Eighteen months ago, Bishopdale Tennis Club head coach Gareth Robb and finance professional Paul Morris didn’t know each other. Now they are six weeks away from opening what is set to be the first padel court in the South Island.
A cross between tennis and squash, padel is played in doubles. The small walled courts allow for longer rallies, giving it an addictive nature.
Padel was created in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera in 1969, the same year the Bishopdale Tennis Club was founded half a world away.
Despite being a new sport in New Zealand, padel is popular in Europe and South America with an estimated 30 million players worldwide.
Morris first played padel when he was living in Switzerland seven years ago.
"It’s a real easy sport to get addicted to," Morris said.
In contrast, Robb has only played three times, first encountering padel during a trip to Auckland in 2023 after a friend came back from overseas "raving about it".
"We had three tennis players and a golfer playing and we all left frothing about it, just thinking what an amazing sport.
"So we sat around the café thinking about how do we make this happen."
The two were put in touch with each other after they approached Padel New Zealand about South Island court prospects.
Said Morris: "We just really wanted to get the sport moving here."
The pair decided to personally finance the project.
The court will be open to the community, not just club members, with a fixed hourly rate and racket rental.
Players can book the court through an app or join ‘open games’ with other players.
Morris’ wife Madeleine said "it’s really quick and easy to pick up, but equally to get really good is a challenge, so I think it speaks to a wide range of people".
Morris said there is a nice social factor to the game too: "It’s like playing golf, you can end up with four different people that you don’t know."
With Wilding Park set to use the same app, Robb hopes inter-club activities and tournaments won’t be far away.
The pair are also keen to get the sport into Christchurch schools and in the club’s holiday programmes so kids can "carry the sport through and grow it".
