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Playrite’s Matchplay 2 surface was installed at Escuela Pia de Barcelona. Padel has become a popular sport throughout Spain


lying net. At the ends are 3m high walls of concrete blocks or toughened glass. The walls extend from the back corners to 4m down the length, 3m high for the first 2m and 2m high for the next 2m. The remainder of the court is made of strong metal fencing to a height of 4m. The playing surface can be tarmac, concrete or synthetic turf and permitted colours are green, blue or terracotta. If synthetic turf is used, the IPF stipu- lates partial sand infill for indoor courts and full sand infill for outdoor courts. Racquets are shorter but heavier than their tennis cousins and bear little resem- blance to squash equivalents. Balls are also less pressurised than tennis balls. Serving is underarm with balls hitting the floor first. However, points are scored in exactly the same way as tennis games


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at Wimbledon or Flushing Meadows and – apart from elite level matches – it’s dou- bles play rather than singles.


“Padel is easy to pick up,” says padel pio-


neer, Peter Vann in Huddersfield, who was seduced by the simplicity of the game dur- ing trips to La Manga sports resort in Spain. “Tennis and squash can be technically


difficult games to get pleasure from if you have never picked up a racquet before. With padel you can learn to play, have fun and be competitive after just 20 min- utes. Anyone from four to 84 can enjoy a game from scratch,” he says.


SPORT DEVELOPMENT


So, with such a glowing reference, why is padel only marginally more popu- lar than other sport derivatives, such as bossaball (a sort of trampoline volleyball)


and the Swiss sport hornussen (a mix of golf and hockey)? Indeed, Padel England’s official website describes padel as ‘the fastest growing sport you’ve probably never heard of’.


Possibly because of the cost of a court, which, according to Vann, will set you back approximately €25,000 (£18,000). The price does include, however, manufac- ture, shipping from Spain and installation. “A padel court can be a large initial


outlay,” says Vann, who oversaw the de- velopment of the Ellesse Padel Academy in Huddersfield. Particularly as, without Sport England recognition we are not en- titled to government funding.” Huddersfield’s courts were fund- ed through member donations plus a £20,000 grant from Kirklees Council and another £5,000 from UKPF in 2009.


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