London 2012 tennis courts saved in padel U-turn

Tennis players welcomed the decision to halt plans to convert the courts to padel

Plans to replace tennis courts built for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with padel courts have been shelved following a backlash.

The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), which runs the centre, said it "should have engaged with key groups before considering the padel proposal".

The proposed plan was to turn four indoor tennis courts at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in north-east London into nine courts for the emerging racquet sport - which is a blend of tennis and squash.

Sinjon Vedi, who was among the centre's users campaigning against the conversion, welcomed the authority's U-turn but said it has not been "taken off the table" entirely.

He said a petition against the move had been signed by more than 2,000 people.

The LVRPA decided to halt the padel court plans at a meeting of its executive committee on Thursday.

A spokesperson said: "Given the huge growth of padel and the health and wellbeing opportunities it brings to a wider community – all consistent with the authority's statutory remit – the committee has agreed to step back and carry out a more detailed assessment of options for padel and tennis as part of a wider review of future investment on the site."

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) says padel has 400,000 players across the UK

They said that the assessment will "take a strategic look at facilities on the Eton Manor site, be underpinned by the need to have regional appeal and commercial viability and involve engagement with people who use the venue and other interested parties".

"Tennis and padel will be fully considered as part of the review," the spokesperson added.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the governing body for both padel in Britain, said that the sport now has 400,000 players.

The body said there are about 900 courts across 300 venues, but with increasing popularity this does not meet demand.

However, the LTA had opposed the LVPRA's plans to repurpose the tennis courts, arguing it had invested in the centre's "legacy" of the Olympics.

Reacting to Thursday's decision, Mr Vedi who helped lead the opposition to save the tennis courts, said: "Whilst campaigners are disappointed that this meeting did not completely take the repurposing of the indoor tennis hall 'off the table', they accept that this was more of a hope than an expectation."

He said campaigners would continue to work to preserve "legacy for current and future generations of tennis players - hopefully to be joined by padel players".