The area poised for an explosion in padel interest

It may have started as a relative unknown but the sport of padel has become bigger and bigger across the UK.

According to the Lawn Tennis Association, more than one million people across the country have played the sport on one of the UK's 1825 courts.

The sport has got some traction in Shropshire, with two pay-to-play centres opening and many more due to appear, as they work their way through planning applications for towns like Albrighton, Telford and Morville near Bridgnorth.

Players told me there is a need in the county as they are finding it hard to book courts because of how popular padel has got.

The game is played in doubles on an enclosed glass court using solid racquets and at tennis ball.

The scoring comes straight from tennis, but the game is widely seen as easier to learn and more social to play.

Invented in Mexico in the 1960s, padel became hugely popular in Spanish-speaking countries like Spain and Argentina, before making it to the UK.

However with this, the sport has been accused of being too expensive and elitist, with research showing it costs £30 on average for off-peak court hire, and peak-time prices can reach £80-£100 at some venues.

Sporting stars like Zinedine Zidane, Andy Murray and Jessica Ennis-Hill have all picked up the sport, investing in it in the process.

In March 2025, the first club in Shropshire was set up in Weston Rhyn by footballing brothers Eric and Alex Ramsay, cricketer Joe Clarke and his brother Robert.

Alex Ramsay said he wanted to make the sport as accessible as possible.

"We are 18 months in and you can see the courts are being used," he added.

"It's very easy to pick up. It's played on a much smaller court than tennis so the ground that you have to cover is much smaller so it can attract an older generation as well.

"We've been age seven all the way to 77 playing at the club, and we have men, women and kids playing."

Alex got a bug for the sport while he was on holiday in Spain and said he loved the sport so much, he wanted to bring it back to Shropshire.

"I think it's a sport that you can get good at or you can get to a certain level quite quickly so it becomes addictive," he added.

"If you play three, four times a week or even two or three times a week with your friends, it is definitely a sport that you can advance quite quickly."

"[It is different] compared to the more common sports around the Shropshire areas such as football and rugby and tennis, which we have to put in years and years of practise to get to a certain level."

University student and Oswestry cricketer Ewan Tulloch picked up the sport around a month ago and started playing it with his friends.

The 20-year-old said it took him some time to get used to the different rules but he now loved it.

"I was excited initially [to play] but I found it difficult, I am not going to lie," Tulloch said

"The reactions of having to have it come off the walls at different angles at you.

"The hand-eye [co-ordination was not an issue] but it is just slightly different to games I've played before."

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