The Bandeja Magazine Issue 2

ISSUE 2 WINTER 2023
GB stars
hold their own
on world padel stage
Window
shopping
Andy Murray stars
at Westfields
Playing with
The grown-ups
Young talent
Oliver Grantham
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Science of the Serve
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Basic rules
of padel
IMAGE CURTESY: CHRIS HEARD
Serving
• All play begins with an underarm serve from
the right service court into the opponent’s court
diagonally opposite (like tennis)
• The server must bounce the ball once before hitting
it and the ball must be hit at or below waist level
• The server must keep at least one foot on the
ground when hitting the serve
• The server’s feet must not touch or cross the service
line when serving
• The serve must land in the opponent’s service box
diagonally opposite
• If the ball bounces in the service box and hits the
glass (side or back) it is a valid serve and must be
played by the opposing player.
• If the ball hits the net then bounces in the service
box and strikes the side or back wall, it is a let and
must be replayed.
• If the ball lands in the service box and hits the wire
fencing, it is considered a fault.
• If the ball hits the net then lands in the service box
and hits the wire fencing, it is considered a fault.
• In padel as in tennis, you get a second serve.
What’s in
Players are permitted to play a ball off any of the
walls (glass and cage) on their side of the court
(apart from return of serve. As above, if the serve
clears the net and hits the wire cage it is out)
The court lines are only important during the serve.
They are not a factor in determining the outcome of
points once the serve goes in
What’s out
The opposition wins a point if:
• The ball bounces twice in any area on your side
of the court
• The ball hits you or your teammate while in play
• The ball hits the wire fencing, posts or any other fixture
before going over the net or landing on the opponent’s
court (apart from playing a boast off the glass).
• Once over the net, the ball hits the wire fence or walls
before bouncing on the opponent’s side of the court.
Volleys
The ball can be taken out of the air by any player
except on the initial serve and the return of serve.
Scoring
Scoring is the same as for tennis – so 15, 30, 40 and
advantage. Some matches will involve golden points
where you reach deuce and the next point wins the
game (rather than going to advantage). Golden points
are, generally, used to make matches shorter. If playing
in a tournament it will be announced at the start that
golden points are in play. Otherwise it is up to players
to decide if they will be used before the game starts.
With thanks to ipadel.co.uk
High-quality padel grass with a unique composition
to maximise playability & manage maintenance.
www.kaupmanga.se

contents
contents// Issue 2 / Winter 2023
WIN
Padel Rackets!
Pg 52 & 63
22
28
Femme
Open in
London
36
Tournaments
round-up
Bristol
grabs padel
spotlight
Too cool for
skola: Two Two
iPadel
league
finals
57
67
Andy Murray plays
Westfields
25
50
Hello Padel
Academy
coaching
30
Wheelchair
padel goes
international
@the_bandeja
Padel Publishing: All content is copyright of Padel Publishing. All rights reserved. Whilst we make every effort to ensure the factual
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We make every effort to check quoted prices and product specifications with manufacturers prior to purchase. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or resold without prior consent of Padel Publishing. The Bandeja recognises all rights within
this issue. Where possible we acknowledge the copyright holder. This digital issue may contain links to third party content, advertising or
websites. We accept no legal responsibility for loss arising from information in this publication and do not endorse any advertising or
products available from external sources. All rights reserved.
62
thebandeja.com WINTER 2023
3

editor’s comment
The future
looks bright
The future looks padel
2022 was a year of firsts for
padel in the UK
We’ve broken through the 200 court
barrier by some margin (we think it’s
heading towards 230+), hosted a FIP
European Qualifier for the World Padel
Championships (at the awesome
11-court We Are Padel in Derby), GB No 1
Tia Norton scored her first international
title on home soil (the ground-breaking
London FIP Rise at the National Tennis
Centre), had men’s and women’s
teams competing successfully in the
Seniors World Championships in
Las Vegas and the GB men qualified
for the World Championships in Dubai
(GB had participated previously but
hadn’t needed to qualify - only 16
teams make the championships
and 18 entered from Europe alone,
excluding those that had pre-qualified,
to give an idea of how much the sport
is growing worldwide).
At home, padel moved into new
counties, cities and towns, with
Cornwall, Lancashire, Greater
Manchester, Ipswich, Derby, Harrogate
and Bristol amongst the roll-call of
places benefitting from courts. And
Wales doubled its court provision
with the opening of the Welsh Padel
Centre adding to those already at
Windsor Penarth.
The first courts were opened on a
university campus ((Plymouth Marjon)
and the first university padel club was
born (Leeds University). Babington
House, Somerset, and Gleneagles,
Scotland, hosted the first hotel pop-up
courts for a summer of smashes and
the Swedish Femme Open arrived on
British shores, attracting huge support
from women players.
Super centres
Emma Kimber
Editor
It was also the year we saw the first
‘super centres’ open, first of Surge
Harrogate (six courts) and then We
Are Padel, Derby (11 courts). They
have proved an important catalyst
for encouraging growth of the sport,
broadening its player base and, in
the case of Derby, facilitating the
hosting of international competition.
Up and down the country padel
communities are flourishing. The
number of players competing has
grown (for the first time the iPadel
national leagues have surpassed
300 participants) and there’s a
burgeoning array of competitions
open to all levels of participants,
from LTA tournaments to grassroots
club events and leagues.
Juniors & Westfields
Playtomic launched its Junior
Academy to identify potential stars
of the future, corporate padel events
are becoming increasingly popular
and more new businesses are
springing up to support the growth
of the game.
Westfields London. A pop-up
court in the centre of a London
shopping centre. Some 250,000
potential eyes on the game and
a slew of celebrities taking to the
court, including Andy Murray.
Take that Tiffany!
2023 is gearing up to be equally
exciting, with rumours swirling of
new multi-court centres in and
around London (our rumour count
The Bandeja team
Editor
Emma Kimber
Consultant
Catherine Larrad
Designer
Emma Devine
Cover Image
Richard Brooks helping team
GB qualify for the World Padel
Championships
currently sits at around 70+ courts
opening around the UK in the first
half of 2023), the emergence of
Bristol as the UK’s second padel hub
after London, an exciting project
further north which we feel could set
the bar for integrating padel and
tennis, and what has to be growing
pressure on Wimbledon to bring our
beautiful game into its fold with a
showcase court during The Fortnight.
The Australian Open did it last year
and the AO 2023 has just hosted the
inaugural Australian Padel Open.
Padel appeared at the French Open
too and new courts are popping up
around SW19. They’re (obviously)
nothing like Weeping Angels but let’s
hope Wimbledon bosses don’t blink
and miss the opportunity.
Emma
Emma Kimber
Editor
emma@thebandeja.com
4 thebandeja.com

editor’s comment
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Padel Magazine - DECEMBER 2022
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5

news
Padel en
Vogue
Model/photographer Laura Bailey
is, by her own admission, crazy for
padel. She recently played with GB
No 1 Tia Norton at Game4Padel’s
Padel Festival at Westfields London.
Writing about the experience in
Vogue, she said there was ‘no time
to be nervous’ before going on court
with Tia, whom she described as ‘a
gymnast, a trickster, a powerhouse’.
Read the Vogue article here:
https://bit.ly/3X2bDYZ
Full article about the Padel Festival
on pages 25-27.
Padel goes
organic
Bamford. It’s a name synonymous
with style, sustainability and a hefty
dose of celebrity nestled in the
Cotswolds - and now the brand
is branching out into a private
members’ retreat complete with
padel courts.
The Club by Bamford is billed as
a ‘360º wellness experience within
the Daylesford Farm estate. It’s due
to open shortly offering activities
from indoor and outdoor gyms to
swimming, yoga, a sauna, ice bath and,
of course, padel.
Members can make use of the adjacent
Bamford Spa and iconic Daylesford
farmshop, reported to be a favourite of
David Beckham when he’s at his home
in the area. Given he’s also a padel
fan there’s a chance he might just be
checking out the reported £7,000+
annual fees for The Club.
@bamfordtheclub
Padel is coming home….or at least much closer to
the home town of GB No 1 player Tia Norton, with
work underway to install two courts at Kenilworth
Tennis, Squash and Croquet Club. The £200,000
project is being funded by a Warwick District Council
grant and an LTA loan.
Jesús Ballvé
Nox sales
Padel was good for Nox in 2022,
with some 70% of its almost
28 million euro turnover
coming from the sale of padel
rackets. It was also a monster
year for sales growth, up from
10.5 million euros.
Boss Jesús Ballvé may be
satisfied with these numbers
but it hasn’t stopped him
setting the 2023 bar at 35
million euro turnover.
Matt Stanforth
LTA grows
padel team
The LTA has appointed Matt
Stanforth in to the new role of Padel
Performance Manager.
Matt, previously Head of England
Performance for Table Tennis England,
will oversee managing performance
players and the support they receive
from the LTA, developing a player
pathway and managing national
teams/creating opportunities.
6 thebandeja.com

news
Want to see how the
metal cage is made for
padel courts?
Then check-out this short film
from Indusmetal Torres in Spain.
We appreciate it’s a bit geeky but
do love a good construction video!
Yorkshire
leads
crowdfunding charge
Two Yorkshire communities have rallied round to
help fund new padel facilities in what is believed to
be the first use of court crowdfunding in the UK.
Ripon Tennis Centre was ahead of
the curve with its padel crowdfunding
campaign to raise £30,000,
supplementing a loan from the LTA
and a grant from Sport England for
the £180,000 project.
The target was, amazingly for one
of the smallest cities in England, met
within 28 days and the courts – one
covered, one outdoor – are already
built and in use.
Padel has been a welcome addition
to the tennis centre, boosting its
membership post-pandemic. “We
had lost a considerable number
of members as a result of the
Sue Stent of Chapel Allerton
Lawn Tennis Club
Artist’s impression of the proposed
padel courts at Chapel Allerton.
pandemic,” honorary club secretary
Carol Tetlow told news outlet
The Stray Ferret. “Many of them
dropped out or didn’t come back,
so that meant there was significant
financial loss. We were looking
at a way to come back bigger
and better. With padel being an
explosive, exciting new sport, we
had a look into that.”
Chapel Allerton Lawn Tennis,
Squash and Gym Club is hoping to
replicate this success after hitting
its crowdfunding target just before
Christmas; 132 supporters pledged
more than £13,000 within a month,
encouraged by rewards of
padel court bookings, gym
memberships etc.
With the funds in place,
including a grant from the
LTA and financial support
from the club, the £330,000
project for two covered
courts to replace a tennis
court and practice wall is now
awaiting consent from planners
at Leeds City Council.
Fantasy
Football
Padel
Fancy yourself as a padel team
manager? Then make a note
to download the new Padel
Fantasy app when it launches
soon. Create your own team or
challenge friends as you collect
virtual fantasy points from padel
tournaments worldwide.
@padelfantasy_
Most amateur and club games
“
use standard tennis balls which
they de-pressurize with the help
of a needle.
”
We can’t remember where we read this but it
is so very, very wrong that it made us laugh. So
we thought we’d share. Of course, all games are
played with padel-specific balls which are a little
smaller than tennis balls because they do have a
little less pressure. No needles required, honestly.
WINTER 2023
7

news
LTA gears up for
‘x10’ year of padel
2022 was huge for padel in the UK
and 2023 is going to be even bigger
That’s the view of Tom Murray,
LTA Head of Padel, who believes
the sport will grab ‘significantly
more’ attention this year, with its
commercial and player appeal
fast tracking it to become a
mainstream sport.
“It was a monumental year,” Tom
told The Bandeja. “Participation has
never been this high and there were
70 courts constructed, the most new
padel courts in a given year. That’s
historic and hopefully we should get
100 this year.”
Growth in court infrastructure has
been key to enabling the LTA to
further develop the game, as Tom
explained: “Without infrastructure we
have nothing to develop. 2022 has
been so positive for that reason and
puts us in the right place to launch
padel to the nation.”
This launch includes a new
logo, discussions with potential
Galway
Radio
Hear Barry Coffey, President
of the Irish Padel Association,
speak to Galway Bay
FM’s John Mulligan about
padel and the growth of its
popularity in Ireland.
https://galwaybayfm.ie/
sports/sport-of-padelgrowing-in-popularity
-in-ireland/
commercial partners, increased
LTA marketing activities
(ie Padel People - see page 10),
increased numbers of professional
tournaments around the
country, building the LTA’s Padel
Performance Programme and
a drive to promote the game
through LTA regional teams,
including speaking with local
authorities to raise the game’s
profile and identify potential
development opportunities. The
LTA continues to offer its ‘Quick
Access’ loan scheme, which have
so far helped fund 36 courts at
LTA-registered tennis clubs between
2020 and 2022.
Universities are also in the
organisation’s crosshairs, with a
number considering supplementing
their sporting facilities with the
addition of padel facilities, following
in the footsteps of Padel United’s
new courts at Plymouth Marjon
University (see page 44).
With more than 220 courts
established and (we think) around
70 at fairly advanced stages of
planning so far in the UK, the stage
is set for a huge push by the LTA to
grow the sport. “Everything we’ve
done in 2022 will pretty much be x10
in 2023,” concluded Tom.
*LTA appoints Padel Performance
Manager – see page 6.
Move over
mamils!
Tom Murray
Researchers from the National Cancer
Institute found that regularly playing
a sport like tennis (which we feel
can be ably substituted by padel)
for at least 2.5 hours per week
between the ages of 59 and 82 years
could reduce a person’s ‘all-cause
risk of death’ by 16%.
8 thebandeja.com

products
Padel Magazine - WINTER 2022
9

news
The BOUNX Effect
The Bandeja catches up with
Julian R Ellison, CEO and founder
of BOUNX.
Q ‘BOUNX is for coaches
that give a $%^&?’ It’s
a bold statement!
When we analysed academies
and clubs we noticed the majority
of thriving locations had a strong
coaching ethos which translated
into more engaged and active
players who in turn generated
greater revenue. Based on that
insight we focused on providing
a platform that not only runs the
academy but also allows coaches
to grow their business by having
more engaged, inspired and active
players. It really comes down to
coaches that give a $%^& have
better programmes, produce
better players and more successful
businesses.
Q How does BOUNX help
coaches?
Great coaches should do what they
do best - coach. BOUNX is built to
be a complete academy and club
management system. Players book
and pay via their own personalised
app which allows coaches to focus
on coaching.
Q How is BOUNX supporting
the growth of padel?
We provide a unique opportunity for
clubs to start fresh with the latest
technology for court management,
class booking and tournament
management. Our goal is to be the
platform that coaches trust to easily
and systematically grow padel
players.
Tia’s LTA
award win
GB No 1 Tia Norton has
been recognised by the
LTA for her achievements
and contributions to padel,
scooping the association’s
first ever Padel Award at
the LTA Tennis Awards
Tia was the first British woman to compete on the professional padel
circuit and shortly after being honoured by the LTA went on to win her first
international title at the FIP Rise tournament in London (see pages 36).
The LTA Tennis Awards, in their seventh year, celebrate the achievements
and contributions of volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players
across the country. Seventeen national winners were announced during
the virtual event, with Emma Raducanu taking Player of the Year.
Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool FC star and Dutch international Virgil
van Dijk has joined tennis players Jamie Murray
and Jamie Delgado in investing in padel business
Game4Padel.
The company is already backed by sports stars
including Andy Murray, Andrew Castle, Annabel
Croft and Jonathan Davies. It’s perhaps not
surprising that Liverpool players are showing
interest given that their manager, Jurgen Klopp,
has publicly declared his love for the sport and
installed a court within the club’s training ground.
Q How does BOUNX keep
players more engaged?
Engaged players are active players.
BOUNX allows a coach to gamify
coaching by providing experience
points for effort, badges for breaking
new barriers and feedback on how
to improve.
Powered by the sun
That’s the thinking of Padel Nederland, which says facilities could
earn back their investment in solar panels within a few years,
perhaps more quickly if electricity prices continue to rise.
padelnederland.nl
10 thebandeja.com

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Padel Magazine - DECEMBER 2022
11

