Your Local Club: Padel Tennis at Hazelwood Sports Club

What do you get if you cross classic swingball with tennis and a hefty dash of squash? Padel tennis, which has roots in all three; taking the light-heartedness of swingball (and not to mention a very similar no-stringed racquet), the scoring from tennis, and the ability to bounce the ball off the walls, just like in squash. 

We spoke to Paul Taffe who, along with three other tennis fanatics, brought Mexico-originating sport padel tennis to Hazelwood Sports Club. The club itself is based in the suburbs of Winchmore Hill and stands out for the emphasis it puts on making anyone and everyone feel welcome; a trait which has clearly contributed to the club’s success at over 100 years old. 

Here, Paul tells us about the world’s fastest-growing sport which has earned a well-known fan in the form of Andy Murray…

First and foremost, for those of us who haven’t heard of it before, what is padel tennis?
Padel is played in doubles on an enclosed court which is approximately half the size of a tennis court. Scoring is the same as normal tennis and the balls used are pretty much identical, but with a little less pressure. 

In a similar way as in the game of squash. Solid, stringless racquets are used. The height of the ball being served must be at or below waist level. Also, an underarm serve is used to start play. So that makes all the difference for people who aren’t from a tennis background and struggle with overarm serving.

 The sport is thought to have been invented in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera in 1969. It is currently most popular in Hispanic American countries such as Argentina and Mexico, as well as in Spain. It is one of the fastest-growing sports, spreading rapidly across Europe and the world.

Tell us about your club
The team behind padel tennis at Hazelwood Sports Club are a group of four tennis players – two Spanish and two English. We met through the club, which was established over 100 years ago, so it’s got some history! We were all familiar with padel tennis – more so the Spanish partners as they grew up with it – and thought it could be a good fit for Hazelwood which had existing tennis and squash courts. We saw an opportunity in padel to unite the squash and tennis players because they tended to be quite separate socially.

So the four of us invested in Hazelwood Sports Club with an agreement that we could use their space and split any profits with them. It’s been great for the club to offer another sport, bring in new members and to get existing tennis and squash players playing together.

That was around seven years ago. We started by putting in an outdoor court, which was one of the first padel courts in London. The notoriety of the sport was still small then so it was a bit slow to begin with but over the last few years it has become much more popular. Just before lockdown we installed a second court and it’s now very busy. We have over 100 regular players, both members of the club and people who come in off of the street to pay and play.

If someone wanted to come in and use a padel court, how much would it cost?
The rate of a court is £30 an hour. Between four people that is less than £8 each. You will find costs vary across London; indoor courts will cost a little bit more because of their overheads, whereas outdoor clubs like ours are a little bit cheaper.

We have a full time club manager at our facility so people can walk in and speak to them and if a court is available they can go straight out and play. The chances are one of our two courts will be available. People who use it on a regular basis do book beforehand which you can do by giving us a call and we will book you in over the phone.

What do people enjoy about padel tennis?
It’s a little bit less aggressive and hard work than tennis and squash because when you play those types of racquet sports you have to really push yourself. With padel it isn’t like that. Imagine beach-style bat and ball mixed with classic swingball from back in the 1980s-90s, where people hit the tennis ball attached to a rope; padel tennis is not far off. It uses a similar racquet, without strings and that makes it a lot easier for people to just get used to it and get a feel for making improvements.

It gets your heart rate going, but it’s not so hard on the joints because the surface is quite spongy as it’s made from astroturf.

Do people of all ages, from the very young to the more mature, enjoy padel?
From its inception, it has always been more of an adult sport. When we brought it to Hazelwood we found it was adults that were adopting the game as an alternative to tennis. However, we have found over the last few years, as the World Padel Tour and other tournaments like it have been promoted on TV, that we’ve been getting a lot more youngsters coming forward from tennis backgrounds but also those without any racquet experience, which is what we really need. This is why it’s essential for courts to be built in friendly club settings or open park settings, so there’s access for children rather than in private, expensive clubs.

Do you find that women and girls are just as excited to get involved as their male-counterparts?
I would say that there is a 60% male, 40% female split at Hazelwood currently. However, there are more mixed groups than you find playing tennis because gender, size, weight, fitness level and age are less relevant on the padel court. People can mix ability levels much easier with padel tennis. 

How does Hazelwood Sports Club ensure that everyone feels welcome?
Hazelwood sports club has such a mix of people coming through the club. There are junior and adult coaching programmes for all of the sports, so people come in because of their love for, or interest in the sport and everyone comes together very naturally. 

Hazelwood has six indoor tennis courts and another four outdoor tennis courts with multiple different surfaces, including clay and rubber surfaces. We’ve also got a gym and in-house physio, plus three amazing squash courts which are used for racquetball as well. And then, of course, we have what we are directly involved with which is the two padel tennis courts. These are situated in a high position overlooking the rest of the grounds. In addition to that, there is a lovely bar and function room, with lots of green space and an outside barbecue area. So in the summer, it’s very social. We actually just had a really successful paella and padel tennis weekend where we played tournaments and a Spanish chef came over from Spain to cook different types of paella in the traditional way and serve Sangria. There will be lots more events over the summer for people to come down and get involved in. It really is a very welcoming facility in North London.

How can someone best get a flavour of padel tennis?
The very best way is to come down. We’re open seven days a week so people are always welcome to come along and we can show them around and if they want to, play some sport! We have multiple padel coaches so if you would like to have sessions with them that can easily be arranged.

You can also get all the information you need about padel on our website, www.padeltennis.co.uk, or to find out more about all of the sports at Hazelwood Sports Club and the events that are running over the summer, you can go to hazelwoodsportsclub.co.uk. You’ll also find us both on Twitter, @hazelwoodsport and @UKPadelTennis.

What equipment does someone need if they want to get involved?
We have all the equipment you’d need at the club. Included in the £30 cost is the use of racquets and balls so people just need to come down in their trainers and sportswear. If they enjoyed the sport and wanted to take it further, they can purchase padel racquet from as little as £30. So it’s not an overly expensive cost to enter into the game. However, like I said, ourselves and all other clubs will always have equipment for people to use.

Can kids get involved over the holidays?
The Hazelwood Sports Club works with a brilliant company called Kalo Sports Club who run a tennis and football club all throughout the summer, as well as lots of other activities as well. Anyone can come along between the ages of four to sixteen.

For you personally, what is the best thing about your club?
The best thing about the club is the family and friends-orientated feel. I’ve been involved in the club since I was a teenager and you find that people grow up, and continue to come here to play sport. They then go off and become an adult and quite often come back with their families, which just shows you that there’s a gravity to a good social sports club and local community space like Hazelwood.

I think it’s part of sport generally; people just leave any preconceptions about anyone behind when they come in to play. They’re there for the game and the fun. We find that people just want to encourage each other to get better at the game. They don’t take it too seriously. Padel in particular really lets people mix from all sorts of abilities. You don’t have to be playing a sport for many, many years to mix with someone new, you can mix it up and get to meet new people.

What plans or ambitions do you have for your club that will see it evolve in the future?
The main aim is to develop and to try and get more young people into padel. Ultimately, they’re the future players.

It’s on the plans that padel will be included in the Olympics going forward, but it was only recognised as a sport a couple years ago when the Lawn Tennis Association took it under their umbrella. It’s still in its early stages but with people like Andy Murray doing more for the sport it’s only going to become better known and the joy of it will be experienced by more people.

https://hazelwoodsportsclub.co.uk
https://www.kalosport.com/hazelwood-sports-camp/