Did you know that Padel is the fastest growing sport in the world? Whilst proving to be one of the most popular sports in Spain and also in Argentina it is trying to earn its place among British sports.
On Tuesday 12th June we held the launching of the Padel Club London in Canary Wharf, which is supported by one of our members: Padel England Association
The event took place on the Club’s courts and the attendees got to see them up close Mr. Tom Murray, manager from the Padel England Association, was there to show the attendees the facilities the new club offers to its members and padel players, and also to explain the range of activities they had already developed and some others that they are currently arranging.
After a brief tour around the 4 indoor courts and the rest of the club’s infrastructure, the attendees had the chance to taste some Spanish wine and «Serrano» ham. Some of them even decided to try and played padel for a while!
Padel is similar to tennis, though they have some differences. As some of you may not know how to play it, you can find the basics below:
– Always played in doubles
– Objective is to get the ball to the other side of the net and prevent the opponent from hitting the ball back.
– Service: Stand behind the service line, drop the ball, let it bounce back up, hit the ball underarm, cross-court. Ball is not allowed to hit the fence on the serve (but it is allowed to hit the glass walls).
– Ball is only allowed to hit the ground once on one side.
– When attempting to hit the ball across, players are allowed to use the glass walls on their own playing field (either waiting for the ball to rebound off the glass walls and hit it forward, or hitting the ball across the net by using the glass walls).
– Once the ball has crossed the net , it must bounce on the playing surface before hitting either the fence or the glass walls (unless opponent decides to volley or smash the ball back).
– Point system as in tennis.
Now that you know the rules, you just have to give this social sport a try that will shortly become the next trend in London!