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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Oliver King

What is Padel? Alexander Reedtz reveals all following opening of Notts County facility

The courts at Nottingham's Padel Centre situated next to Meadow Lane are now available to book with affordable prices on offer for the people of Nottingham.

The four-court, all-weather facility was opened in November by Magpies owners Alexander and Christoffer Reedtz and was met with a very encouraging response as over 400 people took advantage of the chance to play for free.

Prices from the beginning of February have been set at levels to reflect the continuing uncertain weather conditions and we have been very encouraged by the number of players who have returned.

READ MORE: Notts County boss explains 'difficult' decision from Bromley draw

In recognition of the possibility that bad weather may dissuade players from following through with their bookings, the club has reduced the free cancellation period to one hour.

But what is Padel? The game is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing sports across the world, with a reported 150 courts in the UK set to expand to over 500 by the end of the year.

"It's a mix between tennis and squash," explained Alexander. "The court is a little bit smaller than a singles tennis court, it is the same net and scoring system as tennis - the balls are pretty similar and you play with a small bat with no strings.

"But the big difference from tennis is that you have glass walls that surround the court so you can hit the ball off the glass and that is where you have the squash element - it means you get longer rallies and I think that is why it has become so popular.

"It's certainly growing fast in a lot of European countries, it's a huge sport in Spain and the second biggest I believe behind football - and it's pretty big in South America as well and in Denmark where I am from, it has taken off in the last couple of years."

The sport has increased significantly in recent years despite being first played in 1969, with several football clubs across the country accommodating room for the facilities at their training grounds.

Reedtz further explained the rapid growth of the sport, explaining that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is also a big fan of the game.

"I think more players and coaches are getting involved, I believe that some of the top players have installed courts in their private houses and big clubs have that facility because the managers like playing - I think Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of the sport.

"It is my impression that a lot of former football players like to play as well and for some reason, it is particularly popular within football and hopefully some of our players at Notts County will enjoy having a game as well."

The courts opened in November last year allowing the people of Nottingham to try the sport free of charge at the Meadow Lane facility.

It hopes to generate extra income for the club moving forward, with keen participants able to book a court from as little as £12 during off-peak hours - with Reedtz on hand to explain how the incentive has gone down within the local community during its first months of opening.

"It's been great so far, we have had a lot of bookings, and from what I have heard the feedback has been very positive and people are really enjoying it.

"Obviously it's completely new and these are the first padel courts in Nottingham, so it takes a bit of time but people will get used to it and learn the game, but it is a really easy game to pick up so I think that makes it a popular thing that will attract a lot of different people.

"We have had a good start, we had a couple of months with introductory court bookings to get people to try it - and in the winter months we had a really cold winter but there were still people showing up and whenever I passed by, there was always people on all the courts."

With plenty of willing participants at the football club, Reedtz was asked whether he is yet to take on his brother Christoffer at Padel, giving a quietly confident prediction as to who would win the match between the pair.

"We haven't played that much against each other, we have played with each other a couple of times but we will have to do an internal match at Notts County with some of the people there.

"I have probably played more so I should win!"

All the information about the Nottingham Padel Centre and how to book is available here.

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