Fifty-eight ladies gathered together last Saturday as Wetherby Padel Club near Leeds began its opening weekend with a Female Festival of Padel.
The new four-court club is situated at Grange Park just off J45 of the A1(M), sharing the site with Wetherby Rugby Club. The commercial venture has been launched through private investment.
Players from nearby Surge Padel in Harrogate, Ilkley, Malton and Leeds University Padel Club – as well as inquisitive padel newbies – all came along for a fun padel session to mark the club’s opening. The courts were full from dusk til dawn.
Sunday saw an exhibition match from some of the area’s top UK players and mix-in play for locals.
Angela Crossley, director and head coach (pictured above, centre), said: “We are delighted to finally open the doors to the club and welcome so many ladies to our opening day. This area has strong female participation and we wanted to celebrate that as we began this new adventure.”
The feedback after the session was hugely positive:
“Its really good that the club decided to start with a female focus – we have so many females loving the sport in the area and this was a fun event where we could all play together.”
“I haven’t played competitive games for 40 years and this was so much fun.”
“Its so nice to come to a different venue and play different people – you can get used to playing the same players.”
“I just want to keep playing – this is so much fun. When is the next one?”
