The competition at Stratford Padel Club is set to welcome the most players ever for an International Padel Federation (FIP) event in the UK, reports Marco Marcelline
The UK’s largest ever professional padel event has started today at Stratford Padel Club.
The competition runs from today (8th October) to Sunday 12th October and includes the FIP Sliver R3 Bullpadel Cup plus the FIP Promises R3 Junior Cup.
Padel is played with solid, stringless rackets and balls that are similar to tennis balls but with slightly less pressure. Players serve underhand, and the ball can bounce off the walls before being returned by the opponent.
Using the same scoring system as tennis, padel has seen a recent surge in popularity, with over 400,000 adults and juniors in Britain playing the sport at least once last year – up from just 15,000 in 2019.
The competition at Stratford Padel Club is set to welcome the most players ever for an International Padel Federation (FIP) event in the UK.
It starts with a 64-pair qualification event featuring top-ranked international players competing for a total prize fund of €15,000 as well as international juniors.
Competitors include Great Britain stars like men’s GB number one Christian Medina Murphy playing with Spanish partner Diego Dorata Diaz, and women’s GB number two Catherine Rose playing with GB number three Tia Norton.
Tickets to attend the event are free and matches will be live-streamed with expert commentary on PadelTV.
Founded in December 2018, Stratford Padel Club has grown from three courts and 30 players to nine courts and more than 24,000 players mirroring the rapid growth of padel across the UK.
Stratford Padel Club founder Javier Fernandez told the Echo he was “really excited” for the championship, and that it showed the “huge interest and success” that padel has been experiencing in recent years.
The club are planning a move to a larger site in Stratford in the near future. It is the one of the closest padel clubs to Waltham Forest.
Sam Kemp, managing director of operations, tournaments and events of R3 Sport said: “The Stratford event will be the largest ever professional padel event in the UK and is another milestone for the development of the sport and the R3 Bullpadel Cup.
“Last month saw the first international event in the tournament in Luxembourg and previous UK events at Bristol and Surbiton have attracted record attendances demonstrating the massive interest in the sport and potential for yet more expansion.”
A controversial plan to replace every indoor tennis court at the Lea Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in the Olympic Park with padel courts was put on hold in July amid backlash from tennis players.
In June, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) unilaterally approved plans which would see its four indoor tennis courts turned into seven double and two single padel courts.
But backlash from tennis users who say they were not consulted on the plans forced the LVRPA to re-think the plans.
Watch the championship here and find out more about Stratford Padel Club here
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