The Bandeja Magazine Issue 2

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
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