Popularity of Chichester club’s new Padel Tennis "exceeding expectations"

Getting back outside, being active and having fun with friends is more important than ever this year and take-up of Padel Tennis, recently introduced at Chichester Racquets and Fitness Club (CRFC) is “vastly exceeding expectations”, according to the Club. 

Chairman, James Ward, said, “We had a huge amount of interest from the public when the courts were installed. The glass-walled courts are particularly attractive structures and people are fascinated by watching play. This led to lots of new members joining the club and now the courts are full nearly all the time!” 

He added, “The advantage of Padel Tennis is that all you need to be able to do is hit a ball, so anyone can play it. All ages and abilities can play with their friends and family or join in mixed leagues and socialise with other people of the same standard. It’s also great for people with disabilities or those who are struggling to play other sports through injury.”

The club offers free introductory sessions to Padel – a combination of tennis, squash and racket ball – and the game is proving so popular that the club is already looking at installing more courts to meet demand.

Padel courts are much smaller than tennis courts and were first introduced to the UK by Hampshire’s JB Corrie, which has installed them at Chichester. This 100-year-old company has supplied tennis courts to Lawn Tennis Association clubs and the private market for many years and is unique in designing and manufacturing courts entirely in the UK to LTA and SAPCA guidelines which cater for the great British weather.

The game is growing fast here with around 90 courts across the country, following in the footsteps of Spain, where Padel is second only to football in popularity.