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News
ITF & FIP
the battle for padel
ITF: the reasons why
The ITF has, for several years, been
discussing padel with stakeholders. Last
year member nations were consulted,
leading the federation’s board of
directors to ’strongly believe’ that it was
in the best interests of members, the ITF
and tennis to include padel within its
jurisdiction for the following reasons:
• to ensure the harmonious
development of padel with tennis
• to give one single governing
body to the ITF member national
tennis associations that also have
responsibility for padel
• to provide a global padel competition
structure open to all ITF member
national tennis associations
• to protect tennis from reputational
damage that could flow from the
separate regulation (and, therefore,
different standards) of integrity
within padel, including anti-doping,
safeguarding, anti-corruption and
reciprocation of penalties between
padel and tennis
• to protect ITF members, the ITF and
tennis from padel and FIP benefitting
from its long-standing and significant
efforts and investment into developing
grass roots participation, coaching
and officiating frameworks, and
court infrastructure.
Padel has been gathering fans in the media
over the last few months but not all coverage
has been positive, with a furore blowing up in
November which pitched the ITF (International
Tennis Federation) against the International
Padel Federation (FIP).
The very public spat erupted from
the ITF’s move to support its member
nations in providing governance and
support when growing padel in their
own countries. More than 100 ITF
members have already, or are about
to, adopt the game, much as the LTA
did in the UK in 2020.
This broadening of the federation’s
scope to develop and govern padel
was condemned by FIP, which has
carried out the role for more than
30 years.
The plan, presented at the ITF’s
AGM in Glasgow on November 14th,
was ‘leaked’ by a UK newspaper
ahead of this meeting and a furious
row ensued with FIP President Luigi
Carraro threatening legal action
and branding the idea a ‘hostile
takeover of padel’ by ‘self-interested
sports executives seeking to rail-road
through resolutions to swallow up
developing sports’.
And he didn’t stop there, reportedly
travelling to Glasgow to lobby ITF
members and writing to them (some
of whom are also FIP members,
including the LTA) outlining all that
FIP had achieved (including 16 World
Championships, 13 Junior World
Championships and 14 European
Championships), pointing out that the
ITF had had no involvement in padel
and stating that its actions would
contravene the Olympic charter.
The ITF, for its part, asserts that
it wishes to bring unity to padel,
acknowledging that it’s been growing
in tennis clubs and shares similarities/
infrastructure with tennis. At least 25
of its member national associations
already have jurisdiction over padel
and at least 15 nations had asked
the ITF to take a leadership role in
the sport.
The brief
With the stage set, the ITF engaged
British former pro tennis player Abigail
Tordoff to brief members ahead of
the AGM vote. She outlined how padel
has grown worldwide and positively
impacted tennis club membership
and revenue, with padel and tennis
14 thebandeja.com

news
having the potential to work together
to the advantage of both. However,
she described padel as ‘fragmented’,
with three padel tours (FIP, the World
Padel Tour and the American Padel
Tour), each with its own ranking
system, results and prize money
and disparity in the treatment of
female players.
Abigail explained to delegates that
passing the resolution would enable
resources and facilities to be better
managed by ITF members, prevent
conflicts of interest between the
two sports and facilitate collaboration
to drive participation and revenue,
with padel benefitting from a strong
junior pathway, educational platform,
governance structure and
integrity programme.
ITF Chief Executive Officer Kelly
Fairweather described the move as
‘critical’ and drew attention to FIP
not being World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) compliant nor an International
Olympic Committee federation.
He believed padel would best be
developed under the umbrella of
the ITF.
However, the men’s Professional Padel
Association (which represents more
than 80% of the top 100 FIP ranked
players) opposed the ITF plan. Its
General Secretary Alejandro Villaverde
Casino said: “It is quite impressive how
now, all of a sudden, the ITF is seeking
to take-over the governance of padel
so many years since the creation of
our sport – and with the ITF having
zero connection to the administration
or development of our sport in this
time. The players firmly oppose any
ITF
The International Tennis
Federation is the governing
body of world tennis,
wheelchair tennis and beach
tennis. 213 national and six
regional associations now
make up its membership.
attempted takeover of padel by tennis
– which would render padel as a
second-class citizen.”
At least one ITF member (Qatar)
considered the PPA’s objection in their
resistance to the plan.
The vote
In the event the constitution change
failed to achieve the 66% threshold
required by ITF governance rules, with
only 57% of members supporting it.
How members voted has not been
made public but during pre-vote
discussions the LTA and nations
including Denmark, Kenya, Canada
and Tanzania indicated they would
support the resolution. Italy and France
were amongst those indicating they
would vote against it.
FIP response
FIP President Luigi Carraro described
the outcome as a ‘victory for the
independence and integrity of sport;
for our players, for padel fans and
for all the institutions across world
sport who promote and protect the
independence of other sports bodies’.
He added: “We thank all the national
tennis federations who defied their
own international federations and
stood up for padel – we are excited
to continue working together to grow
our sport hand-in-hand. We thank the
Professional Players Association for
raising the voice of the players who
are the heartbeat of our beloved sport.
FIP
The International Padel
Federation is the world
governing body for padel,
founded in 1991. It is a non-profit
making organisation whose
goal is to promote all forms of
padel around the world.
The International Padel Federation
will now continue to work tirelessly
to develop padel at the professional
and amateur level in all four corners
of the world, in collaboration with
stakeholders across sport.”
LTF collaboration
Post-vote the ITF said it remained
open to seeking collaboration with
stakeholders ‘given the role many
national tennis associations are
playing in growing padel’. “Padel is
currently one of the fastest growing
sports in the world and many national
tennis associations are involved in its
development within their countries,”
it said in a statement. “As such the
ITF was asked by a number of its
member nations to explore the need
to support padel in areas such as
developing a global governance
framework, international competition
infrastructure and enabling equal
opportunities for men and women.”
So, is this the end of the
matter? Probably not.
The ITF has been in discussion with
a number of padel stakeholders
over the last few years. The Bandeja
understands this has included FIP, with
a Memorandum of Understanding
signed in 2019 between it, the LTF,
and the Global Association of
International Sports Federations
(GAISF). The MOU aimed to recognise
FIP as the sport’s governing body,
allow the ITF to support FIP, open its
WINTER 2023
15

news
membership to padel and provide
a consistent global governance
infrastructure, a key factor in padel’s
Olympic aspirations.
“The preferred route was always
to continue collaboration with FIP,”
an ITF source said. “We were not
looking to replace FIP. We think
the two sports co-exist but padel
does deserves a consistent global
governance infrastructure.”
This infrastructure would include a
world ranking system, competitions
for men and women and, potentially,
additional categories for all levels
of abilities and ages.
However, no further progress
followed the MOU. The minutes
of the ITF AGM in November may
shed some light on this. They state:
“Mr Fairweather [Kelly, LTF CEO]
explained that the ITF has potential
partners willing to invest in padel
and these new resources will drive the
growth of the sport. The ITF remains
open, however, to collaborating with
all padel stakeholders despite the
previous frustrations with FIP.”
This lack of progress was behind a
number of ITF members tabling a
motion about how the federation
could get involved - and the
subsequent AGM vote. “The nations
that asked the question are still in
the same situation. What do these
nations do if they don’t have a global
governance infrastructure in place?”
said an ITF source.
David Rawlinson, then President of the
Lawn Tennis Association, echoed the
ITF’s desire for collaboration, stating
at the AGM that he supported the
federation becoming the governing
body of padel but considered that
negotiations should continue with FIP,
the APT (now A1 Padel) and WPT.
Interestingly FIP discussed what it
described as the ITF’s ‘aim to interfere
with the governance of padel’ at its
General Assembly in April 2022, when
members unanimously agreed to
‘endorse the respectful and friendly
co-operation between ITF and FIP, as
separate and independent governing
bodies’ as well as ‘reject any division
and conflict among sports institutions,
as well as any interference of the
International Tennis Federation (ITF)
with padel matters’.
Conclusion
Press have speculated that the tennis
world is concerned that its sport is
waning while padel is growing - and
they want in. May be it’s a genuine
desire to unite two brilliant racket
sports, growing one on the back of
the other (take your pick which way
round). Or, perhaps, its simply a new
sport experiencing growing pains in a
rather too public fashion. Time will tell.
rival Padel Tours in truce?
As The Bandeja was going to press news broke that rival padel circuits the
World Padel Tour and Premier Padel had opened discussions about ‘potential
positive collaborations and outcomes within the sport of padel’.
The move has huge potential to unite
the world of elite padel, ending months
of rancour and legal threats.
Background
Premier Padel launched a year ago,
backed by Qatar Sports Investments
(QSI) which is headed by Nasser
Al-Khelaifi, president of French football
club Paris Saint-Germain. Governed by
the International Federation of Padel (FIP)
and supported by the Professional Players’
Association, the tour offered big prize
money and high profile tournaments.
The World Padel Tour has roots stretching
back to 2005 and was officially named
the WPT in 2013. It is wholly owned, via
Setpoint Events, by Spanish beer company
Estrella Damm. Last year was the tour’s
biggest to date, with more than 30 ranked
tournaments in some 13 countries and
burgeoning spectator numbers.
Eyes on the prize
With padel recognised as one of the
world’s fastest growing sports there is a
lot to play for, not least lucrative global TV
rights, sponsorship deals and the kudos
of being the lead global circuit.
Following the launch of Premier Padel,
WPT moved swiftly to protect its interests
via the courts, with action launched
against QSI, FIP and the PPA. However,
after months of legal wrangling a Spanish
court rejected WPT’s case and the tour
softened its stance, increasing prize
money and offering to remove exclusivity
clauses for players signing with it.
That both tours are now discussing
working together is a major step
forward for the sport and can only be a
positive move.
A Premier Padel statement said: “In light
of the common missions of Premier Padel,
FIP, and PPA to develop the sport to the
next level globally, the parties
have agreed to enter talks with Damm
to explore the possible collaborations
and outcomes.”
So what might ‘outcomes’ look like?
The ITF has previously called for a unified
ranking system, so that may be one point
under discussion, as may a tournament
structure that offers maximum
opportunities for players to achieve world
ranking points. However, Premier Padel
has yet to run a women’s tour and there
remains disparity in prize money between
the male and female game. Tournaments
schedules are planned or in place for
2023, so it will be interesting to see how
the situation plays out.
16 thebandeja.com

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Padel Magazine - WINTER DECEMBER 2022
2022
17

news
Play four
Play fair
with Padel Pussy...
If there’s one thing that gets my gander in
padel it’s the ‘fridge’ treatment - when the
opposition purposely avoids hitting the ball
to you or your partner, so only playing on one
player and freezing out the other. It’s usually
about trying to neutralise the better player.
1
2
3
4
There are a couple of players in my group
who seem to have no qualms fridging
an opponent, even when it’s just a social
match. As if winning were so important! In
a competition, it’s more understandable,
although I still find it poor sportsmanship.
Here’s my wish: that we could gracefully find
a way to say ‘stop being such poor sports’!
At least for the social games, I’d love it if there
were a code word that efficiently reminded
everyone that we’re on the court to have fun
and get some exercise ... all of us! And to
stop bloomin’ fridging!
With a couple of good players’ inputs,
I’ve created a list of things to do to deal with
being fridged.
In the first place, get a partner who plays
the same level as you (so there’s no
incentive to play on one person).
Let your partner know of the situation
because the person who’s playing all
the balls doesn’t always realise what’s
happening. If the opposition are
reasonable people, you can of course
notify them, too.
If you’re the person being played on,
hit more shots down the line in the
hopes to get more diagonal play.
Don’t play on just one side (ie left or
right). You can alternate on the service,
at a minimum. Secondly, going a bit
more extreme, you can switch sides
during the points.
Padel is a foursome. Let’s all play four
and play fair.
LTA puts celebs
on court
Lionesses Jill Scott & Ellen White, TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh, GB Olympic
hockey star Sam Quek and former Scotland rugby international Max
Evans are the stars of a new series of videos produced by the LTA to
promote padel.
Padel People puts the celebs on court to talk about padel, take on
challenges and have a light-hearted match. Padel coach Toby Bawden,
of Drop Shot UK and The Padel School, makes a guest appearance with
Dr Ranj and Nicole Scherzinger pops up on court with Max Evans.
Watch here: https://www.lta.org.uk/news/padel-people/
In deep water:
Toby and Sam
Nickel are given
paddles to play
with to even
out their game
against Dr Ranj
and presenter
Nicole Holliday.
Dr Ranj takes
aim on court
at Rocks Lane,
Chiswick,
watched by
Toby Bawden
and presenter
Nicole Holliday.
18 thebandeja.com

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Feature: GB seniors
Sarah Lochrie GB Sanrio’s
Women’s Squad member.
Last year was momentous for the GB Seniors Women’s padel team,
with the ladies taking 8th place in the Senior World Championships,
and there’s no doubt there is more greatness to come this year
When people talk about the
appeal of padel one of the
many reasons cited for its
popularity is that it can be played
by all ages, from three to 103 and
everywhere in between.
It’s this ‘in between’ territory that
is being claimed as their own by
the increasingly strong GB Seniors
Women’s team, which has players
aged from 39 through to 70 years.
Earlier this year, under the captaincy
of Sally Fisher, the team took a brilliant
8th place against stiff competition
in the Senior World Championships
in Las Vegas. The ladies won their
The squad is re-selected in the summer of
“
each year, ensuring that new players always
have the opportunity to put themselves
forward for consideration
”
Sally Fisher
group, beating Portugal, Denmark
and Germany and clinched a
hugely respectable 8th position
in a field of 16 nations.
Having secured their place in
the next European or World
Championships, a focus of 2022
was seeking out new players to
give the squad greater depth.
Selection events were held at
Surge Harrogate and Rocks Lane in
Chiswick and Sally now has around
140 women on the team books
and 30 players in the core squad,
allowing her to work with a pool of
strong players to build competitive
teams across the age ranges.
20 thebandeja.com

Feature: GB seniors
Squad members Rosie Connell
& Heather Sheridan in action.
Squad members (L to R) Steph Trill,
Elspeth Edwards, Sally Bickerton
& Kate Hands changing ends.
Sally Fisher
Audrey Henderson
Our squad is more like a family, everyone
“
supports, encourages and inspires each
other to be better. There’s a great camaraderie
and we have good fun when the whole squad
is together.
”
Steph Trill
She is supported in running the
‘vets’ by assistant manager Anthea
Hunt, coach/player/vice captain
Libby Fletcher and national coach
Nigel Garton. They have a busy few
months ahead, with five international
fixtures and an all-squad training
camp amongst their commitments.
For 2023 the team, which is
sponsored by PadelShack, is
concentrating on building matchplay
and international experience. Their
first tournament will see a squad of
10 compete in the inaugural Nations
Cup invitational tournament against
the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany,
Belgium and Spain in Amsterdam
in February. Sally sees this as vital
exposure to international-level play
for many of the squad.
Players are also focusing on
participating in the LTA and HOP
tournament calendars, with the first
British Super Seniors Home Nations
championship planned for March
at We Are Padel, Derby. Men’s and
women’s teams from England,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland will
compete in the over 50s, over 55s
and over 60s categories - the first
time this last category has been
open to women.
The success of this world-class team
proves that it really is never too late
whatever your age, so if you are aged
40 years+, regularly compete to a
good standard (LTA Grade 1) and
are interested in being part of the
squad contact GB Seniors Padel
via gb_seniors_padel •
Jo Ward
Libby Fletcher -
squad captain, coach
& selector.
WINTER 2023
21

feature
Bristol rockets
up padel league
Bristol is gearing up to rival London
as the UK’s padel heart with plans
for 31 new courts - including 14 in
the UK’s largest indoor centre yet.
The city already has four
outdoor covered courts at
Padel4all’s Lockleaze centre,
which opened in August, and now
four more organisations have their
sights set on developing padel hubs
around the city, bringing Bristol’s
court count to 35. London currently
has around 45.
The first to open will be We Are
Padel Bristol, which is installing
seven courts in the former Pure Gym
building in Barrow Road, Bristol. The
company began work on the fit-out
in mid-November, with a tight works
schedule planned in order to have
the centre open shortly.
We Are Padel county manager Rosco
Muller described the project as ‘more
challenging, more exciting’ than their
ground-breaking 11-court We Are
Padel Derby centre, adding: “It is the
perfect setting. The courts will have
the same look, feel and quality that
people expect from us.”
Rocket Padel, a new entrant to the
UK, is raising the bar with its scheme
to convert a football pitch sized
warehouse in St Anne’s Road into a
14-court centre. It’s the company’s
first development outside
Scandinavia, with another site in
greater London under discussion.
Bristol City Council planners gave
the project the green light in July
and the centre’s opening is set for
May. The hi-spec facility will feature
a restaurant, bar and social areas
plus on-site staff, coaches and a
padel shop.
Carl-Henric Heimdal, Rocket Padel
co-founder and director, explained
that they’ve been looking at opening
in the UK for two years and have
plans to deliver five to 10 more
padel centres over the next two
years. “We’ve been looking all over
the country; it is the combination
of finding a city or place where you
want to build and where you feel
that you can bring something to the
22 thebandeja.com

