Bringing Padel Tennis to the UK
I
first played padel tennis on a business trip to Spain when I couldn’t book a tennis court as the courts were all full. Although I had never played the game before I quickly learnt and was soon enjoying long rallies and a variety of lobs and volleying rarely seen in my standard of tennis! I came off the court exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure… and ready for a refreshing cold beer. Ironically, if it was today, the padel courts would be full and the tennis courts freely available. In Spain more people play padel (4 million active players) than lawn tennis, and there are more padel courts (20,000) than tennis courts. But it’s not just Spain, padel is one of the fastest growing sports not only in Europe but across the world. In Sweden, for example, the number of courts doubled from 360 in 2018 to 717 in 2019, and recent estimates are that there are now nearly 1,500. Why? Well, you need to try for yourself, but once you do I warn you it’s very addictive. For a taster to get you excited watch the Best 10 Puntazos 2020 World Padel Tour on YouTube. Padel is played on a court which is roughly half the size of a tennis court, it is enclosed with glass walls at the end and the ball can bounce, hit the wall and remain in play. The game is a blend of tennis and squash, played with a padel racket made of high-density foam and a ball that is 70% of the compression of a tennis ball. Padel is highly social, played in pairs (doubles) and tends to have long rallies, lots of lobbing and volleying. It’s a simple game to learn, the serve is underarm and scoring as in tennis. With tactics and guile/finesse more important than strength and power, this makes padel a sport which can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities and a great way for families to exercise together.
So how did I get involved? Well, I had been watching how the game was taking off across Europe and I was getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of courts in the UK (circa 100). In late November 2019 I met another padel enthusiast, Christopher Wilkinson, who had recently retired from Numis Securities in the City and had founded a company called Padel4all. We decided to join forces along with two other Directors and launched the business, raising capital from friends, family and acquaintances. We got on a plane to Denmark and Sweden to experience the growth of padel there first-hand and saw the immense enthusiasm and addiction to the game. Courts were being built across both countries and demand was rising rapidly - it was extraordinary and we knew it would catch on in the UK. Winding the clock forward to 2021 and we now have planning permission granted at 3 sites in Southend, Swindon and Bristol. Our Swindon centre opened on the 18th September 2021 with 3 courts, Southend will be a late October or November opening with 4 courts, and Bristol will open early next year, also with 4 courts. We hope to then build 5 more centres each year from 2022 onwards. We aim to make Padel4all the leading padel operator in the UK and are constantly looking for additional sites, predominantly in the South of England. We have a strong
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