History Made at the Inaugural Dorset County Padel Championships
History was made at the weekend with the inaugural Dorset County Padel Championships which exceeded all expectations, a huge success.
With the number of entries and the standard of play both impressive, it’s hard to believe that, until November 2023, Dorset had only one Padel court at The West Hants Club, installed just over six years ago. The recent additions of two courts at David Lloyd Poole in November 2023 and three at East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in July 2024 have quickly transformed the local Padel scene.
It was fantastic to see so many juniors and adults, some who had played very little, enter the tournament. The unexpected large turnout of spectators created a brilliant atmosphere, and perfect weather throughout the weekend, made the event even more memorable.
Dorset has truly set the standard, with 84 entries—the largest number for a Padel County Championship in the UK to date, a remarkable feat for such a small county.
A huge thank you to East Dorset LTCC for hosting the event and making everyone feel so welcome, to our event sponsor MDG Sports, all those who helped promote the event, the supervisors, and all the players and spectators who contributed to its success.
Special recognition goes to Karen Adams of East Dorset LTCC, who worked tirelessly to ensure everything ran smoothly, and to our brilliant Tournament Referee, David Walrond, for managing yet another fantastic County Championships in just one month—they take a huge amount of time to organise with long days, thank you.
Huge congratulations to all the winners and runners-up who were presented with trophies and medals by Tournament Referee, David Walrond.
14U Boys
Winners : Josh & Mohammed
Runners-Up : Jack & Elliot
18U Boys
Winners : Josh & Logan
Runners-Up : Lewis & Olivier
Men’s Doubles
Winners : James Whike & Kevin Wrigley
Runners-Up : Nick Macey & Logan Macey
Ladies Doubles
Winners : Hannah Richards & Anna Sharp
Runners-Up : Rachael Springford & Fleur Woodall
See all results here
Padel is a form of tennis that is easy to play, is great fun and extremely sociable. It is played mainly in a doubles format on an enclosed court about a third of the size of a tennis court and can be played in groups of mixed ages and abilities. The rules are much the same as tennis although the serve is underhand and the walls are used as part of the game.
Because it’s always played as doubles, it’s a really social activity, it's easy to play for all ages and abilities and is ideal for families and friends.
There are now over 450 Padel courts in the UK.
Padel Courts in Dorset
- The West Hants Club - the first club to introduce Padel in Dorset in May 2018. One outdoor court for members of the club. Find out more here
- David Lloyd Club Poole - two outdoor courts opened in November 2023 for members of the club. Find out more here
- East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club - three outdoor courts opened 1st July 2024 for members and non-members of the club on a pay and play basis. Find out more here
Venues thinking about installing Padel courts, see 'Find out more' below for where to find out more information on funding, court installation etc.
Full list of Padel venues, click here.
Find out more
Find out more about Padel Tennis including courts, installation and funding options, coaching and workforce, competitions and monthly newsletters where you will find case studies on venues which have installed Padel courts and the benefits they have bought here.
Padel Guidance Note
A Guidance Note which provides some general guidance on how to plan, build and operate padel courts can be found here.
Competition and LTA Padel Rankings
Find out more about the LTA Padel Tour and GB Seniors Tour tournament here.
LTA Padel Rankings
Click here. For Dorset Padel rankings, use the Filter.
Officiating in Padel
Existing tennis referees can do a free one-hour LTA Padel Referee Conversion Course. If you are an LTA Licensed Official and would like to upskill and learn more about Padel Officiating, you can complete the LTA Padel Referee Conversion Course here.
Padel Volunteer Community
A Facebook community group for anyone who contributes or volunteers within a Padel venue.
It is a friendly, safe and open platform to share ideas, knowledge and best practice and to ask and answer questions relating to the running of Padel activities/venues. The community is managed by a team of volunteer moderators.
