George Sandbach and James Rock have transferred their passion for the old-fashioned sport of rackets to its modern-day descendant padel by launching a new start-up, Padel People.
The British duo are ex-rackets professionals formerly ranked in the world’s top 50. The sport of rackets was invented in prisons in 18th-century London and only a few courts remain at elite UK public schools and sports clubs, plus a handful of clubs in the US and Canada.
George and James were at school together in Cheltenham before becoming assistant and head rackets pro respectively at the Montreal Rackets Club in Canada.
George returned to the UK to be the head pro at Manchester Tennis & Rackets Club, before moving to his hometown of Oxford to run his own hospitality company. James, meanwhile, became director of racket sports at Radley College in Oxfordshire.
A couple of years ago, they travelled to East Glos Club in Cheltenham to play padel. “We absolutely loved it. The rabbit hole was uncovered and we fell into it!” George tells The Padel Paper. “There was nowhere for us to play locally and we wanted to get involved.”
Two years on, the duo have gleaned wisdom from all the big players in the UK padel industry, but parted company with some investors who had initially come on board.
Their next move was a partnership deal with up-and-coming fitness group Hybrid Fitness, whose venues combine a traditional gym with high end, progressive, boutique studio classes such as martial arts and hot yoga.
Their first joint venue, on Plough Lane in Wimbledon, south-west London (a location football fans of a certain vintage may remember) will open in June. It will feature one permanent indoor padel court with a relatively modest 7.5m ceiling height.
George says it will suit beginner, intermediate and early advanced players, and will be cheap to use. Usage is open to stand-alone padel or gym members and those who want to try on a pay-and-play basis.
Before the year is out, Padel People plan to open a second venue within a Hybrid Fitness gym, as well as a stand-alone Padel People club on the site of some old tennis courts. Both locations, for now, remain a secret.
The long-term plan is to install between one and eight padel courts within Hybrid Fitness locations and independent Padel People venues and provide coaching sessions, tournaments, social events and equipment hire.
Padel People have their own twist to court booking, somewhat befitting of the co-founders’ traditional rackets background. “Our USP is a bit more of an old-fashioned approach,” explains George. “The way we did it in the rackets world was to get to know our players really well and know when they’re free to play.
“If, for example, Kate and Mike can play on Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings, I’ll be on the phone to book their games in. Our unique take on it is being proactive to get people courts.”
Future venues will be thrown open to the local community, charities and schools for free during daytime hours. “Instead of trying to charge £30 or £40 for a court, we will use those off-peak hours as a chance to grow the sport and give opportunities to children who wouldn’t normally get that chance,” explains George.
“This venture is both exciting and scary,” he adds. “In rackets, the ball travels at unbelievable speeds, so everyone who has played it is automatically pretty good at padel. That hooked us in, but as well as our rackets backgrounds, James’ experience as a coach and mine in hospitality mean we will be able to create a great club environment, rather than just a place to play padel. That’s a real passion of ours and we can’t wait to get started.”
