Padel: 'I want to play the sport but I can't afford it'

A shorter racket, a smaller tribunal and an underarm serve.

Padel tennis is 1 of nan fastest-growing sports successful nan world, acknowledgment to its basal accomplishment level and societal nature.

As request grows, nan number of venues isn't going up, but nan costs of playing is.

According to nan Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), location are presently astir 800 padel courts successful Britain, but complete 400,000 players.

Research by Ray Algar, an master connected nan economics of athletics and exercise, shows that nan mean off-peak tribunal prosecute successful nan UK is astir £30, but highest clip prices tin scope £80 astatine immoderate venues.

Rosie Hepworth sewage into padel astir a twelvemonth agone aft seeing nan athletics connected societal media.

The emergence of nan racquet athletics - usually played successful doubles connected an enclosed tribunal wherever balls tin beryllium played disconnected nan walls - has been helped by influencers and personage players specified arsenic Stormzy.

But that fame has driven up nan value for players specified arsenic Rosie.

"I can't spend to play regularly," she tells BBC Newsbeat. "It decidedly slows down really overmuch I tin improve."

The trainee accountant only gets connected nan courts each fewer weeks and says her fund intends she spends an mean of £30 a period connected padel, but has spent up to £70 before.

"If I person different financial commitments, past I mightiness return a period off," she says.

When Rosie's friends could nary longer spend nan precocious cost, she started playing successful a convention pinch strangers arsenic a 3rd aliases 4th player.

She says these unfastened matches activity retired cheaper, and summation nan number of disposable games.

"In cardinal London, it's difficult to find a tribunal that is free," she says.

"They are truthful booked up that you person to book astatine slightest a week successful advance."

Rosie cycles up to 50 minutes distant from her location to courts that are almost half nan value and quieter astatine highest times.

"I find it frustrating to person to recreation truthful acold for affordable courts," nan 24-year-old says.

"But it's conscionable astir worthy it because it's go a hobby I really enjoy."

Student Barnaby Stephenson took up nan athletics astir 2 years agone and helped to recovered nan University of Edinburgh's first padel club.

The 21-year-old says nan metropolis has less courts than others and getting to and from practices intends a two-hour round-trip, which he describes arsenic a "struggle".

Barnaby's nine had provided free balls and rackets to caller members and charged conscionable £2 per session, but nan nine had to extremity offering societal memberships owed to "unprecedented demand".

Barnaby wants to spot much grassroots finance successful authorities schools and nationalist parks to make nan athletics much accessible.

"There needs to beryllium much unit and attraction connected processing padel successful each community, alternatively than concentrating connected middle-class areas," he says.

The BBC asked each of nan section councils successful nan UK if they had put money into providing padel facilities.

Of nan 330 that responded, only 3 said that they had.

While nan LTA has spent much than £6m connected nan sport, this only accounts for 10% of each padel courts nationwide.

Many of nan remainder are independently owned, driving up booking costs and expanding nan number of backstage members' clubs.

We besides tracked wherever courts were located crossed Britain utilizing information from The Padel Directory, and recovered that astir were successful nan wealthiest areas, pinch nan highest numbers successful nan southbound of England.

In different countries it's a very different picture.

"We're 1 of nan past nations successful Europe to drawback this padel wave," says Tom Murray, nan LTA's caput of padel.

As nan organisation that looks aft padel successful nan UK, nan LTA has launched a caller five-year strategy that intends to activity pinch section authorities to build much courts.

It hopes to summation accessibility arsenic different countries person done.

"In Spain it started arsenic that premium elitist sport, but now it's acold from it - it's 2nd to shot successful position of participation."

Madrid will big this year's Euro Padel Cup successful July - pinch a grounds 40 nations taking part.

It's an arena Team GB players Catherine Rose and Nikhil Mohindra are training for.

British number 2 Catherine began playing 3 years agone and recalls "driving astir nan country" to find opponents.

It was a different communicative for Nikhil, who says he was fortunate capable to person a friend adjacent he could practise with.

"I don't cognize really I would've played otherwise," nan 22-year-old says.

Both want to boost participation. Catherine says location are less female players successful nan UK, and Nikhil thinks efforts could beryllium made to amended diversity.

He says he's seen really divers nan athletics tin beryllium during his visits to India arsenic a padel ambassador.

"When I spell there, I spot courts being utilized 24 hours a time by everyone," he says.

"Anyone from immoderate inheritance tin play - it's astir opening up much courts successful taste number areas."

Tanaya Lai, who began playing tennis astatine 4 years old, says she's utilized to being "surrounded by achromatic people".

It's thing she's noticed since joining nan University of Plymouth's padel team, but doesn't spot it arsenic a barrier.

"I americium happy to beryllium an Asian female successful sport," she says.

"Asian women request to cognize that they aren't excluded from these spaces and they tin subordinate if they want to."

However, nan 22-year-old does deliberation that location are different obstacles.

"It's viewed arsenic a posh, much upper-class athletics because of really costly courts are," she says. "There request to beryllium much nationalist and cheaper courts."

Like Rosie and Barnaby, Tanaya cannot spend to play padel arsenic regularly arsenic she would for illustration and feels it has hindered her progress.

"I only really play convention matches because it is costly to conscionable book a tribunal and play for an hr aliases two," she explains.

"Otherwise I'd beryllium capable to play more."