feature
HENLEAZE LAKE
padel4all Lockleaze
BISHOPSTON
REDLAND
EASTON
BRISTOL
redland green
we are padel
surge
HILLFIELDS
rocket padel
Bristol is a great city
“
and we want to enable
the community to
play so everyone from
whatever age can
come and join us...
”
Carl-Henric Heimdal
community,” he said. “Bristol is a
great city and we want to enable the
community to play so everyone from
whatever age can come and join us,
try the sport and get as passionate
about it as we are.”
He believes that competition
between padel centres will be a
positive: “A little bit of competition
gets everyone to do a better job,”
he said. “I see it as a really positive
thing and I hope everybody does the
same. There is going to be enough
padel4all
room for all of us and there is so
much more that we need to build
and do in the UK. The more people
that play the sport the better it is.”
Surge, has gained planning
approval to turn a disused
warehouse on Lodge Causeway
Trading Estate, Fishponds, into an
eight court facility. The company,
which opened Surge Harrogate, the
UK’s first multi-court indoor centre
in Yorkshire last year, submitted its
plans to Bristol City Council in June
2022 and is now pressing ahead with
developing the site.
On a smaller scale are padel plans
for Redland Green Club (formerly
Bristol Lawn Tennis & Squash Club),
a community amateur sports club
(CASC) multi-sport venue with
around 1,250 members (500 of whom
are juniors). It has gained planning
for two outdoor, floodlit padel courts
to replace a little-used hard tennis
court. It hopes to capitalise on the
popularity of padel, attracting new
members and offering existing ones
‘enhanced playing facilities’.
The club’s committee has given
great thought to the location of the
new padel courts, as documents
submitted to planners revealed:
“The location, which is immediately
adjacent to our club house, offers
great spectator viewing from both
the upper floor of the club house
and from the outside seating area.
We see this as a great advantage in
promoting the sport and should help
fully integrate padel tennis into the
current rackets offering.”submitted its
plans to Bristol City Council in June. •
WINTER 2023
23

news
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24 thebandeja.com

feature: padel products festival
Ready
for Action
Padel’s retail therapy
WINTER 2023
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25
www.thebandeja.com

feature: padel festival
Westfields
Padel Festival
breaks the mould
A ground-breaking event that took padel into a London shopping
centre for a long weekend of celebrity matches, public participation
and coaching sessions showcased the sport to a potential 250,000
people and attracted huge media interest.
The padel festival, at Westfields
London in Shepherd’s Bush,
saw a pop-up court installed
overnight in the centre’s central
atrium ready for three full days of
events, including appearances by
former Wimbledon singles champion
Andy Murray and his brother Jamie,
a seven-time Grand Slam doubles
champion plus an exhibition match
featuring adidas ‘master coach’
Pablo Franco.
Padel facility provider/operator
Game4Padel, working with
pop-up court specialist Instantpadel,
masterminded the project and laid
on a programme of events that
encouraged shoppers on to court,
welcomed local school children for
coaching and a hit with Andy and
Jamie and saw celebrities (including
former British No 1 tennis player
Andrew Castle, former England cricket
captain Andrew Strauss, England
cricketer Sam Billings, tennis player
Laura Robson, TV/radio presenter
Jamie Theakston and model-turnedphotographer
Laura Bailey) take to
the court for friendlies.
GB No 1 Tia Norton, a Game4Padel
ambassador, was on hand
throughout the event. She described
the weekend as an ‘absolutely
incredible idea’. “Playing with Andy
and Jamie, in the moment, I was
pretty chilled because padel is my
comfort zone but coming away from
the weekend having played with
them….it’s not normal!”
And, thanks to playing with Laura
Bailey, Tia has made her first
appearance in Vogue in an article
written by Laura, a self-confessed
padel fan: “We warm up and go
straight into a few friendly sets as
partners. This is padel, but not as
I know it. Norton is a gymnast, a
trickster, a powerhouse. Even as
Radio presenter Jamie Theakston.
Game4Padel’s James Rose and
tennis player Andrew Castle.
Andy Murray.
Game4Padel
coach NJ taking
a session.
26 thebandeja.com

feature: padel festival
I’m hitting alongside her I’m
watching in awe. And I start to
understand the rhythm and the
magic of padel. She high fives me
after setting me up for an easy
win. Is this even real?” wrote
Laura. Read her article here.
From CNN to Hello
The festival provided a phenomenal
shop front for padel and was
covered by a host of online, print
and broadcast media including The
Times, BBC, ITV, Sky News, Vogue, Hello,
Esquire, CNN and Channel 5 News.
It marked a UK padel milestone,
giving the game a huge boost and
being ‘successful beyond its wildest
dreams’ for Game4Padel, as CEO
Michael Gradon explained: “We are
over the moon. It definitely exceeded
our expectations and the icing on
the cake was the extensive media
coverage,” he told The Bandeja.
Christoffer Granfelt, of Instantpadel,
said the event was a ‘big success’.
“It was really fun to be part of it and
we were overwhelmed by the great
response the Instantpadel court
received from all levels of players.”
It’s likely that padel will become
a permanent fixture at Westfields
London; Game4Padel has plans to
build three permanent courts (two
covered and an open show court).
West London already has a number
of padel venues, including Rocks
Lane Chiswick, and James Rose,
Game4Padel’s national development
manager was more than happy
that their efforts might benefit other
operators - it’s all about growing
love for the sport, said James.
Any racket sports
“
that the general public
and children can pick up
and have a go at when
they’re younger is really
important. Even if it’s not
picking up a tennis racket…
if it’s picking up a padel
racket I see that as being
a positive thing also for
the future of tennis.
”
Andy Murray
After the festival finished, the
Instantpadel court was dismantled
overnight and Westfield London’s
atrium returned to business as
normal (if a little less exciting!). •
GB Number One Tia Norton
with Andy Murray
School children
trying out padel.
The chance of a lifetime for
this pupil, taking on both
Andy & Jamie Murray!
WINTER 2023
27

feature
First Femme
lands in London
Sweden’s largest female padel tournament has landed
in the UK, drawing women from across the country for its
inaugural event at the Hurlingham Club in London.
The Femme Open initiative was
started in 2018 by Swedes Johanna
Östman Livijn and Johanna Aybar
with a vision to create a padel
tournament for women of all
abilities that was more than a padel
tournament, combining sports with
networking, having fun, me-time for
competitors and top-notch prizes.
The concept has proved a huge
success and tournaments are
now held in various Scandinavian
countries. It made it to the UK thanks
to a friendship between Femme Open
founder Johanna Östman Livijn and
UK-based Australian Pep Stonor, a
well-known player here.
to play padel, compete and network
all around a fun and inclusive
sport. Playing padel is so incredibly
important to my own well-being and I
want to be able to share that passion
with women all around the UK.”
The second Femme Open UK was
held at the National Tennis Centre,
Roehampton, in November with a
third in December at The Harbour
Club, Chelsea. More events are
planned for 2023.
For more information and to
book onto events visit:
www.femmeopen.com or Instagram
@femmeopenpadelUK •
Pep organised the first Femme
Open UK event in September at The
Hurlingham Club’s newly installed
padel courts, with 24 women
participating in two groups according
to experience. Round robin matches
lasted 25 minutes each and play
went on for five hours.
Overall winners were Louise Baker/
Karen Hunter (Group A) and Fleur
Woodall/Rachael Boeg (Group B).
Prizes and goody bags were provided
by sponsors including Wilson,
Dropshot, Six Love London, Bamford,
Fairmont Windsor Hotel and Clarins.
Pep said: “Femme Open run fantastic
events that encourage more women
Pictured: Pep Stonor (left) with Femme Open founders
Johanna Östman Livijn and Johanna Aybar.
28 thebandeja.com

feature: padel festival
Open
WINTER 2023
29

feature
The all-Spanish final: (from left)
Oscar Agea, Inaki Ramperez, Marcos
Cambronero and Coco Bernal. Partners
Oscar and Coco took the title.
Wheelchair padel
goes international
Spain takes top honours in first International Wheelchair Padel tournament
A
chance meeting on a Spanish
padel court has kick-started
plans to develop wheelchair
padel around the world.
While living in Spain, French woman
Albane Rudd was introduced to a
group of wheelchair padel players
working hard to improve their game.
When she returned home they asked
for her assistance in promoting the
sport - and before long she was
helping organise the inaugural
International Wheelchair Padel
Tournament at Urban Padel in Le
Mans, France, in September.
Teams representing Spain, France,
Belgium and Holland competed,
with the team sheets reading like
a mini who’s who of wheelchair
tennis, including French Olympic
champion Frederic Cattaneo, world
junior champion Stan Devriese
from Belgium, and Dutchman Robin
Ammerlaan, a multiple Olympic
champion. All eight Spanish players
are in the world’s top 15 for wheelchair
padel so it was little surprise that
their team took the honours, with
Oscar Agea/Coco Bernal beating
compatriots Marcos Cambronero/
Inaki Ramperez in the final.
“The final was so spectacular, intense
and the level of game so high that
emotion took over the public when
they realised again that the players
were actually in wheelchairs. This is
what padel is all about,” said Albane,
who was assisted in organising the
tournament by competitor Sebastien
Husser, France’s top wheelchair
padel player.
Eight nation plan
Albane is now working on plans for
at least eight nations to compete
in a wheelchair padel tournament
in 2023, with hopes that the UK
and Ireland will participate against
nations including Sweden, Finland
and potentially the UAE.
Speaking to Padel Magazine in
France, player Sebastien Husser said:
“This international tournament, the
first in the world, will remain a very
special competition for me. This is
a very important step in the history
of French wheelchair padel and
also worldwide.”
Hi team mate Nicolas Vanleberghe
added: “The atmosphere between
all the players was great. There is
real pride to have participated in
the first international tournament,
to witness what will be the future
of padel in a wheelchair.”
Wheelchair padel rules are much
the same as those for able-bodied
players with one exception - the ball
is allowed to bounce twice. All the
French national team come from
a wheelchair tennis background, a
situation mirrored in other countries
and Albane has brought the French
Tennis Federation onboard to
support international tournaments
in 2023. •
“
I will do anything to help padel grow, I think it is
the most amazing game, the sport of the future
for everybody and the wheelchair athletes are the
best sports people I have ever met. They’ve got a
fantastic attitude.
”
Albane Rudd
30 thebandeja.com

editor’s comment
Padel Magazine - DECEMBER 2022
31

feature
Playtomic
juniors rock!
A global initiative to get more kids playing padel kicked off at Rocks
Lane padel centre in London, powered by Playtomic. Jo Buchanan-Smith,
of the court booking app, explains more.
Almost 100 excited youngsters
aged 12-17 years attended
the first-ever Playtomic Junior
Academy at Rocks Lane, Chiswick,
signalling the start of this global
initiative right here in the UK.
The hugely successful event was held
with the support of Rocks Lane’s Chris
Warren, Rafa Vega and their team of
coaches, with many of the youngsters
playing padel for the first time.
The aim of the Playtomic Junior
Academy is two-fold:
Firstly
We want to work with our partner
clubs to encourage children of all
ages and stages of development to
try padel and discover what a fun
sport it is. A lot of these juniors will
progress into coaching squads to
continue developing their skills and,
of course, having fun.
Secondly
We want to identify juniors with the
personal and sporting potential to
develop into more advanced players
within the UK and possibly Europe.
By identifying these juniors early,
Playtomic hopes to work alongside
them and their clubs to provide a
structured pathway for their longterm
development.
We are proud that the UK was
selected as the starting point for
this global programme, which is
rolling out across Europe and will
continue to develop here in the UK.
Although we know that the sport
here is a few years away from
catching up with the continent, we
were delighted with the results of
the day. We had nearly 100 happy,
smiling juniors, Rocks Lane has a
blossoming set of junior squads
and there is a real pathway for
these young players to develop
and progress to the next level in a
structured and fun environment.
The ultimate aim for the Playtomic
Junior Academy? We are working
with some of the best coaches in
Europe for long-term results and
hope to select a few UK juniors
to progress to our dedicated
Spanish Academy to attend
camps alongside juniors from
around Europe and train with the
best coaches to continue their
development. Who knows how far
they can progress?
There are no guarantees in any
sport but having clubs such as Rocks
Lane, which understands long-term
player development, committed
and happy juniors alongside quality
coaches and facilities is a great
start. May be one day some of these
players will grace the World Padel
Tour. That would be amazing but
having so many juniors introduced
to padel and now playing regularly
with coaches, their parents and
friends is a great start.
It truly was a fun, inclusive and
community spirited day. As one
parent put it afterwards: “My son
bounced through the door having
had the most wonderful session with
your team at Rocks Lane and has,
in hand, his Playtomic t-shirt, medal,
notebook and pen! He is thrilled - he
absolutely loved it.” •
32 thebandeja.com

news
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Padel Magazine - DECEMBER 2022
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01206 808 014
33

International
NYC’s Padel
Haus
Say hello to Santiago Gomez,
founder of Padel Haus, New
York’s first padel facility. It looks
super cool, with four courts, pro
shop, juice bar, steam room and
even a padel atelier (we’re not
sure either!).
Santiago, a certified padel
coach, is well-known in the
city for co-founding ‘celebrity’
Mexican restaurants Cosme and
Atla. He has played padel for 20
years (he grew up in Mexico and
spent his summers in Acapulco)
so opening Padel Haus was a
logical move.
He told us: “When the pandemic
hit in 2020 I went back to
Acapulco and made padel part
of my routine, playing every day.
When I returned to New York
I realised that the sport was
one of the things the city was
missing and the idea for Padel
Haus was born.”
The 16,000ft 2 club is located at
Kent Avenue in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn.
Grand Slam
hosts first Padel Open
Padel hit the ground running in Australia, with the inaugural Australian Padel
Open played during the AO tennis Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.
The Open, the biggest padel event yet held in the country, has been
endorsed by the Australian Padel Federation and forms the first leg of the
2023 Australian Padel Tour, with international players and home-grown talent
competing to earn ranking points and vying for the Open’s $20,000 prize pot.
The news marks a huge step forward for the game, which was showcased
at the AO last year but still only has 25 courts at six venues in the country –
two each in Sydney and Perth, one in Melbourne and one on the Gold Coast.
A new four-court centre in Albury, New South Wales, is scheduled to open
shortly. The Sol Padel project is being developed by friends of The Bandeja
Erin Purtle and her husband Mark.
North America’s
first professional
padel league
The Pro Padel League (PPL) aims
to create a premier sports league
providing a national stage for
padel, which commentators believe
is about to explode stateside.
Teams will compete for the PPL
Cup and initially play in Miami while
court infrastructure is established
for all cities.
League commissioner and United
States Padel Association President
Marcos del Pilar said the league
will create new opportunities for
fans and players. “The PPL is the
perfect new ecosystem for padel to
grow in North America and boost its
exposure,” he said.
So far four of the six teams have been
announced: Cancun, Miami, San
Diego and Los Angeles.
www.propadelleague.com
34 thebandeja.com

