Ola Padel and All Court Tennis Club partnered up to stage their first padel tournament last weekend as 42 competitors did battle at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
The tournament brought players together for a social competition with prizes provided by sponsors Slazenger, plus an auction in aid of Sue Ryder, the palliative, neurological and bereavement support charity.
The auction, which featured prizes including a football shirt signed by Pele and tickets for Wimbledon, raised in excess of £2,500.
Ola Padel, founded a year ago by friends Georgina Barclay and ex-tennis pro Jack Carpenter, organises group holidays to Europe which feature tennis and padel coaching, competitions and social events.
Ola Padel also host tournaments at various London venues including Hampton Court, Rocks Lane Chiswick and the NTC – and have some exciting new venues coming soon in Wimbledon and Wandsworth.
Last weekend’s event was the first organised in partnership with All Court Tennis Club, a company offering exclusive access to state-of-the-art courts, top coaches, mentors and a new app to book hitting partners across the world.
Lewis Burton, a former pro tennis player, is an ambassador for All Court Tennis Club and won the tournament at the NTC.
He said: “It was a very relaxed, sociable event. We had Wimbledon on in the background, we opened a few bottes of rosé and got everyone enjoying the game of padel.
“It’s a nice networking event for players as we get people from all walks of life. We really want to keep growing and take it to venues around the world.”
Ola Padel is running another tournament at Imber Court on 12 August in partnership with The Padel Company and hope to co-organise another event with All Court Tennis Club before the end of the summer.
Co-founder Georgina said: “Jack and I are members of a couple of tennis clubs in London. We started the tours and competitions for our friends. Although it started off with people we knew, as it’s grown it has expanded way beyond our network.
“They’re not performance tournaments, it’s about getting everyone together and introducing as many people as possible to padel.”
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