The founder of a major padel tournament organiser has called upon court owners to “be responsible” and lower the price of rental rates for the popular sport.
The boom of padel in recent years has seen demand to play outweigh the supply of courts, despite the United Kingdom this year passing the 1,000 court threshold.
In the capital, where land purchases are high, courts can sometimes cost over £95 per hour, with many rates – for four people over 60 minutes – hovering around £60.
And UK Padel co-founder Nick Baker insists that costs can be lower if those in charge of padel clubs wanted them to.
“More courts helps but it is on the operators to be responsible about this,” he told City AM. “I hear these stories about £100 per court and it’s nuts. We charge way less – an off-peak court is about £26.
“And with that we have community-use balls and rackets so you don’t need to have brought a racket.
“The operators have a strong hand to play in this. For kids we give everything half price. You don’t have to charge £100 per court, that’s a choice you make.”
Padel costs
Padel racket costs can soar into the hundreds, while basic entry level products are shy of £50.
UK Padel has events sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association and runs tournaments across a number of age groups.
They own a number of courts but have stayed away from London, telling City AM that there are no immediate plans to venture into the capital.
It was revealed earlier this year that Great Britain was the third biggest market for padel globally, fueled by new openings and demand for courts.
There are plans to replicate the Ryder Cup of golf in padel – with teams from Europe and the Americas – while the sport’s bigwigs are plotting padel’s entry into the Olympics by 2032.