International
La Manga
padel upgrade
If you fancy playing padel in winter sun, The Racquets Club within
La Manga Club, Spain, has undergone a major transformation and
now has seven floodlit courts, with another four in the planning.
Almost €2 million has been invested in the refurbishment and a full
programme of coaching is in full swing, with resident coach David
Pey organising one-to-one coaching, intro to padel sessions, five-day junior/adult courses, padel
weekends, social sessions and competitions. The courts are at the centre of The Racquets Club and have, according to
the facility, become a social hub. With the additional four courts it will be one of the largest non-member padel clubs in
Southern Europe. www.lmctennis.com
padel boom in Africa
Padel is set to take Africa by storm
with a new organisation - Padel
Africa - planning to open some
40 new centres in eight countries
in the coming years.
At the helm of Padel Africa is Michael
Mathiesen, founder of venture
capitalist the Bambwa Group. The
Danish entrepreneur plans for each
centre to have a minimum of five
courts and has high hopes of the
continent producing an African world
champion in due course - and a
number of countries sending padel
teams to the Olympics, should the
sport be included.
“I am so excited,” Michael told
The Bandeja. “The world’s fastest
growing sport is being introduced
to the world’s next growth centre,
with millions of potential new
players. Our vision includes plans
to support local communities through
a ‘street padel’ concept, community
outreach so that young people can
enjoy the game and the establishment
of padel academies to deliver training
programmes to kids.”
The first two Padel Africa centres,
developed with PadelTotal and PadeliQ,
are planned for Accra, in Ghana,
and Kigali, in Rwanda, with a target
demographic of expats, diplomats
and the middle classes. Michael hopes
these centres will be open by the end
of the year, after which focus will turn
to Kenya, Senegal, Nigeria, Zambia and
South Africa, where padel has already
gained a foothold.
“Analysis has shown that padel has
all the conditions to become a real
African sport, where action, fun
and social community are natural
cornerstones of African culture and
lifestyle,” Michael said.
Padel isn’t new to Africa. The sport
landed in South Africa three years ago
at the Western Cape and the country
now has some 26 facilities and around
60 courts with many more planned. At
least eight other African countries also
have courts, including Angola, Egypt,
Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco,
Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
StarVie backs cancer charity
Racket manufacturer StarVie joined forces with the Spanish Association
Against Cancer (AECC) in a fundraising drive to support research into breast
cancer. The initiative kicked off on October 19th - World Breast Cancer Day -
at the World Padel Tour Estrella Damm Menorca Open tournament, with StarVie
players Bea Gonzalez, Javier Garrido, Coki Nieto, Carolina Navarro and Cecilia
Reiter all taking to the court with pink padel rackets designed for AECC.
WINTER 2023
35

Feature: tournaments
GB’s Louie Harris
36 thebandeja.com

Feature: tournaments
GB’s Nikhil Mohindra
Reasons to be cheerful
parts 1, 2, & 3
• Padel World Championships • European Qualifiers • FIP Rise London
2022 was a hugely significant year for padel in the UK, with
three key events giving a flavour of what can be achieved and
a taster of what’s to come. Roy Harket reports.
Looking back at 2022 there’s
no question that there are at least
three very good reasons to be
cheerful as a new year in which
padel finally announces its arrival
looms large.
Reason One
In August the inaugural FIP RISE
London Padel Open was held at
the National Tennis Centre (NTC)
in Roehampton, London, brilliantly
delivering a British winner in the form
of GB Ladies No 1 Tia Norton, who
triumphed in the ladies tournament
with her Spanish partner Carla
Fito Fernandez. It was Tia’s first
international title.
Reason Two
In October We Are Padel Derby
played host to the European World
Championship Qualifiers and
emphatically proved that the 11-court
facility is the super-venue British
padel has been crying out for. The
venue provided the perfect setting
for the GB Men to qualify for the
World Championships in Dubai, with
a dramatic tie against Germany
going to the wire before players
Christian Medina Murphy and Sam
Jones prevailed.
Sadly there was only heartache for
the GB Women, captained by Tia, as
a strong Carolina Navarro-inspired
Sweden proved simply too wily and
too good to overcome on the road
to Dubai.
Reason Three
The GB men travelled to Dubai for
the XVI World Championships just
weeks after qualifying in Derby. They
equipped themselves incredibly
well against the top players from
around the world but the task proved
a bridge too far when they found
themselves drawn in the ‘group of
death’ against defending champions
Spain (including Ale Galán and Juan
Lebron), dark horses Portugal and
previous quarter-finalists Uruguay.
The experience did provide a wealth
of invaluable experience for the team,
which will surely stand them in good
stead going forward.
Perfect blueprint
Reflecting on the success of the FIP
RISE London Open, LTA Head of Padel
Tom Murray said it provided the
perfect blueprint for 2023: “We will be
hosting four FIP Rise tournaments in
2023 and the idea was to showcase
this type of event at the NTC so that
venues could enjoy it and see what it
entailed and then request to host.
“The more venues we have coming
forward for these events will support
WINTER 2023
37

Feature: tournaments
the domestic framework regarding
the competition pathway for our
performance players and that will
allow us to encourage them back to
the UK more regularly.
“We planned accordingly, but no one
was to expect such an overwhelming
number of entries and we had an
oversubscribed draw with six entries
not making it in. Considering it was
our first FIP RISE event it really was a
truly international showing and we are
delighted with that.
“For us to take the next steps forward
in 2023 we need these events in the
UK so we can showcase the higher
level and hopefully that will encourage
grass roots and then the whole player
pathway comes together,” added Tom.
Another UK first for Derby
Newly opened We Are Padel in
Derby proved the perfect home
for the European leg of the World
Championship qualifiers, the first time
the event has been held in the UK.
The venue’s impressive 11 courts were
put to good use with more than 30
men’s and women’s national teams
battling it out for places at the World
Championships in Dubai.
The GB men claimed a satisfying
victory over Germany to avenge their
loss in the 2021 World Championships
in the final rubber when GB No
1 Christian Medina Murphy and
partner Sam Jones clinched victory
in a rollercoaster three set affair that
ebbed and flowing during their 6-2,
4-6, 6-3 victory.
As Tom Murray reflected, the GB
Men’s triumph was a supreme
moment to savour: “It was an
incredible way to make the World
Championships by claiming the last
qualification place after the final
match on the deciding set. Really it
couldn’t have been more dramatic.”
There was to be no fairy tale for the
British women as the Swedes, who
were later to place sixth in Dubai, shut
the qualification door firmly shut.
Despite this Tom still found positives:
“The ladies team took a lot of
learnings from their experience in
Derby and I have no doubt that will
help them to continue to improve.
“We are steadily developing and
progressing new players into the
group and it was great to see new
girls coming through and the depth
of the squad improving. That is in no
small part down to the work of our
coaching team of Alvaro (Guerrero)
and his assistant Max (Lutostanski)”.
Frustration
But while the GB men were to enjoy
their moment in the sun when it came
to Dubai, only frustration was felt
when a final defeat by the Dutch in
the battle for placings in the play-offs
consigned them to 14th, three places
off 2021.
Ultimately the failure to make it out
of the group sections came down to
a pivotal match with Uruguay, which
saw head coach John Leach gamble
everything on stacking his order so
that our No 1 pairing of Murphy and
Jones played last, just as they had
in the opening match with Portugal.
Sadly it was a throw of the dice that
did not pay-off as the GB pairing took
to the court when the tie was dead
just 24 hours after a similar exercise
against Portugal.
Yet it was so close to coming off
when the second pairing of Sandy
Farquharson and Nikhil Mohindra
appeared to have wrestled control of
the second rubber at 5-3 and a break
up in the first set only to let it slip
and then lead 5-2 in the second set
before disaster once again struck and
defeat from a winning position was
the painful prize.
John admitted it was a call that
had cost him a sleepless night: “It is
always tough in terms of what players
you put in and what numbers you
deploy them at and, sadly, Uruguay
didn’t go in our favour but that is
international sport. What is really
important is that as a group we take
the World Championships and these
tough moments and learn from them
and improve.
“We had the opportunity to play the
very best players in the world against
the likes of Spain and Portugal who
made the final and the semi-finals
respectively,” added John. “These are
players that our guys - and especially
the younger ones - look up to, so this
was an amazing experience and one
we took everything we could from.” •
38
thebandeja.com

Feature: tournaments
Padel Magazine - WINTER 2022 39

new courts
The Padel Club in Wilmslow
New cities, the first
uni & a football club
The second half of 2022 saw padel really gather pace in the UK, a
combination of major events and court openings taking the game to
a new high. Court numbers now stand at around 225, up 70 from our
first report in May.
Padel firsts have been scored
around the country in the last
few months, with courts going
into a university (Plymouth Marjon),
a football ground (Notts County
FC), Manchester (The Padel Social
Club, Wilmslow) and a work/live/play
business park (Edinburgh Park).
And then there’s Westfields London
(see pages 25), the biggest shop
window the sport has yet seen in the
UK. It may have been a temporary
pop-up but the visibility it delivered
was massive for the game, for event
instigator Game4Padel and court
supplier Instantpadel.
In another first The Padel Social
Club, also working with Instantpadel,
introduced the game to two iconic
locations - Gleneagles hotel in
Scotland and private members
club Babington House in Somerset,
installing two pop-up courts into each
for the duration of the summer.
But even before summer started
there was big news coming out of
Derby with the announcement that
the five-a-side Powerleague site
in Pride Park was being converted
into the UK’s first ‘super facility’ with
11 indoor courts. The We Are Padel
club is now well established and an
integral part of padel’s development
in the UK, enabling it to host the
European qualifiers for the World
Championships in Dubai at the
end of last year. More high profile
tournaments in the city are sure to
follow. Well done to Rosco Muller and
his team in Derby for hosting such
an immense event and to the LTA
for securing it.
It’s worth mentioning that the
Euro qualifiers attracted hundreds
of players and their entourages
to Derby, filling hotels/taxis and
supporting local businesses, not least
those that were feeding them! When
planners, nervous about changing
the use of empty warehouses or other
premises, ask what benefits high
quality multi-court indoor centres can
bring to any area refer them to Derby.
This year will see the number of UK
padel courts really explode, and with
some innovative locations being
discussed. Bristol is set to become
the UK’s second padel city after
London (see pages 22) with what
is, at present, the largest publicly
announced project in development
(Rocket Padel, 14 courts). We know
of a number of court developers
and operators with plans for London
that will rival this but until planning
is secured and works underway
few (wisely) wish to go public with
information. The North West is also on
a roll, with the Padel Club in Wilmslow
hitting the ground running and
doubling its court provision within
months of opening. Padel United
has recently secured planning for
five outdoor courts at Port Sunlight
Tennis Club on The Wirral, with plans
to cover them.
But, despite the many benefits of
padel to an area’s health (and
perhaps wealth), it’s still not plain
sailing getting plans through local
authorities, as the West Hants Club
in Bournemouth discovered. The
club applied to build three padel
courts, upsetting local residents,
who objected on the grounds
of ‘high levels of percussion from
ball to bat and the ball hitting the
sides’. They were also concerned
about balls hitting the road or a
vehicle windscreen and added in
their objection: “The other thing is
padel is a much more social activity.
You have got high decibels of
people shouting.”
A nearby resident was more pointed:
“The one existing padel court is
noticeably louder than any of the
existing courts. The noise of the
ball on the racket or on the glass
surround can be like gunfire. Simply
put that existing court already spoils
my enjoyment of my back garden.”
The plan was, unfortunately, refused.
40 thebandeja.com

editor’s New new comment
courts
Wye
Tennis
club
On court in Wye: (from left) Graham Sutherland, Lucy
Mohr, Beryl Sutherland and John Shaw.
Wye Tennis Club chairman Graham
Sutherland was a man on a mission
when he returned from a holiday
to Mauritius having discovered the
delights of padel - he considered it
would be the perfect addition to the
club and set about making it happen.
That was last January and by early
November the Kent club’s outdoor,
floodlit padel court opened, with
the club having secured funding -
including an £80,000 loan from the
LTA - and taken somewhat of a punt
on booking court constructors Trevor
May for an October install before
planning permission was granted in
an effort to fast-track the project.
There was also the issue of selling
the idea to the charity on which
the tennis club stands (it said yes),
the tennis club committee (it said
yes), the parish council (it said yes)
and, ultimately, planning authority
Ashford Borough Council, which also
said yes.
Graham knew that any one of them
could have objected but was ready
to argue the point that padel was
‘so good for people’s mental and
physical well being’. Now the court
is in use for around six hours each
day and padel has attracted about
20 new members to the club, which
also has one hard and four clay
tennis courts.
Booking is via the LTA’s Club Spark
website and tennis club members
are charged no extra for the new
padel facility and have free rackets
and balls to use. A qualified padel
coach is available to give lessons.
The public can book the court via
the village newsagents at the rate
of £25 for 90 minutes.
Rocks Lane
Rocks Lane in Chiswick has
had a busy year, delivering
four courts to Cornwall and
increasing the number of padel
courts at its base in London.
Broxbourne Sports club
Padel was launched at Broxbourne
Sports Club, Hertfordshire, during an
action-packed weekend on the two
new courts, with more than 80 people
taking part in introductory sessions. For
most it was their first time experience
of the game.
A spokesman for Game4padel, which
developed the courts in conjunction
with the club, said: “After a brief
introduction to padel technique,
players were straight into playing.
After a few drills, and more than a few
laughs, they were taken through the
rules and basic tactics and were off
playing games. The hardest part of the
sessions was getting everyone off the
courts when time was up!
“It was fantastic to see members
from the club’s other sport sections
(squash, racketball, hockey and
cricket) all coming to try padel and
enjoying the experience. In addition
we had people with no previous racket
sport experience giving it a go and
getting hooked.”
Within weeks of the Cornwall
sites - Trevose Golf & Country
Club in Padstow (two courts)
and The Point, St Minver (two
courts) - being announced
they were being prepped
for play and have proved a
great success.
At the same time Rocks Lane
was preparing to install four
covered courts in Chiswick,
taking its total court count to
ten. They are now open and
The Bandeja popped down
to look, it’s a brilliant facility
and directly opposite Turnham
Green tube so super easy to
get to.
WINTER 2023
41

New courts
New Courts
Brentwood Padel Club, Essex (Padel 123)
3 outdoor
Broxbourne Sport Clubs, Hertfordshire
2 outdoor
Church Broughton LTC, Derbyshire
1 outdoor
David Lloyd Bicester
3 outdoor
Derby (We Are Padel)
11 indoor
Edinburgh Park (Game4Padel)
2 covered
Jersey (Island Padel)
3 indoor, 2 outdoor floodlit
Lockleaze, Bristol (Padel4all)
4 covered
Newquay, Heron Tennis Centre
(Game4Padel) 1 outdoor court
Nottingham Padel Centre
4 outdoor courts
Marjon University, Plymouth
4 outdoor
Oxford (MVP)
3 covered
Ripon Tennis Centre
1 canopied, 1 outdoor
Rocks Lane:
Chiswick 4 covered
The Point, Polzeath 2 outdoor
Trevose Golf & Country Club 2 outdoor
Skipton
1 outdoor
Waltham Abbey (Padel United)
6 outdoor
Windsor Penarth (Game4Padel)
1 courts
Wilmslow (The Padel Club)
4 courts
Withdean, Brighton (Game4Padel)
One pop-up court
The Padel Social Club Installed seasonal
pop-up courts in to Gleneagles, Scotland
& Babington House, Somerset.
Coming soon
Bristol (We Are Padel)
7 indoor courts
Bristol (Rocket Padel)
14 indoor courts
Bristol (Redland Green)
2 outdoor courts
Draycott Sports Centre, Staffordshire
(Game4Padel) 2 covered
Forthill Community Sports Club, Tayside
(Game4Padel) 1 canopied
GolfIt! Leathamhill golf course, Glasgow
(Game4Padel)
3 covered courts
Grappenhall Village Lawn Tennis Club,
Warrington 2 courts
Ipswich Sports Club (Game4Padel)
4 covered courts
Port Sunlight Tennis Club, The Wirral
(Padel United)
5 outdoor
The Queen’s Club, London
2 floodlit
Windsor Penarth
Former British No 1 tennis player Annabel Croft officially opened
Game4Padel’s Windsor Penarth Lawn Tennis Club padel court. The
facility, the first in Wales, was built in April 2021 but the official opening
was delayed by around a year due to Covid.
In the photo: at the opening (from left) Annabel Croft, Anthony Phillips,
former chairman of Windsor Penarth Lawn Tennis Club, Tiffany William
& James Rose, Game4Padel national development manager.
Magpies deliver
first public courts
Notts County FC is not the first UK
football club to build a padel court
but it is the first to install four courts
for public use.
The new outdoor facilities, named
Nottingham Padel Centre, are the
brainchild of club owners, Alex and
Christoffer Reedtz. who are keen to
introduce new sporting opportunities
to the community. Alex played tennis
to a high level and was familiar with
the popularity of padel.
“Alex had seen how padel has
grown in Denmark and Scandinavia
and we had space at the back of a
stand so he thought it would be a
good idea,” said Notts County finance
director Martin Baker.
The club has partnered with Padel IQ
to deliver a fully automated facility,
with online bookings giving access
to the car park, court codes and
timed lighting. Rackets and balls are
available for hire. Within one day of
opening more than 65 bookings had
been made, with a mix of experienced
players and those new to the game.
“It has been extremely well received,”
added Martin. “The people I have
spoken to have thoroughly enjoyed
the experience and expressed a
desire to come back.”
It’s yet to be seen if the club’s players
will be booking themselves onto
court; the team has taken top spot
in the National League and Martin
is keen that they don’t injure
themselves playing padel and fail
to secure promotion!
nottinghampadelcentre.com/en
42 thebandeja.com

