TOP PADEL PLAYERS AT DAVID LLOYD LEISURE UK LAUNCH
Top padel tennis players from the UK and Spain battled it out on court at David Lloyd Chigwell to demonstrate one of the world’s fastest growing sports which has now launched at the club.
The UK’s two highest ranked players, Richard Brooks and Tom Murray, who play on the prestigious Padel Pro Tour (PPT) circuit and Spain’s Dani Dios and Fernando Geijo, who play on the PPT and in Spain’s national league, showed off their world-class skills during an open weekend.
Members and visitors were also given the chance to try out the sport, which is thought to be played by some 10 million people around the world and is hugely popular in Spain and Latin America, where it originates.
David Lloyd Leisure is the first nationwide company to bring padel to the UK market, with the potential to roll out to other clubs.
Europe’s premier health, sports and leisure group has installed three courts at Chigwell where courses for members will be run by an expert team of coaches.
The new facilities are part of a £325,000 investment for David Lloyd Leisure, which predicts that padel will become one of the major sports and fitness trends in 2012 and a great hit with families, all ages and abilities.
A fast-paced game, it is played in doubles, indoors or outdoors, on 20-metre courts – shorter than traditional tennis - with glass panels at each end allowing the ball to bounce off and remain in play. Using a padel bat and a padel ball, the sport also differs from tennis in that the serve is underarm.
For further information, go to www.davidlloyd.co.uk/chigwell
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Note to editors:
For further information about this press release, contact the David Lloyd Leisure press office on 01707 289833 or email press@davidlloyd.co.uk. Padel tasters can be arrange via the press office.
About padel tennis
Padel was invented in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969 by Enrique Corcuera with the aim of stopping balls getting lost.
It differs from paddle tennis, which has its roots in Manhattan.
Padel tennis became very popular among the elite in Mexico before catching on with Spanish royalty. By the early 70s, it had taken off in Madrid and the south of Spain where it was played in popular beach resorts and members’ clubs before spreading to the masses.
To date, in England, there have been only four padel courts open to the public; the Chigwell installation almost doubles facilities.
About David Lloyd Leisure Group
The David Lloyd Leisure Group operates 80 clubs in the UK and a further 10 clubs across Europe.
David Lloyd Leisure has over 450,000 members and employs 6,000 people. This includes an expert health and fitness team of over 1,800 while it contracts the services of more than 400 tennis professionals.
Across all clubs, David Lloyd Leisure has over 150 swimming pools (of which half are indoor) and offers over 10,000 exercise classes per week. Every week 20,000 children learn to swim at David Lloyd Leisure and 14,000 learn to play tennis. Its racquets facilities are unparalleled with 700 tennis courts as well as 180 badminton courts and 140 squash courts. Additional facilities include health and beauty spas, club lounges with free internet access, crèches, nurseries and specialist sports shops.
