Padel tennis is the new sport in Secunda

The family-friendly sport of padel has taken the world by storm and is rapidly growing.

SA has 200 000 padel players and 900 courts, three in Secunda. They can be found when driving past the Action Sports entrance to Umuzi South Bank, past Pypenanzi’s restaurant and taking the next right turn.

Padel is well established internationally, and SA is following rapidly, sending its first pair of international padel players on tour in March.

A handful of professional players in SA are making a living from playing Padel, while coaches make life-changing incomes by coaching this new sport.

Net Set Padel is paving the way in Secunda by being the first court in the region. It is open to the community seven days weekly.

The minimum skill level for Padel is that anyone with ball sense, or even none at all, can transition into playing padel and enjoy it as a family activity, a relaxing time with friends or a competitive sport in a league.

The first league matches began last September, starting with group stage matches, four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the championship match on January 28.

The final round saw two Secunda players, Renier Louwrens and Maree Verhoef, beat the two best players in the region, Zaheer Casoo and Mini Casoo (father and son) from Bethal, in a tense match under lights. The final score was 6-4, 7-5 in favour of Louwrens and Verhoef.

This sport is for everyone, including children, and you need no tennis or squash background. People from all walks of life have taken up Padel as a hobby, a weight loss activity, to pursue in the long term or merely a recreational fun activity to get to know people.

The sport can be enjoyed as a group, a community club, an individual, a fitness journey or just for fun.

To book, visit the Playtomic app under the Net Set Secunda Club or book at the club.

To get to the club, follow the road from Charlie 1 towards town, turn left before Builders Warehouse, continue to the four-way stop and turn right. The courts will be on your right-hand side.

For more information, call Louwrens on 084 200 1963.