Padel tennis is taking off at Chichester racquets club
Closed-doors nature of event did not hamper enjoyment
Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club hosted their first LTA padel event following the recent opening of two padel tennis courts.
The tournament itself was sponsoredbyJBCorriePadelwho provided the prize money and welcomebagsforallcompetitors.
Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions the event had to be played behind closed doors but this did not seem to hamper the event which was played in great spiritandwithmuchexcitement.
Thecourtshadbeeninstalled by JB Corrie Padel.
A total of 32 male and eight female competitors took part in their chosen event.
The men’s event took place overthewholeweekendwiththe semis and finals taking place on the Sunday.
The early rounds proved to beagreatexperienceforall,with many pairing entering an LTA padeleventfortheveryfirsttime.
The men’s final saw the No1 seeds Jose Gaspar and Miquel Mas play No2 seeds Julio Alvaro and Anton Savolainen.
The match was a delight and would have had crowds on their feet throughout had they been able to watch.
The minority who had the privilegetowatchfromtheclub’s outdoor seated hospitality area were fortunate to see such high class padel being played on the new courts.
The ladies’ event took place ontheSundaywithfourpairings playing in a round robin event.
The ladies’ event had three pairscompetingintheirveryfirst padel event.
Overall winners were Michelle Collins and Stephanie Trill, who swapped their tennis rackets for padel for the day.
Club manager Jack Lerwill said:“Whatafantasticweekend!
“The club is extremely proud to have two high quality padel tennis courts provided by JB Corrie Padel and to host an LTA graded event in its first couple of months of play is icing on the cake.
“Thank you to all the participants who took part. “
The padel tennis courts at Chichester R&FC are open to non-members?
Ifyouareinterestedingivinga padel tennis a try, please contact the club reception on 01243 785664 and staff will be delighted to assist.