Great Missenden Lawn Tennis Club open new padel courts

Despite morning rain, the club’s annual Open Day proved to be a great draw with people visiting the club for the first time to sign up as members.

The opening of its two state-of-the-art padel courts was the centrepiece of the day.

Many people attended the official opening (Image: Great Missenden Lawn Tennis Club)

Club chairman, Roger Hill, said: “Our club is always seeking ways to grow and remain a hub of healthy and social activities.

“In addition to all-weather clay and traditional grass courts, the club has now invested in padle courts.

“Padel is a worldwide phenomenon and one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.

“It's something that is easy to play and attracts all ages.”

The courts are now open for the public to use (Image: Great Missenden Lawn Tennis Club)

“The club resisted the temptation to allow padel to be run as a lucrative business.

"This is for our members and an extension of our successful club.

"We have opened up the courts for non-members to pay-and-play, but our ultimate aim is to get as many people as possible playing all forms of tennis.

“We hope that padel enthusiasts will come here for the courts, but then fall in love with our club and become full members and enjoy the social aspects too.”

The courts were built by UK firm Hexa Padel, with Andy Rasmussen, club president, being impressed with the way the company conducted themselves during the building and installation process.

He said: “The Hexa Padel team were great, and giving up their time on Open Day to provide taster sessions brought the courts to life for everyone.”

Andy looked on as Bucks LTA President Jill Newby cut the ribbon to formally open the padel courts.

The club also signed up several new members on the day who were attracted by the new membership categories.

Many people enjoyed their first few games on the court (Image: Great Missenden Lawn Tennis Club)

Roger added: “We introduced new categories this year to make the club more affordable for young adults and adults under the age of 40.

“The pricing provides great value for money, as there is no further charge for use of the clay, grass or acrylic courts.”

The club is also active in the community too and recently raised £4,000 for Hector’s House, a local charity which aims to support young people with their mental health.

To find out more about the club and enquire about becoming a member go to www.gmltc.com.

What is padel?

According to the Macron website, padel is like tennis with walls.

The padel court size is about a quarter smaller than that of a tennis court and the walls required are not portable.

How do you play it?

- The right to serve first is decided by a draw

- Serve is done by bouncing the ball off the ground and hitting it diagonally into the service box on the opponent’s side

- The ball must be hit when it is at or below the waist level

Scoring

- Scoring in padel sport follows that of tennis: 15, 30, 40, game

- 40-40 is a deuce