Paul Jenkins, a 74-year-old visually impaired international padel player, is hoping to inspire others with sight loss.
Paul, from Cwmbran, South Wales, has been coaching and playing padel for 17 years. However, it has become more challenging since he developed a form of macular disease – the biggest cause of blindness in the UK – in 2023.
The grandfather of seven was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after noticing blurry vision while playing padel. He was concerned about what it would mean for his future in the sport, which had become such a passion after he retired.
Describing his change in sight, Paul said: “First it was more driving at night and I noticed I was getting a lot of glare from other road users, so I thought ‘perhaps I just needed a new prescription?’
“Then when I was playing padel I noticed a bit of blurred vision. I went to have my eyes tested and that’s how I was told I had macular degeneration.”
A big cause of loneliness and isolation, macular disease can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. Many people compare losing their sight to a bereavement. There is still no cure and most types of the disease are not treatable.
For Paul, a regular at the Welsh Padel Centre in Cwmbran, staying positive has kept his passion for the sport alive, as well as passing his enjoyment on to others.
He said: “I’ve had cancer five times, but I think being told you are going blind is probably the worst of what’s left.
“But I’m such a positive person, I asked what it all meant and I was told about injections and that full blindness isn’t really what happens here. Obviously over a period of time I may have to rely on my peripheral vision.
“If I lose my sight, that will be massive. I can still maintain good vision for now, and I should be okay for a while especially with my injections, but it would be heartbreaking not to see my wife, the kids, the grandchildren.
“And it’s the same for my sport, because I’m playing for my country. No matter the sport or age, to represent them with the jersey is a very proud moment.
“I am always trying to stay positive because I want to continue playing and coaching. I want to enjoy this sport for as long as I can because if my sight is no good, then it will be a great struggle. I just want people to enjoy padel too as much as I have in the 17 years I’ve been playing.”
Paul is used to competing against players who don’t have a visual impairment and explained how he has had to cleverly adapt his game.
“People don’t want to be beaten by the ‘blind’ man,” he joked.
“Now, because I’ve got this slight double vision and blurriness, my timing isn’t quite as good as it was. Sometimes I might not do as well against people that I would normally beat comfortably. To compensate, I try and make sure that I play the shots that people are not expecting.
“A lot of people come into the sport from a tennis background, so they like to volley a lot. They tend not to use the glass wall. For me, the glass is my friend, and because I’m old, I quite often would prefer to let the ball go past me, bounce, hit the glass, and then I’ll take my shot, as it gives me more time to think. I can let it bounce once, so I can think about what to do next.”
Paul had been helping to run a car dealership in Bristol when he decided to retire and move to Spain in 2007. It was while living abroad that he was introduced to padel and he is now a competitor with the Four Nations Wales men’s team.
“I was 20 stone and thought I’d be terrible at it,” said Paul. “I’d never heard of it but I went along, I was handed an old racket with little expectation but I was actually very good. I had played squash and tennis some 40 years earlier, but I was gripped by this sport.
“Eventually I was running the club and padel became my passion. I’m now back in Wales playing in the Four Nations Wales men’s team, specifically for people over 60 and it’s a real honour.”
Whether its padel or any other activity, Paul is now encouraging others with sight loss to try something new.
He said: “Padel is a fantastic social sport, but even if people don’t want to try it, try pickleball, try the gym, play some tennis, or squash, or try jogging or walking. Whatever you can do, do it.
“Even if you can’t see well, you don’t even have to be an athlete, it doesn’t matter. In padel I position myself at the back more than be the runaround and that’s my game. It’s great what people can still do so they should give it a go, try something new.”
Figures from national sight loss charity the Macular Society show nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected by macular disease and many are at risk.
AMD is the most common form of the disease affecting more 700,000 people usually over the age of 50.
For more information about other services available from the Macular Society, for advice or support with your condition , call the Macular Society helpline on 0300 3030111, email help@macularsociety.org or visit www.macularsociety.org.
