We are delighted to launch a regular new column where we invite padel players to tell the world why they love the game so much!
Padel is booming in so many parts of the globe and we are certainly seeing the love spread quickly across the UK.
We kick off (or should that be open the serve) with James Rose, National Development Manager for Game4Padel.
1: My first experience of Padel: Playing in La Manga Club, Spain where I was the Director of Tennis Coaching for a number of years. I loved the game straight away and have carried on playing ever since!
2: My club (please tell us all about it): I am now the National Development Manager for Game4Padel so I’m lucky enough to get to play at all their venues across the UK. Most recently I was at the new court at Ipswich Sports Club in Suffolk, which is where I grew up playing tennis. It’s great that they’ve adopted this new sport and fantastic to see so many people giving it a go.
3: What do you love most about the game? It’s very social and fun to play. I was a tennis player, but you don’t have to have any racket experience to play and so it brings in different types of people which I really like.
4: Do you have a regular partner or play in a group? No – I tend to play with lots of different groups and players, young and old, experienced and inexperienced, fit and, um, not so fit!
5: Most fun you have ever had playing Padel? Recently on the PadelMBA clinic held in Edinburgh. We were teaching a group of ten how to coach padel – it was a great training session, where I found out lots about technique and had lots of fun!
6: Longest journey you have travelled to play? I am currently living in Spain, where padel is huge, but working in London and across the UK, so I travel a lot to play padel. Probably the furthest I have been is from Spain to one of our sites in Wales, Windsor Penarth Lawn Tennis Club. It’s the first court to have been opened in Wales and I was lucky enough to play in beautiful sunshine while I was down there.
7: Have you ever been on a Padel holiday? If so, please tell us all about it! Not yet, but definitely something that will be happening more and something I plan to do. In my role at La Manga I saw how popular tennis holidays are and I can really see how the same will eventually apply to padel holidays, once people realise how addictive and fun this sport is.
8: How many times do you play a week? 2/3 times per week, depends on the schedule, more if I can.
9: Favourite shot? Smash!
Watch out for more fun articles from padel lovers right here on The Padel Paper.
