Paleta frontón: the Peruvian sport picking up fans all over the world

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A paddle, a rubber ball and a wall is all that is required. This is the magic recipe for the fans of paleta frontón, a sport born in Peru. The sport gained recognition during the Pan American Games in Lima back in 2019, where “Blanquirroja” won the gold medal in both the men’s and women’s categories making the passion for this sport grow even further. 

The sport started to become more popular than it already was. The classes in the clubs grew as more championships were created, with Kevin Martínez and Claudia Suárez becoming references for the fans of paleta frontón. The sport with a Peruvian spirit   also began to expand abroad, generating a lot of attention. 

How was paleta frontón born?

In 1945, almost eight decades ago, paleta frontón was created in the Regatas de Lima club, born of a derivative of handball (balonmano in Spanish). In that sport, the game was also played with a ball, only it was bigger with the aim being to score in the opponent’s goal. However, when faced with a wall, the players realised that hitting the ball initially with the hand, then with something similar to a paddle, was also a lot of fun.

Thus was born what is known as paleta frontón. This sport has evolved over time, as it is now played with fibre or glass paddles, whereas before they were made of wood. Back in the 1940s, the first ones were made from the wood of whisky barrels and the balls used were tennis balls, but without the familiar green fluff. 

20 years later, in 1968, the first concrete wall was built for the sport, playing with paddles that were imported from another South American country. It was starting  to become professionalised. A few years later, in Costa Rica they also began hitting the rubber ball against the wall, even starting to organise competitions in La Guaria. 

The first interclub tournament in Peru was held in 1972 at the Country Club de Villa in Chorrillos, and eleven years later, in 1983, the first national championship was held. In its first edition there were 25 affiliated clubs, yet nowadays there are several more in tournaments decentralised all over Peru, with more than a thousand active players.

There are regional championships, champions of champions, in addition to the national tournaments, which helps its dissemination and growth in Peru. In the capital Lima, there are more than 1,000 courts, with an estimated 10,000 people who play the sport, either as amateurs or professionals.

How do you play paleta frontón?

For those wondering the answer to the question: what is fronton? It is one of the most popular sports in Peru and is played on a court with a 5-metre-high and 6-metre-wide wall, and with the floor measuring 7.6 metres in width and 12 metres in length. It can be played in singles or doubles and has doubles lines as tennis does. 

The serve has to cross over to the other side, then the ball must hit against the wall, in the hope that the rival does not return or that the ball bounces twice on the floor. Of course, it has to hit inside the green rectangle (or blue depending on how it has been painted). If it goes outside the wall outlined in white or hits the board at the bottom of the wall, it is also considered out.

In singles, the game is played up to 15 points, while in doubles it is played up to 21 points. They can be three or five-set matches, depending on the rules of the tournament. There has been such a boom in frontón that in 2013 it was included as one of the sports for the Bolivarian Games, including delegations from other countries such as Chile, Bolivia, Guatemala, as well as others.

In 2015 the first international paleta fronton tournament was held with eight countries participating. But the definitive leap was made with the Pan American Games in Lima, 2019, where gold medals were won by Kevin Martínez and Claudia Suárez. Kevin started playing at the age of 9, emulating his uncles and grandparents, with Claudia following in the footsteps of her father, one of the country’s pioneers of the sport.  This is the reason as to why it is also considered a family tradition.

The paddles have also recently become a trend in Peru, just as the rubber balls have. Paleta frontón is part of the tradition of paddle or racket sports that exist worldwide, such as tennis, squash, badminton and beach tennis, which has also become very popular. There are some more extreme modalities such as Pelota Vasca, which includes frontón at 30, 36, 54 metres or Trinquete. 

As well as frontón, there are many particularities in the countries of this region, with information that can be very relevant for companies interested in entering these markets and are looking for a PR agency in Peru. If you want to know more about the country of the Inca’s or other topics concerning Latin America, you can check out our blog at Sherlock Communications to learn more about the culture and traditions of each of the countries.

Written by: Angelo Torres