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From playing shots like the bandeja to the bajada, the fastest-growing sport in the country is ready to be a hit in the heart of Preston’s city centre.
Preston is set to welcome a brand new padel facility on the corner of Ringway and Corporation Street – in the former Office Outlet – this weekend.
Just Padel is opening a dedicated padel facility – and a café – and plans to host private events alongside their own tournaments for players of all skill levels.
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Studio FRI submitted the plans via Padel Preston Ltd and hopes to see Preston benefit from the development.
A spokesperson told Blog Preston: ‘’Studio FRI takes great pride in contributing to projects that benefit our local community.’’
‘’This facility is situated in a key location in the heart of Preston, close to local businesses, the university, and the train station. We hope to take full advantage of this central position to create a space that serves the whole community, whether they’re students, professionals, or families.
‘’Beyond providing a modern sporting experience, it’s about creating a welcoming environment where people can come together, socialise, and make use of a highly accessible venue.’’
‘’This project is just the beginning, and we hope it inspires more people to discover and enjoy this exciting, accessible sport.’’
Elsewhere, West View Leisure Centre has two courts, suited for doubles and Broughton District Club have their own facilities.
The Broughton District Club officially opened its courts in October 2024.
Mike Hawkins, secretary from the club, calls it ‘fast and furious’ and is thrilled to see padel’s integration into the community since its opening.
He told Blog Preston: ‘’We had constructed these courts during the latter part of 2024 and opened for play on the 16th of October.
‘’So far, they’ve been a great success, quite a lot of our members have become padel members as well. We’ve attracted quite a few new people from the outside to become members, but equally we have a lot of people to come on a pay as you go basis from the community.’’
‘’We’ve set several categories at the clubs ranging from beginner to improver to intermediate, and then the advanced category. The outline of what is required in each category is on our website.
‘’So, we try to run sessions based upon player category, both social sessions and coaching sessions. We also have run a fair number of what we call paddle tasters, which are purely for beginners.’’
The LTA have incorporated padel tournaments for those looking to test their abilities and face off against players from different regions in the country.
Leonardo Santiago, ranked no.889 in the UK, first got a taste of what the sport was about from attending a taster session and in a year has participated in competitive tournaments in the UK and travelled the world.
He told Blog Preston: ‘’I started doing social games and found it was very good fun, padel is very accessible. It got to a point where the whole club where I went was playing, and we all got the addicting bug from playing padel.
‘’I started playing padel at the end of 2023, and around May 2024, I started participating in tournaments all over the county from Derby to Edinburgh. Because it’s a new sport, its growing rapidly, it’s very accessible to play and I play with people who are no.10 or no.5 in the country, things that I’d never able to do.’’
‘’The community side is amazing, anybody at any age and at any skill level can start up and join, it’s always a good game and it’s good exercise.’’
‘’I’ve been all over the world and have seen padel at many stages. I was surprised to see in Tokyo how it has grown, as well as in Italy and here in the UK. It’s still in the beginning, and I see how it’s getting a lot of attraction.
‘’I’ve played in Tokyo and Santander in Spain and many other countries. I’d like to say I’m a good player, not the best but with previous racket experience, there’s been great progress. You can achieve a very high level in a very short span.’’
‘’A lot of people say that pickleball is a danger to tennis, but I would argue that padel is the real danger to tennis. It’s growing at such a quick pace and especially as it’s attracting so many young people.
‘’I’m a very nervous person when it comes to competition. It’s one of the only sports when you must stay fully focussed, you fully forget about everything, you’re there in that cage, your own little world, just having fun. ‘’
Statistics show that those who are 25-44 years old make up over 40% of players who participate in the sport, as it also offers a more casual way of playing.
Originating from Mexico, the racket sport is typically played in doubles in a closed space with walls and wired fencing, with the characteristics of squash and tennis involved.
The walls can be used to create shots to get the better of your opponent. The court is slightly smaller than a normal double tennis court.
The serves are taken underarm, the rules are similar to those in tennis in that if there’s any contact with the net, a second serve can be taken.
Matches are played in the best of three sets with a tie-break played in tied between the first few seats.
You can win the point if the ball bounces twice in the opponent’s half or if the ball strikes yourself or the opponent. The wire fencing surrounding the court can help you win the point if the opponent hits their ball before it lands in your box.
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