BY ALAN THATCHER
Padel has “gone mental” in Scotland according to Edinburgh Sports Club manager JJ Tait.
After constructing their first padel court in 2014, the club now has more than 300 padel members. And they have just completed the installation of a third covered court to cope with the demand.
Tait says: “The growth of padel is absolutely mental. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic we had 650 club members across tennis, padel, squash and fitness.
“During lockdown we immediately lost 150 squash members who were unable to play indoors but we gained an extra 130 members who could play padel and tennis outdoors.
“We were blessed with glorious weather during the summer of lockdown and that helped us a lot.
“Now we are up to 800-plus members with over 300 for padel. It is now our dominant sport.”
Tait and his team have revived a club that was in danger of folding just over a decade ago. He added: “Twelve years ago there were just 50 tennis members and things looked bleak.
“But the growth of padel has been sensational since we opened our first court in 2014.
“The padel mania up here is just mental. We have a beautiful club close to the city centre and the club is regarded as the home of Scottish padel.
“We love holding fun invitation events and this week we are hosting visitors from Ayrshire and Middlesbrough.”
A stream runs through the grounds of this picturesque sports paradise in Belford Place and a third padel court is certain to attract even more members.