New courts
Fairmont
Windsor Park
If you fancy a weekend of
unparalleled luxury with padel
on-tap then the Fairmont Windsor
Park hotel is worth a look. The
multi-million pound super lux hotel,
which was officially opened by Sir
Cliff Richard, has two padel courts
within its 40 acres of landscaped
grounds beside Windsor Great
Park. And if the weather’s not great
you can experience the Fairmont’s
cryotherapy chamber, Japanese
Ashiyu foot ritual bath, Himalayan
salt room, use the pool or hit the
Champagne bar.
The Padel Club
The Padel Club has scored a huge hit in Wilmslow,
Cheshire, first opening with two courts in July and
adding another two within four months.
So successful has been the launch,
on the site of leisure centre Total
Fitness, that the club is already
planning to add four covered courts
in the new year and looking to
establish itself in other regions.
“We have seen hundreds of new
players take up the sport and it’s
incredible to see how many people
have instantly become addicted to
the game,” said Kris Ball, CEO of The
Michael Vaughan at The Padel
Club with Burnley footballer
Ashley Barnes.
Padel Club. “We have thoroughly
enjoyed delivering hundreds of
padel introduction sessions and the
people attending these instantly
love the game and become
regulars at the club. We want to
open high quality padel clubs and
do everything we can to facilitate
getting people on court,” he added.
The facility is the first dedicated
padel club in the North West
(Lowther Gardens Padel & Tennis
Centre in Lytham St Anne’s is public
access) and has attracted sports
personalities, including Irish former
professional footballer Shay Given
and Michael Vaughan, former
England cricket captain.
Michael said: “I’m proud to be
involved with The Padel Club as I
love the sport. It’s great for playing
with your partner, kids, families
and friends. Padel is very addictive
- I have got a bit obsessed!”
Bicester
David Lloyd clubs were an early
adopter of padel and, almost
10 years since the company
built its first courts, it has plans
to incorporate padel in all new
developments, including Bicester
which opened in September with
three courts.
WINTER 2023
43

feature
Leeds University Padel Society founders (from left) Charlotte
Cassidy, Iona Mason, Lily Freeman and Emily Brinsden.
Leeds students
take the crown
for UK’s first uni padel society
By Lily Freeman
The UK’s first padel society has
been formed at the University
of Leeds by four friends
(including me!) who fell in love with
padel while studying during a year
abroad in Madrid as part of our
undergraduate degrees.
The society, which plays at Rawdon
Golf and Lawn Tennis Club, was
created in September out of a
passion for the sport and the belief
that many other students would
enjoy and engage with this
easy-to-learn sport in the same
way. It has been a huge success,
going from strength to strength
each week and now has some 60
mixed-level players.
Some students had never heard
of padel before whilst a few
experienced Spaniards were
pleased to be able to continue
playing whilst studying in Leeds.
One of the greatest joys of forming
the society has been inviting new
people every week - they get to
discover and fall in love with the
sport. Having players able to draw
on other sport skills and enjoy the
fast-paced nature of the game
has secured the weekly return of
new members.
Another positive outcome of the
society has been the social side.
Padel lends itself to being a very
inclusive and social sport and has
been a brilliant way to meet other
students. It has also been rewarding
to meet members of the local
community, which is an aspect
that can be often overlooked
at university.
The society is lucky enough to have
established a close relationship
with Rawdon Golf and Lawn Tennis
Club, the only local place to play
padel in Leeds. We play twice a
week and usually follow a round
robin style session, giving people
the opportunity to play with new
partners and allowing game play
to be varied and dynamic. We are
particularly lucky to have a coach
from the club (Simon Bickerton)
who has been instrumental in our
formation and supported us from
the first day. We often start sessions
with ball and racquet skills, aimed at
improving play off the wall, volleying
and playing effectively as a pair.
With the regularity of playing and
extra coaching, players have
improved immensely and are keen
to sign up and participate in local
matches and tournaments. We are
always on the look out to engage
with other local teams or clubs for
a chance to practice match play!
It has been a very rewarding and
fulfilling project setting up our society
and hope that it will have a powerful
impact on the sport in Leeds. We
are proud to be the first official
university padel society in the UK
and are excited to support the
growth of padel. •
www.linkedin.com/company
/leeds-university-pádel-society
44 thebandeja.com

feature
What three words?
Devon. University.
Singles.
Padel United has delivered a
landmark court development
that it hopes will hook the people
of Plymouth and drive padel
demand in the city.
University padel players with members of the
local University of the Third Age (U3A).
Plymouth Marjon University has
gained a triple first - the first
padel facility in Devon, the first on
a UK university campus and the UK’s
first public access singles court.
It’s a massive achievement for facility
developer Padel United, which has
worked with the university to bring four
outdoor courts to the city with open
pay-to-play access for everyone.
“Marjon were great and Plymouth was
a great target for us because there
was nothing in Devon,’’ said Richard
Hall-Smith, Padel United’s UK area
manager. “Having done it in Essex,
going into a new territory with no
padel isn’t new to us and Plymouth is
a huge city. It made perfect sense.”
To drive interest in the sport Richard
has recruited a student ‘padel
activator’ - Maria Kyle - to engage
fellow undergraduates. She organises
social mix-in sessions each week and
encouraging students and university
staff to give padel a try. Maria hadn’t
played the game before it arrived at
Marjon but had played tennis and,
when the university tennis club closed,
it seemed natural to swap racket sports.
Maria told The Bandeja: “Within the
community and Plymouth a good
amount of people are interested in it
(padel). There is more interest than
I expected, even at this time of year
when the weather isn’t great. I think
that as the year goes on it will become
very popular.”
Within days of opening some 140
people had registered an interest
and the facility, which replaced tennis
courts, is now attracting university staff,
students and players from the local
community. “The university had two
tennis courts that were never used, they
didn’t have a booking for two years and
in one week padel had made more
revenue than the tennis courts made in
two years,” added Richard. “The key will
be how it develops.”
The positioning of the courts, right next
to the university sports centre, delivers
high visibility and Padel United has
installed a retail shop for players to hire
or buy equipment, further encouraging
them to get involved. Court reservations
are made through booking app Matchi
and Padel United is using a pay-to-play
model with no membership fees.
The singles court has proved a
surprising hit. Richard had wanted
to introduce one to a Padel United
development and the Plymouth site
had a piece of land too small for a
doubles but just right for a singles. “It
was an obvious space and like a jigsaw
it just fitted in nicely,” he said. “People
are booking it at lunch and taking an
hour in the morning. You only need
two people so it’s easier to arrange.
Doubles is economically a better option
but this has proved a great entry point
for new players.”
Student padel activator Maria, who is
doing a sports degree with a view to
becoming a PE teacher, has played
singles but found it challenging. “It
was very different from normal padel
because I felt like I had less reaction
time and it was more intense than
playing in the doubles court. Still, I would
recommend it for players of a similar
level and for those that want to train
with intensity.”
Coaching
Coach Eric Vicente Villalonga has
had players travel for up to two hours
to take part in padel sessions. He
believes the new courts will make the
university stand out from the crowd
and encourage more people to play
the sport.
“Come and join us. Play your first time
for free! We’ll give you the racket and
we’ll give you the ball. Experience it.
If you like it let us know and we will
support you. I would encourage people
to try it because you have fun and
having fun is the best marketing tool
you can have. Everyone is welcome
to give it a go!” he said. •
WINTER 2023
45

comment
the sport with
the X factorby Kevin Palmer
As momentum continues to build behind the fastest
growing sport in the UK, the tennis community is
evaluating where the padel juggernaut fits into its
expanded rackets family.
Tennis players Laura Robson
and Andrew Castle.
46 thebandeja.com

comment
When the Lawn Tennis
Association became the UK’s
national governing body for
padel in 2020, the two sports became
intrinsically linked under the leadership
of one organisation.
Yet does padel need tennis as part
of its promotional arm to open doors
to a curious audience in the UK or can
it thrive independently? The
International Tennis Federation believes
it does need tennis back-up and made
what many viewed to be a clumsy
attempt to assume governance of the
sport worldwide recently. The move
failed - for now.
Sports journalist Kevin Palmer
is writing for The Bandeja on
a wide range of padel topics.
Some of you may know him
from his brilliant coverage for
Tennis365 and he’s worked
with Sky Sports, ESPN, Yahoo,
Goal.com, Planet Sport and
femalefirst.co.uk. His Twitter
account has been named the
most influential in Irish sports
media for the last four years.
There may not be a definitive answer
to the question, as seven-time Grand
Slam tennis doubles champion Jamie
Murray discussed in an exclusive
interview with The Bandeja:
”Is padel a rival to tennis? That’s a big
possibility in terms of pure numbers,”
suggested Murray at a Game4Padel
event at London’s Westfield shopping
centre. “You can see that it could rival
tennis at some stage in the UK in terms
of the number of people playing, but
that’s not a problem. I don’t see any
negative to having a couple of padel
courts in your tennis club as it adds to
the offering for members and could
bring new people to both sports. Padel
is growing rapidly and will continue to
do so as long as we get more courts
installed and people get a chance to
experience playing.”
Murray’s sentiments should be
shared by all as the success of padel
can only have a positive impact on the
tennis community; tennis is striving to
attract younger generations to get on
court and play the game and padel
could provide a new entry route into
both sports.
With tennis clubs across the country
installing padel courts at an increasing
pace, the opportunity for those who
enjoy playing both sports should be be
embraced by all as the bar continues
to be raised at all levels.
With the amateur game thriving in
Britain, the FIP Rise London Padel Open
event at the LTA’s National Tennis
Centre in August offered a snapshot of
what could be the future for the sport,
with the first professional tournament
staged in the UK proving to be a huge
success. The vibe around the event
replicated the mood we all see when
at our padel venues, even if the
standard of play on show in an event
that concluded with a title triumph
for British No 1 Tia Norton highlighted
the stunning standards required to
compete with the best.
I don’t think we need to look at it as a
“
choice between tennis or padel as we
can have both. Padel has an X-Factor
that is hard to ignore and that’s why it’s
on a massive upward curve.
”
Jamie Murray
What comes next will define where
padel is heading over the next
12 months and beyond, with those
promoting the sport eager to
establish that it can thrive without
its long-established racket partner.
And the push to get padel included
in the 2032 Olympics is a campaign
that could offer a breakthrough
moment that would open the door
to a huge global audience.
And the eagerness of the Qatari-back
Premier Padel global tour to take the
professional game to the next level is
an exciting development that could
provide a route to find a voice in a
crowded sporting landscape.
Consistent broadcast and mass
media exposure is required to reach
audiences that don’t even know
they need to be part of a revolution
that will uncover new role models to
promote the sport moving forward.
“Padel is here now, there is nothing
stopping it and I don’t think we need
to look at it as [a choice between]
tennis or padel as we can have both,”
said Andrew Castle, former British No 1
tennis player. “This game complements
tennis and offers those of us who love
that game something different and
exciting…..we need to get away from
this padel vs tennis debate because
we don’t need that. The two sports
fit together nicely and both can
thrive independently.
“I love the social aspect of padel and
you can get to a reasonable level quite
quickly, allowing a group of friends to
have an enjoyable game and that is
one advantage it has over tennis, which
is a much more difficult sport to learn,”
added Andrew. And his last word?
“Padel has an X-Factor that is hard to
ignore and that’s why it’s on a massive
upward curve.” •
WINTER 2023
47

feature: Oliver Grantham
Padel boy
Oliver Grantham is one of the UK’s promising young padel
players. Here he tells Hazel Davis what he loves about the
game - and his frustration at the lack of junior opportunities.
48 thebandeja.com

feature: Oliver Grantham
If you’re friends with 12-year-old Oliver Grantham, you already know you’re likely to play second
fiddle (or perhaps second bat) to his padel passion. So when his school friends are out having a
kick-about or off to the cinema, Oliver can usually be seen skipping or training at home. “They don’t
mind,” he laughed. “They just know that’s what I do.”
Watching him play is a thing to
behold. He’s secure, focused
and attentive. Not to mention
strong. One gets the impression his
friends couldn’t come between him and
the ball, even if they wanted to.
One of five siblings, Essex-born Oliver has
been a keen tennis player since the age
of five and was representing his county
by the age of eight. When his tennis
academy moved to Brentwood he was
offered the opportunity to try padel at an
open day and was immediately hooked.
When he first picked up that bat,
back in 2020, it was love at first hit.
The skills he’d acquired at tennis made
it very easy for him to progress and
soon he was having weekly one-to-one
sessions. Not long after that Oliver was
awarded what is believed to be the
first padel scholarship to attend
New Hall School in Essex, which
specialises in sports.
“Tennis can be a solitary sport,” his
mum Jayne said. “But padel is much
more of a team effort and there’s lots
of camaraderie off the court. Oliver has
found the transition to padel relatively
easy. There’s a different spin, a different
power shift and being a ‘right-handed
lefty’ makes his backhand stronger
than expected.”
When he’s on the court Oliver says
he feels at ease: “I’m focused and
competitive. I just love it.” These days, he
trains at Stratford Padel Club, London,
with Diego Sterpetti, Jose Alvarez, Richard
Pratt and Javi Aguirre.
“Oliver is, above all, a humble and hardworking
boy, with admirable values,”
said Diego. “In my opinion, if he works
hard – as he has been doing so far –
he will be an excellent padel player.
I feel proud to be able to see him
improve and grow on court and above
all to see how much he enjoys the sport,
which for us is our main objective.”
Due to the lack of available players
his age, Oliver doesn’t have a regular
partner but teams up with, in Jayne’s
words, ‘whoever’s nice enough to partner
with him’.
Junior challenge
But, increasingly, UK padel is not enough
for Oliver. Even though one of his big
goals is to represent the UK and ‘wear
the shirt’, he has his eyes on the world
tour, despite his irritation that the UK
doesn’t have an active youth team.
“Watching the junior European Padel
Championships was so frustrating
knowing I could have been there,”
he said. In the absence of junior
tournaments Oliver contents himself by
thrashing adults at the club. “I don’t feel
patronised. They’re happy enough to
play me as an equal and they’re nice
enough to not mind being beaten by
a kid,” he laughed. One of his brothers
has started to play regularly, so he does
at least have someone to play with.
“Though I might not like that so much
if he starts getting better than me,”
he said cheerfully.
Mum Jayne feels there’s not enough
attention on the sport at junior level in
the UK. “It’s expensive. Richard Brooks
[the first Brit to make the World Padel
Tour top 100 rankings] who is making
a professional comeback, has offered
some good supportive advice but
we need more sport-related
charities to get involved and more
celebrity endorsements.”
Oliver agrees: “Padel is definitely going
to be huge in the UK but we need more
people to realise that.”
Of course, in Spain, where Oliver’s
just been training, padel is already huge.
“I looked out of our apartment window
and just saw loads of courts,” Oliver
sighed, happily, “I’d love to
spend more time out there and do
regular coaching.”
Oliver, who’s sponsored by Head,
recently jumped on court with World
Padel Tour legend Roby Gattiker, which,
he said, ‘was one of the most amazing
experiences. He hit the ball really flat and
hard and made the court feel really big’.
And, though there might not be an
active junior UK team to be part of yet,
Oliver isn’t resting on his laurels. It’s
hard not to see how this driven
youngster won’t make it far in the sport.
He recently won the Stratford Padel
Tournament with his (adult) partner
Santi Barcariza Perez and is ready for
the next challenge. •
WINTER 2023
49

