Preston North End players open first Padel Courts in Preston

Noah Mawene and Finlay Cross-Adair from Preston North End Football Club visited West View Better Health Leisure Centre on Friday 5 May, to officially open two brand new padel courts, the first of their kind in Preston.

Padel is one of the world’s fastest growing sport and is sometimes described as a cross between tennis and squash.

The game originally started in Mexico and quickly swept through South America and then into Europe. Forecasters predict padel will become an Olympic sport by 2032.

The courts were installed by Game4Padel, the UK’s leading developer and operator of padel facilities, on behalf of leisure operator and charitable social enterprise Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) – which provides public facilities under the Better brand.

Padel is a racket sport that combines elements of tennis, squash and badminton and is played by over 18 million people worldwide

Commenting on the new courts, Noah Mawene said: “I’ve never played padel before but I know it’s really popular with lots of footballers like Messi, Beckham and Virgil van Dijk so I was up for giving it a go.

“It was really good fun and I can see how the courts down here in Preston will be really popular.”

The opening of the brand new padel courts

“Andrew Clark, Head of Sports & Aquatics at GLL added: “The game is easy to pick up, can be played by people of all ages and abilities, and is extremely fun and sociable.

“All of these factors made padel an attractive option for us here in Preston as we aim to deliver sports and leisure facilities which can bring communities together to stay active and healthy.”

The padel courts at West View will be open from 7am – 10pm midweek and 8am – 6pm at weekends.

Game4Padel will be hosting trial days for beginners, padel tournaments and racket testing sessions for players of all abilities, with beginner and improver lessons for juniors and adults starting Wednesday 10 May.

The company boasts a diverse group of experienced UK ambassadors, including former world number one tennis players Andy and Jamie Murray, Liverpool FC defender and Dutch international Virgil van Dijk, the former British number one players Annabel Croft and Andrew Castle, and Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies.

For more information visit the Better website and to book a session in Preston go to the Matchi page.