when I was, you know, I do speaking for a living and sometimes I like to highlight the 4 by 100 meter race and for men and women and what inevitably happens at the end of a 4 by 100 meter race when the men win is that the men go off and get their flag and they run around and show off the four that win. What do women do differently? Do you have an idea?

Najwa Salhab: They hug each other. I’m guessing.

Minter Dial: I don’t know that’s true. But they actually go and celebrate and immediately go and say hi to the number two, the number three, the number four teams, they, they commiserate, they collaborate, they celebrate together as opposed to. Anyway, we’re talking about something else. But what about the professional sport? Do you watch pro players? Do you enjoy watching the premier padel? Is that something you. How often do you, do you get to do that?

Najwa Salhab: I love watching actually. And especially so we, we’re lucky enough to have one hosted in Riyadh. It’s the first of the circuit. So, it’s the. I think it starts in Riyadh and we’re lucky enough to have it here. So, I of course I go every single day to go watch it and I love watching it and I try to also go to the ones that are close by like if there is in Kuwait and Dubai and Qatar. Last year I went to the one in Dubai and it was also amazing. So, whenever I had the chance to go watch and whenever it’s convenient to go watch, I go watch. If not I watch online and hopefully I get to watch more live games. I want to go to the one of Paris for example. That’s one that’s on my list.

Minter Dial: Well Najwa, catch me there. Catch me there. Planning to go as well? Yeah, we’ll play as well. But what about. Who do you, who do you want to watch? How do you articulate. Let’s say you have time is limited. Are there are the ones that you really are keyed up on watching and that’s in terms of the pairs, the matches, what, what, what, what is driving your desire to watch?

Najwa Salhab: So, I like to watch. Okay. I have favorite pairs and favorite Players but also I like to watch matches of games I don’t know. And I also like to watch the, the qualities because in the qualities they say it’s a bit not lower level, but they’re not like the top four teams. But still their games are so similar and so close. So, it’s nice to, to see like, oh, look at how the competition is tight. But they’re the top team and they’re in the quality. So, I like to see the different. I mean they’re all this almost the same level, but kind of different level to see that. And in terms of team, my top team since Padel started is Arturo Coelho and Tapia. I love their, how they play and I love their, their chemistry also. So, that’s why I love to watch them. And the new team that I like from the woman I like Gemma and Deli I think such a good team together and I like to watch them play.

Minter Dial: Yeah, I agree with you. I mean obviously there’s so many good ones. But that was a really interesting insight. Najwa, this idea of watching the qualities because it’s true that when you get into, let’s say the, the main draw, the first games are typically quite uneven. Typically. I mean you obviously have exceptions, but the top 10 when they’re playing the. The 20s to 30s, with rare exceptions, it typically goes quickly, straight sets and so on. However, in the qualities everybody is trying to battle and the, the feeling of life and death is strong, the intense competitivity and to get through into the main draw only to be then swept away. But it’s much more of an even stake in the qualities. So, that’s a really interesting insight. I really like the way you say that. That’s things for people to listen to.

Najwa Salhab: Yeah. Maybe because I’m also an amateur player. So, I, I like to see people who are, they’re not amateurs, they’re professionals. But to see like, oh, this is how to get into the qualities. This is how I’m supposed to improve my games. But when I look at pros, I feel they’re so far off from me. Maybe it’s like I’m just watching them in awe. But in the qualities I’m like, oh, it’s nice. I need to learn from this and that.

Minter Dial: Well, I mean, I agree with you. I mean typically, I was talking, I think with Martha about how for my friends, my, my level, I will, I will recommend if you want to learn for real, watch the women because that’s more accessible level. Because when you watch Coello And Tapia and you have any delusion that you’re able to hit even one of their shots, you are not going to learn much. I mean, because they are just pure magic. I love this idea of this chemistry, the synergy that you observe. How do you. How do you describe that kind of chemistry that they have? Maybe differently from Gemma and Delphi, but when you look at Artura and Tapia, they do seem to have a genuine bond. How do you describe it?

Najwa Salhab: I think a few things. First of all, they’re friends outside of the court, so that makes a huge difference, I feel. And I feel they. They understand each other and they’re there for each other in the good times and the bad. I mean, we saw. Even this year, I think Tapia was injured, so there was a few. I don’t remember where. Where he couldn’t play as well. And I felt Coelho was so understanding, like, no problem. We’ll get the next one. It’s that mindset that we’re going to stick together. We’ll get the next one. So. So, I like that they have each other’s back. It’s not that if one day a player doesn’t play as well, they’re going to give up on them. I feel maybe the team will change, but I feel while they’re playing together, there is that strong. We got each other’s back, and I think it shows the court.

Minter Dial: Yeah. One of the things that I like to discuss with players is this notion of the team project. And most teams, the idea of success, win, and some have this dream of being number one. What I think we saw there was that the exhibit of the project that they have, which includes getting through difficult times, it’s easy when you’re winning to get along. The challenge is when your partner screws it up. Oh, no. Oh, God. How did you miss that easy shot or you yourself miss it? And how do you get back up? And just like your sister says with you, she’s really supportive of you. And having that support, that communication ongoing, even when it’s difficult, it can be easy to drop your shoulders and just screw it, let it go.

Najwa Salhab: True. It’s true. I agree 100% with that. And I think that’s why they’re such a strong team, because they put the team above themselves. I feel it could be wrong, but I feel it looks like they do that.

Minter Dial: That’s right. Well, it certainly does look like that. I. I’ve. I’ve met them, but never had a chance to talk with them, because I’m waiting for Arturo’s English to get strong enough now that he lives in Miami. All right, well, Najwa, tell us about the. Your future. What are your, what’s your. I mean I, we talked about going to Paris, but about your padel. What are your ambitions in padel and what’s the future of Padel in Saudi?

Najwa Salhab: Okay, I’ll start with maybe me my ambition for Padel. I want to continue improving, continue playing. I want to join more tournaments and travel regionally to join, to compete against other GCC countries and to keep playing and training. And in terms of Padel in Saudi, I think there is going to be a big push, continued push. And I think we proved Padel proved to, to the country, to the region that it’s not a trend and that it’s here to stay. And I think we’re going to see more and more players and I’m especially excited to see more women player. We have a lot of men there already that are playing, but we still don’t have enough women. And I think in the future there’s going to be more and more women and starting at a younger age. So, I’m excited for that.

Minter Dial: Beautiful. Well, may it happen. Anything I can do, Najwa, you reach out to me. I’ll be glad to with my partner, Camille, who’ my Joy of Padel partner, pushing the women’s side. I mean, because the end of the day communication, the social side, the smiling side and dare I say the dating side is also something that happens on the padel court. Anyway, keep that for another day. Anyway, see you in Paris. Najra, thank you so much for coming on.

Najwa Salhab: So, much. It was such a pleasure. Thank you.

 

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