Ollie Grantham
Hello Padel
Academy
& The Bandeja
The Bandeja is delighted
to announce that we’ve
partnered with renowned
Argentinian padel player
turned world-class
coach Mauri Andrini.
Our aim is to bring elite padel
coaching to you via Mauri’s Hello
Padel Academy, probably the world’s
best online padel coaching portal.
Hello Padel has 300+ online lessons
delivered by a team of top-class pros
(including GB’s very own Sam Jones),
fitness coaches, tacticians and Mauri
himself, who will be on hand to offer
tips and tactics to readers.
Mauri has had a long and successful
padel career, starting at the age of
6 years at Club Atlético San Martín
in Pehuajó city, Argentina with
coach Martin Pato Estruch (also the
first coach of star player Fernando
Belasteguín - Bela - who was born
in Pehuajó city).
He won his first world title in
Argentina in 2000 with partner
Francisco Severo, maintains a World
Padel Tour ranking and now travels
the world coaching, commentating,
taking padel clinics and participating
in exhibition matches.
Drills: neutral shots
If you find yourself on court with a few
minutes before a match starts, or have
access to an empty court, then take
the opportunity to practice neutral
forehand and backhand shots agains
the back wall.
These controlled shots are not intended
as winners, they just return the ball to
your opponents and should make up
the majority of your game. Not only
do they put the pressure back on your
opponents to return the ball, neutral
shots also allow you to begin building
the point towards playing a winner. It
goes without saying that the more you
control the timing of your shots the
better player you become.
For this drill keep it simple and see how
many consecutive shots you can do,
hitting the ball gently against the wall
(keep it on one glass panel only). If you
want to make it more challenging place
tape at net height on the glass and
practice getting it just above the net.
The idea is that as you keep control of
shots you will start hitting them close -
but just above - the tape line.
You can then add another tape line
about 1m above the first and practice
keeping the ball between both. This drill
also works well with two people taking it
in turns to return the ball.
50 thebandeja.com

coaching
Better forehand
shots In 2 easy steps
1The king of mistakes (generally
made by tennis players, who are
used to stepping forward into a
forehand). When playing from the
back of the court you are defending.
Stepping forward into the shot reduces
the amount of time you have to play
the ball and puts you in the wrong
defensive position as you gradually
move closer to no man’s land. So
step-by-step you’re pushing yourself
into an incorrect position on court.
I always advise to first step back.
Why? Because you prepare the shot
as you go back with your playing leg
and you will have more time to decide
what to do with the ball.
2
The lazy forehand - facing your
opponent when hitting the ball
(rather than side on). This shot
gives no control in directing the ball;
it is always easier to hit the ball side
on. It’s the same with boxing - you’re
not going to have your body facing
front because if someone pushes
you, you go backwards. The idea is
to be side on and firmly ‘in your feet’
because you’re going to hit the ball
in front of you.
Some pro players face forward when
hitting the ball because of the speed
of play. They train hard to do this as
they have to quickly go back to the
defensive position and, when they
Mauri demonstrating the
side on stance
have the time, they will always move in
to the side on position.
Shots that come at most players are
not as quick as in the pro game so
there should be time to step back
into the side on position when hitting
a forehand, which is better for your
game whether you are a beginner,
intermediate or advanced players. It
allows you to prepare better footwork
and better shot control to make you a
more unpredictable player.
Sanyo Grip
Getting a grip…with Sanyo Gutierrez, World Padel Tour No 3
I think you can play almost always with
“
a continental grip and do almost all
shots with the same grip.
”
WPT coach Pablo Ayma
(left) demonstrates the
continental grip with Mauri
Andrini (right).
hellopadelacademy.com
WINTER 2023
51

competition
Elite seals the
Wilson deal
What racket to buy? The Bandeja reports
Unfortunately there is no definitive
answer, it all comes down to
what you prefer in terms of
weight, balance, shape, hardness/
softness of the hitting surface,
overall feel and your budget. Which I
appreciate is really not much help.
Many of the online stores offer
assistance in selection and may be
prepared to demo a racket to try (for
example Padel Shack). Or you may be
lucky (as I was) and have a padel club
with a shelf of (well-used) rackets to
borrow from to see what you like, or
play at one of the growing number of
padel facilities partnering with brands
to provide loan rackets.
After discussing this issue with our
friends at Wilson they popped a
selection of rackets in the post for
Team Bandeja to try out/give-away.
Given that we figured you’d prefer to
win new, packet-fresh rackets,
we held ourselves back
from ripping the
packaging off each
GB Seniors Women’s player Sarah
Thomas puts the Wilson Ultra Elite
though its paces.
and every one, limiting our test efforts
to the Wilson Ultra Elite V2, the Wilson
Ultra LT V2 and the Wilson Ultra Pro.
I hit jackpot with my first racket, the
Ultra Elite. It has a dimpled surface
and I was keen to see if this improved
my ability to put spin on the ball (I’d
been playing with a smooth surface
racket). In short, yes. I actually fell in
love just a little bit with this one; it felt
right in terms of weight and balance
and
gave a
really solid
hit. I’d been playing with a super
lightweight racket (330g) so this
was a big jump at 365g but hasn’t
proved in any way troublesome and
my old racket is now gathering dust.
My racket and I travelled to Surge
in Harrogate to meet up with the
GB Seniors Women’s team at one
of its selection events and there
squad member Sarah Thomas had
a quick play. And she too loved it,
so much so that she now has her
own Ultra Elite.
“It has really good feel and control
on the ball and enables more
precision shots,” she told us from a
team training camp in Sotogrande,
Spain. “It has a lovely balanced
feeling and the extensive purchase
on the racket face helps with ball
control. The throat design is very
futuristic and the racket overall feel
really tactile.”
WIN a Wilson
Pro Staff LT V2!
We’re giving away a Wilson Pro Staff
LT V2 (RRP £235) to one lucky reader.
To enter register at www.thebandeja.com.
If you’ve already done this then don’t
worry, you will automatically be entered
into the competition.
The Wilson Ultra Pro was also a great
racket to play with but just that little
bit harder, so (from my perspective
at least) is perhaps better suited
to more advanced players. The
Pro did suffer at the hands of the
Elite though - both Sarah and I so
enjoyed playing with the Elite that
the Pro struggled to get a look in!
However, a friend of Sarah’s picked
up the Pro and fell under its spell.
And so to the Wilson Ultra LT. This is
a gorgeous looking racket weighing
in at 350g. I’ve really enjoyed playing
with it, for all the same reasons
as the Ultra Elite. Both are now
permanent features of my kit bag.
52 thebandeja.com

products
Play padel?
Visit ipadel.co.uk for information about the
game, UK courts, rules and more
Developing padel
& associated services in the UK?
Talk to us to tap into our little black book of padel
contacts and court construction knowledge
Call us on 07765 403 769
ian@ipadel.co.uk | www.ipadel.co.uk
Padel Magazine - DECEMBER 2022
53

feature: the serve
Sc ence
of the serve
Game4padel, in partnership with PadelMBA, digs into the
science behind the serve – one of the most important shots
in a the game. PadelMBA’s Nino Sanchez reports.
A
good padel serve allows
the server to reach the
offensive position at the net
before their opponents, starting
the point in a powerful and
dominant situation.
This is especially important given
that research has shown that
points scored at the net account
for about 80% of the total and
winners get 34% more points than
losers in this offensive zone.
Serves account for about 10% of all
strokes in a match and, bearing in
mind the short duration of some
points (10-15 seconds) and the
number of hits per point (between
8-10), this first shot can be really
decisive in setting up the point.
But players have to be quick to
capitalise on the advantage
gained from serving. A study
found that with each hit in the
point the advantage lessens. For
men this is after 12 hits and for
women after seven. Comparing
genders revealed that men earn
more points in a service situation
than women.
The percentage of points won by
the serving partner also decreases
as the match progresses, being
significantly lower in the third set,
probably due to the server tiring
because they are the player who
travels the most distance per point
(in professional padel at least).
Traditional v Australian
There are two types of tactical
positions for serving - traditional
and Australian.
Traditional
the server’s partner
is on the opposite side of the court,
at the net. For tennis players this
a natural positioning.
Australian
the server’s partner stands on the
same side as his partner.
Both positions have tactical
implications, with their main
objective being to occupy and
maintain the side on which each
player is a specialist.
Unsure of which tactic to deploy?
A study concluded that players
win a higher percentage of service
points when they use the traditional
rather than the Australian position,
especially in the third set.
The study also showed that the
Australian strategy forces the
server to travel further and at a
higher speed towards the net and
that, at the moment of return, the
player is further from the net than if
using the traditional tactic (Image
1). So not only is there the chance
that the server in this situation will
tire more quickly, they may also
not be in the best position when
intercepting the return of serve.
So traditional is better? Not
necessarily. Playing ‘Australian’
allows each player to stick to
the side they play best on, with
obvious advantages. It is therefore
necessary that, at a tactical level,
players consider the variables
in order to serve with better
guarantees and maintain initiative
in the game.
Direction, speed & depth
More than 60% of serves are
directed towards the glass, forcing
more errors from receivers due
54 thebandeja.com

feature: the serve
The Australian serving position.
“
More than 60%
of serves are directed
towards the glass, forcing
more errors from receivers
due to the ball rebounding
off the side wall and the very
presence of the wall.
”
The traditional (same as tennis) serving position.
to the ball rebounding off the
side wall and the very presence
of the wall. Serving to the glass
also gives the server more time to
reach the net than if the service is
made to the center of the court, for
example. Serving to the centre is
more likely to move an opponent
out of position, creating open
space between them and the wall,
which the serving couple can take
advantage of.
A body serve can make a returner
uncertain about the type of shot
to make because of the need to
move their body away from the ball
before hitting it.
Deep serves (near the bottom line),
especially in the area of the glass,
make it more difficult because
of the presence of the walls and
uncertainty about
the bounce.
Varying the speed of serves
challenges opponents to adapt
to the situation. However, players
should take into account the
distance to be travelled and
their fitness levels because the
faster the serve the greater the
speed of movement required to
achieve a good net position.
Service side
The side of the court from which
the serve is made influences its
direction. From the right side,
serves tend to be more spread
out, while on the left side 70% are
directed towards the glass. The
left side is where most games
are usually defined, a fact that
may change due to the inclusion
in 2020 of the ‘golden point’ rule
in the professional circuit. It also
goes without saying that this
data will be influenced by players
being right or left-handed. •
@padelmba.science
WINTER 2023
55

entrepreneurs
Flanci
If you’re looking for high performance men’s and
women’s apparel then look no further than Flanci.
For the British brand, which has grown a huge following for its nononsense
activewear in bright patterns and prints, has just been put
through it paces in the most demanding of environments thanks to
the amazing exploits of founder Nicky Chrascina.
Flanci founder
Nicky Chrascina
sporting a Flanci
Union Jack skort
during the 150
mile Atacama
Crossing.
Not content with having just the Marathon des Sables under her belt, Nicky
recently completed Racing the Planet - the Atacama Crossing, a 150 mile
self-supported race across the Atacama desert in Chile.
With temperatures ranging from -7°C to 35°C, multiple river crossings
(including ice melt), sand and dust everywhere, daily mileage ranging
from four to 42 miles and everything required for the trip on your back
(and front), the demands on Nicky and her apparel were severe. But her
Flanci skorts proved more than up to the task - check out the range
at www.flanciactivewear.co.uk and use code FLANCI15 for 15% off
until the end of March 2023.
Hard Face
‘Anything but ordinary’ is the slogan of women’s sportswear
brand Hard Face (a cheeky nod to the Spanish term ser un
caradura) which aims to bring Brazilian pizazz to the padel
court, with vibrant colours and hard-wearing, luxurious fabrics.
Founder, Irish entrepreneur Yvonne Dolan, sources all materials
in Brazil and ships them to Southern Ireland to be designed and
manufactured on home soil. Her aim is to encourage ladies to
ditch black sportswear in favour of brighter colours in simple,
classic styles that won’t go out of fashion.
Sisters are doing
it for themselves,
setting up their
own padel
businesses. The
Bandeja reports.
www.hardfacesports.com
Lancorett
The Bandeja was lucky enough to see WPT No 117
Carla Fito play and win (with GB No 1 Tia Norton) the
FIP Rise London tournament at the National Tennis
Centre in August. And we loved her outfit. So we asked
where she got it from (along with other more insightful
questions, obviously…) Turns out she’s teamed up with
her mum Monica Fernández, brother Arnau Fitó and best
friend Maria Rovira to form a ‘slow fashion’ activewear
brand based in her home city of Barcelona.
That brand - Lancorett - aims ‘to bring elegance and
passion to the padel court’ in an eco-friendly way,
with high quality technical fabrics and great design.
Production is kept as local as possible to minimise travel
miles and ensure ethical production standards. Plastics
are banished from packaging and a percentage of
each sale goes to The Ocean Cleanup organisation.
www.lancorett.com
56 thebandeja.com

entrepreneurs
Where to start talking about cool
Swedish brand TwoTwo?
We could mention that every
one of its rackets comes
with a 90 day ‘love it or
leave it’ promise, or that its white
(yes, white) padel balls come in
packaging complete with a poem
encouraging you to play like a
champ or just like s**t because your
life ‘does not depend on it’. Or that
company founders Sofie Stenmark
and Sofie Akerlund were motivated
to launch TwoTwo because they felt
that too much padel equipment
looked like it had been modelled on
teenage energy drinks. “It’s a sport for
everyone but it felt like the equipment
was designed to suit one dude, who
we couldn’t relate to,” Akerlund is
quoted as saying.
The women were inspired by
Swedish brand POC, which raised
the bar for producing coveted
cycling and snow sports helmets.
This matched TwoTwo’s ambitions
and it engaged industrial design
specialist Fredrik Magnusson, only
finding out afterwards that he’d also
worked with POC. Their design aim
was minimalist and clean, and this is
evident in TwoTwo’s racket - Play One,
the first range, in bright colours and
with a round head and circular hole
pattern. It has an 80% carbon frame
and glass fibre face delivering a low
balance and extra-large sweet spot.
TwoTwo describe it as slightly softer
and ‘perfect for entry-level players as
well as intermediate players seeking
maximum precision and control’.
Play Two is the latest launch and
comes in muted green, beige and
pink colours. It is a medium balance
teardrop-shaped racket with carbon
frame, medium EVA black rubber core
and rough finish 3K carbon face. It’s
designed for spins and power without
sacrificing control. All rackets weight
360g to 365g and every purchase is
backed by TwoTwo’s 90 day return
policy; if you don’t love it you can
return it.
“We tested hundreds of rackets,
we measured bounce, material
compositions and surface treatments.
We’ve questioned every detail to
finally land at Play Two,” said racket
architect Fredrik. “With a unique
combination of shape, design and
material we aim to strike the perfect
balance between strength, speed
and forgivingness.”
Play One and Play Two are available
from the TwoTwo website or can
be purchased from We Are Padel in
Derby, which has also been loaning
them to players.
www.twotwo-official.com
nk∙wings
Nk∙wings is a new brand
delivering sports outwearables
- items of clothing that you
can wear on and off court. Founding
partner Natalie Karakoussi’s aim is to
deliver quality, style and performance
to her customers, with design
inspiration drawn from the fashion
world coupled with a keen eye on
durability and sustainability.
The breathable bomber sports jacket
(€89) made of high quality European
fabrics, is quick drying and offers
UV50+ protection. Available in black or
grey. The A-line short skirt (€65) With
patch pockets, built-in shorts and UV50+
protection is made from European
eco-friendly technical
fabric and has an elastic
waist strap. Available in
grey, white or black.
www.nkwings.com
WINTER 2023
57

