The brand new covered padel courts at Edinburgh Park in South Gyle is Capital’s 9th and newest padel arena, and it is the third opened in the city by the Edinburgh based Game4Padel company.
To celebrate, Annabel Croft, formerly a British Number 1 Tennis player, and Linlithgow’s Colin Fleming, a now retired professional British tennis player, were at the new Edinburgh Park padel courts on Monday for the grand opening and a few friendly matches.
Upon receiving the invitation from Game4Padel, Edinburgh Live offered up its least athletic reporter, Danyel VanReenen, to play Padel against the two professional tennis players.
READ MORE: Edinburgh fire crews race to tower block after blaze breaks out inside flat
After a ribbon cutting ceremony and some handshakes and formalities, I stepped on the Padel court for some practice volleys with Annabel.
Almost immediately, I managed to lob a ball over the high metal walls and into the still under construction site nearby, Annabel still told me it was a good effort despite my uncertainty.
Before a friendly match commenced in earnest, a Games4Padel representative told me not to worry because “the rules and scoring are pretty much the same as tennis,” but as I had never played tennis before, that wasn’t much comfort.
Vincent Hivert, one of the Games4Padel co founders graciously offered to play doubles with me against Annabel and another Games4Padel representative.
Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Although there was a learning curve involved, Padel was much easier, more satisfactory and fun than I had imagined.
“Everytime I play this game, I’m always smiling,” Annabel said. “It’s always a fun time, and I laugh so much when I’m playing. And as far as courts go, it doesn’t come much better than this.”
I can see the truth in her statement. It’s competitive enough for the athletically gifted, but easy enough for people like me to participate in, and compared to my last Badminton attempt four years ago, I practically felt like a padel champion.
Jim McMahon, the CEO and cofounder of Game4Padel explained the beauty and appeal of this fast growing sport.
“It’s the best parts of squash and tennis put together,” he said. “If I can play, so can anyone.”
The rules of the game are fairly straightforward: Padel is generally played in doubles format, and it uses the same scoring system as tennis.
All points begin with an underarm serve into the service box diagonally opposite, and once the ball is in play, all balls must cross the net and bounce before hitting the back wall. Players can also hit the ball onto their own side or back glass walls to return it over the net.
The game originated in Mexico, and it swept through South America before catching on in Spain in the 1990s. Now, Jim said it is finally catching on in the UK with Edinburgh as the ‘UK’s padel capital.’
Colin Fleming said the social aspects and ease of the sport is a huge appeal to him and many others, whether they play tennis or not.
“It’s easy, fun, and quick to pick up. There’s not as much starting and stopping as tennis, and the court is smaller so it allows for more back and forth with your teammate and your opponents. It’s very exciting to see it growing in the UK,” Colin said.
According to Game4Padel, it is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The game is played in 91 countries around the world, and in Spain, it is estimated to be the biggest participation sport after football.
At Edinburgh Park, the two new covered courts will be open from 7am until 10pm. Rackets and balls will be available for free in the first few weeks, and they will be available for rental afterwards.
The new padel courts can be booked online here.
READ MORE
Passenger praised for refusing to give up seat to elderly woman on train to Scotland
English driver travels 500 miles to Scotland to take 'easiest driving test' in UK
Edinburgh to get a new 'state of the art' inflatable park with party zones and arcade
Deaf Edinburgh dog looking for a compassionate new home with short walks
I tried to buy a used car in Edinburgh and the experience sent me over the edge
