I have been wondering what all the fuss is about the new racket sport Padel. But having had a session this week at Courts Padel X The Retreat, Elcot Park I now get it.
I like tennis, but not the amount of time you spend retrieving missed balls. I love squash but find the court small and claustrophobic, especially in the summer when you want to be outside. And it seems the inventors of padel feel the same way because they’ve combined a scaled down tennis court with the back and corner walls of a squash court.
So you have tennis-style play over the net plus squash’s rebound action off the clear glass walls. Genius. The racket has a short handle and a big face (made of a mix of foam and carbon fibre) making ball contact pretty easy. Founders of Courts Padel and current coaches Will and Harry are great teachers so within an hour, myself and Gianni, who is on work experience with us, were achieving long rallies and worked up quite a sweat.
“It was my first time playing Padel and I found it easy to pick up with the help of Will and Harry who were very nice and supportive,” added Gianni.
“The court and equipment were in excellent condition. I would recommend it to anyone especially as it’s an easy drive from Newbury or Hungerford.”
So what does it cost and how do you book? It is a fully panoramic doubles court and costs from £28/hour so that’s just £7 per player. Anyone can book a session between 7am and 9pm. You can also play at Courts Padel X The Retreat as part of The Signet Spa membership package, which gives members 30% off padel.
Will and Harry have set up a Courts community Whatsapp group to make it easy for local players to find partners or another couple to play doubles with. Their aim is to make padel a social, fun and encouraging environment for anyone to get involved.
They have several group coaching, gameplay and social sessions throughout the week, all booked through the Playtomic mobile app.
For more details and how to book visit www.courtspadel.co.uk and let us know how you get on.
