Plans approved for three padel courts

Padel is an increasingly popular sport that combines aspects of squash and tennis

Padel courts are set to be built at a Wolverhampton tennis club.

The burgeoning sport, which is a mix of squash and tennis, was invented in Mexico in the late 1960s and counts David Beckham and Serena Williams amongst its fans.

Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club will install three new padel courts at its site in Newbridge Crescent.

Two existing grass tennis courts will be replaced with the three new roofed courts, as part of plans approved by City of Wolverhampton Council.

Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club will replace two grass tennis courts with the new padel courts

Padel is played in doubles on an enclosed court, which is about a third the size of a tennis court and uses the same scoring system.

Players use solid, stringless rackets to hit a ball over a net and the ball can bounce off the walls, like in squash.

A report by the council's planning officers, who approved the work, said the chosen location was acceptable and no objections had been received from Sport England or The Lawn Tennis Association.

It added that the padel courts and associated infrastructure would be visible from nearby residential properties, but any "visual impact" would not be "unacceptably harmful".

As of the end of 2023, there were over 500 padel courts in the UK. The number of courts grew from 50 in 2019 to 350 in summer 2023.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.