RACKETS | BALLS | FOOTWEAR | BAGS | CLOTHING | ACCESSORIES
UK Stockists of TwoTwo
The only rackets with a 90 day
‘love it or leave it’ promise
QUICK DELIVERY ON TWOTWO / SLAZENGER PADEL / DONNAY /
DROP SHOT / OXDOG / SIUX / NOX AND MORE...
www.padelcorner.uk

products
Juan Lebron Technical Viper
RRP £339.99
Babolat’s new special edition Juan Lebron
Technical Viper is 365g of pure power delivered
from an EVA foam core with carbon face.
Upgraded from the standard Technical Viper
with increased frame tolerance, 40% more
carbon, Black EVA foam rather than ‘standard’
X-EVA and an ultra rough shiny finish, it’s a
serious racket for seasoned players.
objects
of desire
the R-Ace
RRP: €350
Bela LT in pink
RRP £310
For fans of lighter rackets Wilson offers a wealth
of choices, recently launching the Bela LT in pink.
Weighing in at 355g, this is the lightest padel in the
Bela line. It features a woven layer of carbon fibre
on the face for extra responsiveness and power
and Wilson’s ‘arrow-grip’ texture on the surface.
Soft EVA foam provides a cushioned feel.
There’s a new addition to the Royal Padel’s
R Line, the R Ace. This diamond shaped racket with
balanced core helps players generate maximum
output when connecting with the ball and has
Royal Padel’s new 5D rough spin surface.
Royal Padel has a raft of new rackets launching,
including its newest carbon models for intermediate
to pro players. The diamond shaped models
have mid/high balance and EVA cores of differing
strength. The Pure Pro woman offers a wellbalanced
semi-soft core while the Pure Pro has a
harder, more powerful core. Both models have a
rough surface for additional spin.
RRP for both rackets: €170
The Pure Pro woman
WINTER 2023
59

padel prod
products
HEaD
RRP from £185 to £315
HEAD is launching its new Speed padel racket series,
previously known as the Alpha range. The Speed Pro
X and Speed Pro are made for attacking tournament
players while the Speed Motion and Speed Elite will
appeal to performance players with fast games. All
have a new soft butt cap for extra comfort and
dampening vibrations.
Metatek 6” training shorts
castore.com
RRP £60
New in at Castore are these men’s Metatek 6” training
shorts, made from a lightweight stretch woven fabric with
bonded finish and all-important zipped side pockets. The
lightly elasticated waistband with drawcord ensures a
good fit with no movement during games.
Adidas is refreshing its Metalbone range for 2023 and
adding the Metalbone Carbon, a high performance
racket that combines power with comfort and great
feel. The racket has EVA soft performance rubber, a
high density 6K carbon surface and is geared to club
players who want the Metalbone 3.2’s spin ability but
with less stiffness.
RRP: £220
Metalbone 3.2
60 thebandeja.com

products
ucts
Ms
Wilson
Prices from £145
Ms & Mr Padel
Around £100
www.etsy.com/shop/MsandMrPadel
and Mr Padel is a small Swedish brand selling these
great padel bags with dedicated space for your racket
and enough room for balls, a water bottle etc. They
come with carry handles, a shoulder strap and shoe
bag. It’s a clever Scandi design available in four colours,
including Bandeja Black and Victory blue (pictured). UK
shipping is free if you order via their Etsy shop.
Looking for more controlled,
precise shots? Then the Wilson
Pro Staff v2 range (Team, Elite
& Pro) is worth considering. The
range covers all abilities with a
mix of firm and soft EVA foam
cores and includes a 355g
lightweight model. The rackets
have longer handles, great if
you favour a double handed
backhand, and textured faces for
enhanced spin.
4on TotalGrip spray
www.4on.se
Around £22 for 200ml
Grip like a pro with 4on TotalGrip spray, an
advanced non-slip product that prevents
sweat and gives maximum grip in wet,
sweaty and hot conditions. WPT No 3
Sanyo Gutiérrez is a brand ambassador for
this Swedish product, which contains no
magnesium or chalk. If it’s good enough for
him, it’s good enough for us.
Halo Hydration
From £13.99 for six sachets
uk.halohydration.com
Train like a pro with Halo Hydration’s low sugar, low-cal
super fruity hydration sachets. Just add water to benefit
from Halo’s blend of essential electrolytes, vitamins, and
minerals. You’ll be in good company - padel’s new best
friend Andy Murray is backing the business, together with
soccer star Emerson Palmieri and Patrick Mouratoglou,
Serena William’s former coach.
WINTER 2023
61

products
Jet Premura 2
RRP €155
If you like Babolat’s award-winning Jet Premura padel shoe
then you’ll probably love the Jet Premura 2, which retains all the
great features of the original but with improved breathability
and comfort. The new model has two large ventilation areas
on the sides, a new ‘micro-perforated’ insole that absorbs
perspiration, and small vents near the arch. The new features
are designed to reduce overheating and friction points.
Babolat also worked with Michelin to create what it believes
is the ‘best possible’ sole especially developed for padel,
ensuring great grip and stability.
padel shoes
Lotto Superrapida
RRP £130
Lotto believes it has ‘category-killing’ padel
shoes in its Superrapida men’s and women’s
ranges, which have a specially developed
tread pattern of studs cut 30% deeper than
normal clay court treads to ensure stability
and traction on court. Couple this with a longlasting
rubber compound for high abrasion
resistance, plus cushioning and breathability,
and Lotto says the shoes embody the
pinnacle of its technologies.
Head Motion Pro
RRP £135
A padel shoe designed in conjunction with Mondo, the
official surface supplier of the World Padel Tour? That’ll be
the new Head Motion Pro, which is billed as the ‘first ever
100% pure padel shoe’. Head engineers worked with Mondo
to develop a unique grip pattern for the cutting-edge Motion
Pro’s sole, and with padel players to design a shoe that
delivers all-round stability and support coupled with high
comfort levels and breathability. The result is a shoe that
grips, has reinforced sidewalls to manage lateral stability
and help prevent ‘roll-over’ plus a rounded shape to support
multi-directional movement.
“Padel is all about explosive movement and that’s what
Motion Pro was built for,” says Head. “The sole pattern is
proven to give measurably superior grip to a tennis shoe
and it gives incredible levels of 360° stability and support
thanks to our lateral control+ technology that stops rolling
over during the extreme moves that padel demands.”
62 thebandeja.com

products
from Acapulco since
Padel rackets with
lifetime warranties?
Artisan manufacturer Padel 1969
makes it possible
How long does a padel racket last?
It’s a tricky question to answer
because of the variables, frequency
and intensity of use, storage and
style of play all have significant
impact on lifespan.
We’ve heard the gut-wrenching
stories of players paying hundreds of
pounds for a new bat only for it break
within a few weeks. Over-enthusiastic
play or a problem with the racket?
Who knows. Some retailers will work
with customers to resolve an issue
but it’s not a given.
So our ears pricked up when we
heard about Padel 1969’s lifetime
warranty for its rackets. The
company, which pays homage to
padel creator Enrique Corcuera in its
name, believes it makes ‘some of the
best padel rackets on the planet’ and
will repair or replace any that’s found
to be defective. It’s a bold claim
that does exclude damage caused
by ‘misuse, accident, self-repair,
tampering, or dismantling’, which
seems only fair and at least opens
the door to a conversation.
Alejandro, of Padel 1969, explained
more: “Each
product we
make is built
with the
purpose
of lasting
a lifetime. It is quality based on
old-fashioned skills and years
of innovation. Nothing is left to
chance, nothing is mass-produced
and nothing gets approved that
isn’t flawless. When a Padel 1969
product is finished it is inspected
and numbered. We have grown
our reputation for durability and
high standards and are the only
racket manufacturer offering a
lifetime warranty.”
Godfather
There are three rackets in the
range - the round €269 El Clasico
for beginners and players who
like a large sweet spot; the teardrop
shaped €369 El Capitan for
intermediate players wanting
control and power, and the
brilliantly named, diamond shaped,
€690 Godfather for coaches
and pro-am players generating
substantial power.
All are handmade in Spain of highquality
closed-cell foam and 3K
Hexcel carbon fibre, weigh 363g
and are the result of more than 15
years’ research and development.
Padel 1969 has been targeting the
UK market, including working
with brand ambassadors
Brian Condren and Jamie
Wilkinson. And it’s just about
to launch an innovative ball
subscription deal; players
and
WIN A 200€
VOUCHER
Padel 1969 wants to get two
readers’ New Year off to a great
start with a 200€ voucher for
each to spend on its website.
All you have to do to be in with
a chance of winning is make
sure you are registered to receive
The Bandeja magazine -
sign-up here if you haven’t
already done so www.thebandeja.
com. The competition closes
on March 31st 2023, when two
winners will be randomly selected
from our database.
coaches can sign up for weekly to
quarterly contracts to have padel
balls delivered direct to their home
or club.
“The balls are made in the UK and
are the best possible quality with
competitive pricing,” said Alejandro.
“They can be be bought as a one
shot purchase but it becomes more
affordable with subscription. We are
very proud of this new service as it
makes players’ lives easier and will
aid recycling - it is important for us
to improve sustainability in the padel
ball market.”
The company has a host of new
padel products waiting in the wings,
from bags to clothing.
www. padel69.com
63

feature
The four pillars of
padel bat
selection
What makes
a good racket?
And how do you
choose what to
buy? Paul Watts,
of Watts Sport
Consultancy, gives
a helping hand.
The padel racket is a thing of
wonder. Originally called a
paddle and made of wood with
holes drilled through to improve the
flow of the racket through the air, it
has evolved with wood replaced by
foam rubber encased in glass fibre
or graphite frames.
To get a bit more info on racket
construction I spoke to padel brand
Nox. Its export manager Kristina Clement
shed light on what makes a good
racket, identifying four key elements
- frame, shape, foam and face.
Frames
Better frames are 100% graphite and
cheaper frames glass fibre. Intermediate
frames are composites of both with
varying quantities of graphite. So far
so good, very much the same as
tennis and squash rackets.
Shape
Padel bats come in three different
shapes: round, tear-drop and diamond.
Round is recommended for beginners
because the sweet spot is large and in
the middle. Diamond shape is chosen
by better players because the sweet
spot is higher and therefore the bat
generates more power. The teardrop
shape is a halfway house more suited
to intermediate players.
Head heavy frames are more suited to
aggressive players whilst even-balanced
frames are more suited to beginners
and more defensive players.
Foam
The feel of the racket is largely
determined by the foam core, a
rubber mix which is kept secret by
each brand. Top EVA rubber foams
are stiff and retain their original
characteristics. Cheaper foams lose
elasticity more quickly.
Beginners rackets are soft compared
to high performance rackets, which
feel harder (enhancing power and
control) and have very little vibration,
achieved through balance between
the frame and the foam compound.
Bats are tested both internally by
brands and externally by laboratories
to test durability. This is more than
just their propensity to break but
more their ability to retain their initial
playing characteristics over time.
Face
More expensive rackets will have
carbon faces (the hitting surface)
and cheaper rackets glass fibre.
A gloss face gives speed and a matt
face absorbs a little more and gives
control. Some bats have a rougher
texture to enhance spin.
Weight
Padel bats can seem quite heavy
at around 350g to 375g, which is
heavier than a tennis racket at 260g
to 320g. It is, however, important to
play with as heavy a bat as you are
comfortable with. I like to choose the
heaviest bat that does not reduce
my swing speed.
Lighter bats are available down to
around 300g (suitable for some
women or juniors) but if you go too
light the force is reduced making
it harder to generate speed and
preventing a solid feel on the shot
as the weight of the ball makes
the frame unstable at the point of
contact. (It is important to remember
a controlled swing is better that a
wild swing, so uncontrolled swing
speed is not a benefit).
Another tip for players who suffer
from padel elbow is that a stable
racket is an effective way of reducing
vibration and cheaper rackets tend
to produce more vibration on
off-centre hits.
Pro Kennex has transferred its tennis
racket vibration dampening ‘kinetic’
technology to padel, which it says
increases power and stability at
contact but also provides protection
against vibration shock and torque
for greater arm comfort. Other
brands have different stories but
overall frame stability seems the
only other credible answer.
Of course, this does not come
cheaply. A quality racket can cost
up to £300, a good intermediate
bat around the £150 mark and a
beginner bat £50 plus. Shop around
though - there are deals to be had
on previous year’s models and more
online shops are popping up and
keeping prices keen. •
Editor’s Note: if you’d like to read more about racket shape we like this article
64 thebandeja.com

feature
The anatomy of a racket
Do you know your racket’s damping co-efficient
from its composite matrix?
No, us neither!
So we asked Tom Whitehouse,
of sports equipment designers
& developers Marque Makers,
to explain this (and more).
The key areas of any padel racket
are the core, face and frame.
The material composition of
each of these is what influences how
a racket plays, feels and suits each
individual player.
The core
This is the main energy storage
component for a racket. Properties
developers look for in the core
material include energy return
through compression (softness), and
rebound (power). ‘Feel’ and ‘feedback’
are extremely important to players,
which links to dynamic stiffness and
damping co-efficient (how long the
ball stays on the face of the racket
during a shot.) This has a huge
impact on control and touch.
There are different foams that can
be used for the core such as PU or
PE that would achieve the abovementioned
engineering requirements.
However, a preferred core material
is EVA as it hits the engineering
requirements and is also:
• Low density so rackets remain
lightweight
• Has a long flex life so you don’t need
to change your racket as frequently
• Is stable in different weather
conditions so it maintains the same
power and control characteristics
Face & frame
The face and frame are made
from composite materials and it’s
important to understand that it’s not
a single material that is key to racket
performance but the combination
of materials and how they are fused
together within the ‘composite matrix’.
This matrix works with the geometry
of the racket and its core to influence
playing characteristics.
Carbon fibre
Carbon fibre is a composite fibre
commonly used in the face and
frame of the racket. Generally
speaking it has a very high strength to
weight ratio making it stiff when used
in a padel racket. There are numerous
different variations with different
properties. A downside of carbon fibre
is that it can be brittle meaning it
needs to be combined with different
materials within the composite
matrix to offer the required playing
characteristics. Beginners that need
help generating power should use a
lower stiffness composite matrix (look
for fibreglass rather than carbon)
to help provide more elastic energy
return. Advanced players generating
their own power may choose a stiffer
composite matrix (a carbon face and
frame could be a good choice) to
assist control.
Glass fibre
Glass fibres have a lower tensile
strength than carbon, which makes
a racket feel softer. It is an ideal
material to use alongside carbon
within the composite matrix. Like
carbon there are lots of different
versions that can be used depending
on the characteristics you are looking
to achieve. In padel, due to the
deformation on the face, developers
may choose to use one or more
layers of glass fibre as it allows for
more elastic energy return compared
to carbon alone.
Aramid fibres
These are famous for being bulletproof
and are often included in the composite
matrix (on the racket surface) to protect
from abrasion and impact damage. The
material properties also offer vibration
dampening so are often used in the mid
layers to give a softer feel to the racket.
Conclusion
These most commonly used
materials in rackets all have strengths
and weaknesses so are selected
to complement each other and
maximise performance. More carbon
in a racket doesn’t necessarily mean
it’s better, it’s all about the individual
and the combination of materials. •
WINTER 2023
65

products
66 thebandeja.com

ipadel finals
iPadel Summer
League finals
The finals moved north to We Are
Padel in Derby, where 12 teams
battled it out for the top honours.
WINTER 2023
67

ipadel finals
68 thebandeja.com

ipadel finals
Winners: Roehampton
(Jack Hazelwood & Ed Savitt/
Fred Warneryd & Oscar
Warneryd)
Winners: Sundridge Park (Jacqueline Darby & Kerry
White/Daria Robertson & Sarah Lochrie)
A great day out for Oxshott Padel Club.
“
After some hotly contested padel,
our men’s #1 team lost in the final to
Roehampton. Thank you to everyone for
being part of our great team. Runnersup
is a great achievement for us.
”
Close, long matches marked the
iPadel Summer Club League finals,
this year hosted by We Are Padel,
Derby, in its beautifully equipped
11-court padel hall.
Eight men’s teams (Roehampton,
Oxshott, Harrogate, Epsom, We Are
Padel Derby, Oxshott 2, Magdalen
Park and Middlesbrough) and four
ladies (Sundridge Park, Epsom,
David Lloyd Bushey and Magdalen
Park) contested the titles in the
one-day final.
Men’s winners were Roehampton
and runners-up Oxshott. Ladies
winners were Sundridge Park with
Epsom runners-up.
“It was a fantastic finish to the
league,” iPadel founder and league
director Ian Colligon told The
Bandeja. “Many of the games were
really close, going to three sets and
several hours’ of play. The players
relished the competitiveness of the
tournament but also its friendliness
and the level of support shown
across the teams. Well done to
everyone who played the league
through the summer, to the
teams that made it through to the
finals and to the overall winners
Roehampton and Sundridge Park.
“In addition, the venue was brilliant,
massive thanks to We Are Padel and
its team, including Rosco Muller, who
made a huge effort to ensure a
really professional tournament
for our players,” added Ian.
His views were shared by
competitors. Alex Crawford, of
Sundridge Park said: “What a
day, what a venue and what an
organiser! It was our first time
entering and to win at such an
amazing venue was the icing on
the cake. We had a great day and
night celebrating. Can’t wait for
the winter league!”
Entry for the Winter League has
now closed but teams can register
their interest for the 2023 Summer
League here iPadel Club Leagues •
The iPadel Club League is a brilliant opportunity for competent club players from around the
country to compete at a local level with the chance of winning through to the national finals.
Club/padel centres can enter as many teams of four as they wish and, for many, the summer
and winter leagues are an integral part of the padel year. New teams are entering each
season and, as more courts open, there’s increased opportunity for players to get involved
and compete against players in their locality. The leagues are sponsored by We Are Padel
(which is offering £3,000 in prize money for the Winter League finals), and by Babolat.
www.ipadel.co.uk
WINTER 2023
69

