Bristol hosts first national schools padel tournament

The first-ever nationwide schools tournament for padel is taking place in Bristol.

More than 21 teams gathered to play at Rocket Padel in St Anne’s – the largest venue in the UK – for the UK Padel Schools Championships on Sunday.

The event was sponsored by investment company Evelyn partners, allowing pupils from UK secondary schools to participate for free.

Stuart, a student from Millfield Preparatory School in Glastonbury said it’s a “great sport for all ages and skill abilities”.

Padel is a mix between tennis and squash played on a court one-third the size of a tennis court.

The sport has had a surge in popularity over the past couple of years with the number of courts nationally going from around 50 to over 350.

“It is both quick and easy to pick up,” said Stuart.

“Most players get the basics within the first half an hour of playing so that they can enjoy the game.

“Padel is not as dominated by strength, technique and serve as it happens in tennis and therefore is an ideal game for men, women and youth to compete together.”

A schools alumni event was also held at Rocket Padel earlier, where seasoned padel enthusiasts were able to take to the court and support their old schools.

The tournament was split into girls, boys and mixed competition.

Schools from all around the country entered the tournament and Peter Power, Head of racquet sports at Whitgift School in Croydon, said they were “delighted to be involved.”

“It’s a great opportunity for the Pupils to try padel where they can use transferable skills from other sports like Tennis and Squash,” he said.