Game4Padel today invited former British number one tennis player Annabel Croft to open their two new padel courts at Edinburgh Park.
Padel is said to be the world’s fastest-growing sport.
The game originally started in Mexico and quickly swept through South America and then into Europe. Spain is reckoned to have over 20,000 padel courts, and an estimated six million active players – it is now the country’s second biggest participation sport after football. Padel is played in 91 countries and is the fastest growing sport in many countries such as Sweden and Italy. Fans of the game include Andy Murray, David Beckham, Jurgen Klopp, Bradley Walsh, Elle MacPherson and Nicole Scherzinger and forecasters predict padel will become an Olympic sport by 2032.
The new courts will be covered canopy courts, allowing play all year round – one of the big attractions of the game.
The company has 30 venues open including one at Ocean Terminal. The company offers to partner with sports clubs and offers coaching and playing opportunities for children and schools.
Tony Horden (Managing Director of developers Parabola) said: “Padel is going to be a great addition to our facilities at Edinburgh Park. We have seen how popular the game is becoming all around the UK and we believe the courts will be really busy here as the Park grows. The benefits of padel are that it’s really sociable, great fun and easy to pick up – you don’t need any previous racket experience – so we encourage as many people as possible to come and try it out.”
Game4Padel Co-Founder and CEO, Michael Gradon added: “In the past year, there has been unprecedented demand for new padel courts around the country – it’s really gaining momentum as people become addicted to this fun, new sport. At Game4Padel we are leading the way in terms of installing courts, offering funding to venues and managing facilities to ensure courts are well used.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
