The Bandeja Magazine Issue 2

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