CLUB FEATURE: epsom LTC
Midnight booking
battles in the Surrey Hills
Has Epsom Lawn
Tennis Club written
the rule book
when it comes to
introducing padel
to its membership?
Davina Hyde
find outs…
Davina Hyde (centre, pink skirt) with fellow Epsom players
including club chairman Mark Ayers (right).
If ever there’s a blueprint needed
of how to integrate padel into
a traditional English lawn tennis
club then Epsom is well-placed to
write it.
For not only has the Surrey club
established such a thriving padel
community that players have vied
to book courts at the stroke of
midnight, it paid for its first court
within two years and then achieved
the unimaginable for most LTCs
- Number One grass court was
turned into two new padel courts.
And all of this within the space of
three years, including lockdown.
It’s an amazing achievement
that reflects the hard work and
commitment of a young and
dynamic committee comprised of
tennis and padel enthusiasts, some
of whom had played the game
on tennis club holidays to Majorca
before introducing it to the club.
Planning
Epsom’s padel journey began
shortly after the LTA announced,
in May 2019, that it was taking the
sport under its wing. By the end
of June the club had submitted a
planning application for a court
and in the August it was granted,
a timescale that could only be
dreamt of now.
Club chairman Mark Ayers said:
“It was a leap of faith and
although we had courage
in our convictions, we
didn’t really know how
well it would fly.”
But fly it did, with the new court
taking unused lawn space in
front of the clubhouse and
quickly attracting interest. Once
established, padel membership
was an add-on to the subscriptions
for those who wished to play and
open to non-members as
a separate membership.
To promote the sport the
committee ran open days,
including an exhibition match
of GB players. It also allowed
members to try padel for the
first couple of months without
joining and purchased rackets
and balls so they didn’t have to
buy their own. Initially a three
month trial membership was
offered before the start of the
full membership year.
Fun social evenings were organised
with four people playing and
eight off, with arguably more time
spent in the bar than on court!
Membership filled quickly and was
capped at 100.
Lockdown put a spanner in the
works and created huge pentup
demand from members who
really missed their padel, as Mark
explained: “When we came out
of lockdown there was huge
demand for court time and there
were booking battles going on at
midnight. Members were staying up
and, at one minute past midnight,
the courts would get booked up for
two weeks. It became a nightmare
to manage, especially for those
who retired early to bed! Court
occupancy was approaching 100%
most days during that period.”
More courts were needed, but they
proved a different kettle of fish to
the first because Epsom needed to
lose one of its existing tennis courts,
most likely a grass court.
Following a six month consultation
period a proposal was put before
club members that two new padel
courts would built on Number One
70 thebandeja.com

CLUB FEATURE: epsom LTC
grass court. It was a brave proposal
for a lawn tennis club but met with
resounding support from the 600
members (half of whom are juniors),
with 222 votes for with just 31 against.
LTA funding was considered but the
process deemed too lengthy and
a decision taken to use club funds
instead. Planning permission was
submitted in February 2021 and
granted four months later. The
two new courts are expected to
have a payback period of around
three years.
Thriving
Epsom now has a thriving padel
community with membership capped
at 230 players. Padel membership
comprises one third tennis members
and two thirds padel-only members.
Paul Johnson, Men’s Padel Captain,
said: “I played tennis for years. Now
padel has come along, and I really
enjoy it, it has given me a new sport.
I play every day. It is a really fun,
social game. The club has really
embraced padel.”
Social sessions have proved so
popular with all members that the
club’s Tuesday night padel socials
have been shifted to Monday evenings
so that everyone can play padel on
a Monday evening and tennis on
a Tuesday evening. On Thursday
evenings tennis and padel socials run
side-by-side and both sections mix
and enjoy a drink and burger post
match. It’s truly an integrated model.
Jo Robinson, one of the club coaches,
is passionate about grassroots
sports and loves sharing her passion
for racket sports with beginners,
improvers, juniors, adults, seniors, and
families. She joined Epsom firstly for
the padel and then joined the tennis
section. She said: “Padel is easy to play
but there are levels you can aspire to.
It is very easy in one hour to coach
non-racket, non-sporty people and
they will know how to play. That is the
beauty of padel.”
The club has also attracted strong
players from different sporting
backgrounds, including James Dubois,
who captains one of the GB vets
squash teams. He said: “I play a lot
of tennis, squash and racketball and
for the last three years padel, which
combines the best elements of all
three games.
“The attraction of padel for me is
that it’s a simple game to master, at
any level, to ensure a fun match. It
doesn’t require enormous stamina,
fitness or skill levels (although any
of those helps) and four players
of differing abilities can still have
a great game by changing the
pairings between sets. If you have
a good eye for a ball, quick
reactions, court awareness, racket
technique, then padel is the game
to use any of these skills.”
Committee member Paul Edwards
has the last word: “As a sport I am
not surprised that padel is taking
off, my only surprise is how long it
has taken! It appeals to all ages,
the initial learning curve is pretty
short and initially you feel like every
game you play you are getting
better or learning something new.
There is also the social side; for a
reason I can’t quite put my finger
on, padel seems to attract a
light-hearted approach with more
chat and banter.” •
Handicap Plate final between Dave Sutherland/Colin
Shermer (winners) and Scott King/Philip Pereira.
WINTER 2023
71

club news
Colinton
Squashers
Thistle Padel Club and Thistle Tennis
Club, Edinburgh, hosted Colinton
Squashers & Padelers club for a taster
day of padel, tennis and food.
Wet padel a new sport?
Are these the hardiest padel
players in the country? Come
rain or shine they’ve been
proving their commitment to the
game and, according to coach Neil
Morgan, may be the pioneers of a
new variant of the sport - wet padel!
Their commitment is even more
impressive given most of the players
are new to the game, having joined
the newly-opened David Lloyd centre
in Bicester, Oxfordshire, which has
three outdoor padel courts.
“Judging by our experience we
believe that ‘wet padel’ will develop
as an idiosyncratic UK version of
the game. The balls are soggy
and the walls are wet but such is
the attraction of padel that it has
failed to empty the courts and
there’s been very little dampened
enthusiasm!” Neil told The Bandeja.
The sport has proved a huge hit in
Bicester, with sessions delivered to
more than 1,200 players within six
weeks of David Lloyd putting up its
padel nets. The club has more than
3,500 members so it’s likely many
more will discover the game. It’s
possible though that wet padel will
be consigned to the club’s history
books - it has gained planning
approval to cover the courts.
The Squashers & Padelers is the first
LGBTQ+ padel club in the UK and
organises weekly social squash and
padel for beginners, intermediates,
newcomers and friends.
The taster day was supported
by LEAP Sports Scotland as part of
the LEAP Festival Fortnight to
encourage participation of LGBTQ+
people in sports.
facebook.com/colintonsquashers
Epsom tournament
Padel-London’s Silver tournament at Epsom Lawn Tennis Club went down a storm, with
club members vying for top honours with players from around London.
Organiser David Segura-Pravia,
of Padel-London, designed the
tournament to appeal to a wide
range of player levels, from
improvers through to experienced
intermediates, and with little
downtime between each of
the matches.
Ten pairs played each session, with
the knock-out stage matches being
20 minutes and the quarter, semis
and finals being 25 minutes each.
The morning kicked off with
improvers/lower intermediates.
Mark Robbins and Tom Clark
narrowly defeated Nicolas Albanel
and Alex Perez in the final, winning
themselves Akkeron rackets in
the process.
The more experienced players
followed in the afternoon, with
Nicolas Benitez-Acevedo and Ryan
Harper-Bermejo pipping Daniel
Todorov and Justin Griffiths to
the honours in the final and also
received Akkeron rackets.
David said feedback from players
and Epsom LTC had been brilliant,
with the four-hour per session
timescale, time-limited matches
and little ‘no-play’ time delivering
a competitive, social and fast
tournament.
Padel-London is planning more
tournaments for 2023.
padel-london.co.uk
72 thebandeja.com

club news
Fede smashes compact
coaching weekend
Frustrated by the lack of opportunities to put their coaches through
the LTA padel coaching routes, Neil Percival and Nick Baker, of UK
Padel, sought a way to supplement training at Holmer Green Padel
club, near High Wycombe. Enter stage left Fede Vives, director of the
Royal Padel Academy in Barcelona, who ran an intensive weekend
of coach and player clinics at the club. By Neil Percival
I
arrived at the airport to pick-up
Fede and was looking for a lot
of luggage. I had an image of
him arriving with 10 kit bags and 20
rackets. But he arrived at Stansted
with one modest Royal Padel racket
bag and spent the weekend wearing
our UK Padel kit. Less is definitely more
when it comes to padel and this was
a great no-fuss start to the weekend.
It was quickly obvious that we were
in the company of a classy operator
and were in for an experience. Insight
from Fede not only covered the
technical approach to padel but also
from the running of clubs all the way
through to elite performance.
Coming from his base at the
prestigious Reial Club de Tennis
Barcelona 1899, Fede was wellplaced
to add insight to the fact that
members’ clubs have a key role in
spreading the game in the UK, as
they did in Spain. His club runs an
ATP event each year and makes sure
padel has a similar event on show
alongside it. Now that we are seeing
padel courts going in at Queen’s and
surely Wimbledon in some form, Fede
believes padel will get the kickstart it
needs to be a big participation sport
in the UK.
Fede trained five coaches on day
one, crashing through the equivalent
of four weeks’ of weekend sessions
in eight hours, working shot by shot
and progression by progression. While
we appreciate you can take your
time over these elements this very
much suits the UK padel philosophy
of getting on with it; padel is for many
still slotted in between the gaps in
existing sporting weekends as well
as work and family weekday
schedules so having a compact
timeframe was perfect and all of
the coaches left inspired by Fede’s
approach and brevity.
Photographs Neil Percival / UK Padel.
On day two Fede set about giving
members and guests padel
sessions they will remember, who
knew you could hit a lob with back
spin to die at the back wall, that
the best smash position is a tribute
to Usain Bolt’s victory celebration
and that you can hit the padel
ball even softer than you thought.
A great weekend for Holmer
Green Padel, and thanks to Royal
Padel and Fede for helping expand
our minds.
WINTER 2023
73

news
Somborne
Padel Club
By Katie Weiner
Chris Herridge (joint owner of
Somborne Padel Tennis Club) invited
members plus friends and family for
an open afternoon earlier in the year.
There were free flowing drinks, a hog
roast, ice creams and a show match.
The weather was kind and saw around
60 people come to not only socialise
and meet prospective new opponents,
but for some to try out padel for the
first time. On a straw poll of two lovely
ladies I chatted to, they both said they
would definitely be giving it a try.
Chris set up The Padel Court Company
three years ago and has installed
more than 20 courts in the last two
years. Having more than 30 years
of experience as an architect and
technical director of The World Squash
Federation, he turned his hand, along
with his brother John, to building
padel courts.
The Somborne Padel Tennis courts
also showcase the game to people
who have never seen it before (yes
there are lot of people, unbelievably!).
Chris told me he has a desk full
of requests for quotations for
installations. Hurrah for that.
The coaching team at Padel United,
Maldon, are proving that the game can
be played by anyone of any age after
adding regular sessions for its local
University of the Third Age (U3A).
Rawdon
club news
Padel is going great guns at Rawdon Golf and Lawn
Tennis Club in West Yorkshire. The club was the first in
the Leeds/Bradford area to install a padel court (in May
2021) and, less than a year later, added a second.
Membership continues to grow, with more than 124 new members,
box and mini leagues plus matches against ‘local’ clubs including
Harrogate Squash and Fitness; Surge, Harrogate, and Tennis World
in Middlesbrough. It also hosted West of Scotland Padel on its
summer road trip.
Events such as ‘padel and prosecco’ have proved popular and the
club championships saw 16 pairs competing in men’s and mixed and
14 in the ladies contest. Competitions have also been held for those
just starting to play.
Leeds University has formed a padel club that trains at Rawdon
(see page 44), and the University of the Third Age (U3A) brings a
group of players aged 70yrs+ for regular sessions.
Primaries have a ball
What to do with used balls is a
question asked by many padel
facilities - and West of Scotland
Padel has come up with a
perfect solution, donating them
to local schools.
“We are delighted to be
working with our primaries
in the local area to donate
padel balls,” said a spokesman
for the club, which has three
indoor courts in Stevenston,
North Ayrshire, and is run by
members as a not-for-profit
charitable organisation.
74 thebandeja.com

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What lies
beneath
Up close: Tiger Turf’s Padel 11 is a
monofilament fibre surface.
In the last issue of The Bandeja we looked at how different lighting
can affect your play. In this issue, with help from Tiger Turf, we
apply the same thinking to court turf, which varies in length, type,
colour, sandiness and speed of play.
Artificial grass surfaces for padel
are traditionally manufactured using
two different shapes of yarn fibre
- fibrillated or monofilament. Both
offer ball bounce consistency but
have different playing characteristics
which can make each suited to
different player abilities.
• Monofilament is a single strand
yarn heated to become texturised.
After heating the straight yarn
becomes curly and shorter.
Monofilament surfaces are usually
lower in pile height and offer a
slightly slower speed of play, so
perhaps better for beginners.
• Fibrillated yarn is straight with a
single end. It stands up straight and
returns to its shape after contact
with a ball or foot. These surfaces
can have a higher pile height and
a slightly faster pace of play. They
offer good durability, with fibres
recovering to their original straight
position after contact with a player’s
foot or the ball. This surface would
be suitable for intermediate to elite
players who have experience and
enjoy a fast-paced game.
On to the turf goes sand - a silica
sand infill used to improve stability
and durability. The texturised fibres
help keep the sand in place during
play. Artificial grass manufacturers
creating padel systems have their
own guidelines on sand application
depending on the height of the
surface, speed of play required and
shape of yarn. Usually, the more sand
added, the slower play will be.
A surface may be selected by clubs
due to the types of players they have,
budget, style and speed of play or just
personal preference. Padel surfaces
come in a range of colours, from rust
and green to blue, pink and purple.
LTA guidelines state a court should be
single tone, unlike traditional tennis
courts which can have different
colour inner and outer playing areas.
The LTA also recommends that
padel surfaces are manufactured
in accordance with the UNE 41958 IN
standard, which regulates surfaces
for sports areas. A recommended
product specification for an artificial
grass surface for padel might look
like this:
• Pile height : 10-15mm
• Dtex: 9,000-10,000
• Yarn type: monofilament/fibrillated
• Infill: silica sand
• Primary backing: polypropylene
• Secondary backing: latex
• Stitch rate: 40,000 – 60,000
The testing for a padel court is similar
to a tennis court as it can be given
a Court Pace Rating (CPR) via the ITF
(International Tennis Federation). A
CPR rating specifies the speed of play
for the particular surface. Testing for
synthetic surfaces is carried out inhouse
at the ITF.
Dtex (decitex): the unit of
measurement for artificial grass
fibres, measuring the mass per gram
of 10,000m of grass yarn. Dtex is
important because the higher the dtex
of a single filament, the thicker the
filament will be which means it is more
durable and longer lasting.
Infill: material that is added to the
grass after installation to offer
ballast, stability and to help the
surface last longer.
Primary backing: the material the
yarn is tufted into. This backing is
coated with the secondary backing,
latex. If you look in between the grass
fibres you may be able to see the
primary backing. If you turn the grass
over, you can see and feel the latex
and how it has coated the stitches.
The latex backing keeps all the fibres in
place and allows for easy installation.
Stitch rate: the number of stitches per
10cm (turn your grass over and you
can see and measure the stitches).
The higher the number of stitches, the
denser the grass will be.
Both the LTA and SAPCA offer guidance
on the construction of padel courts
that covers planning, building,
surfacing guidance and aftercare.
They can be found here:
https://www.lta.org.uk/4ad2a4/
siteassets/play/padel/file/lta-padelcourt-guidance.pdf
https://sapca.org.uk/wp-content/
uploads/2021/03/CoP_for_padel_
courts_v3_040321.pdf
76 thebandeja.com

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