Six brand-new rooftop padel courts at the Mall of Africa in Waterfall City, Johannesburg, will be constructed by Attacq Limited and Balwin Padel, a branch of Balwin Properties.
There will be four covered courts, so matches can take place in any kind of weather. The first Balwin Padel Club, which will provide players with locker and shower facilities, will also be located at this location.
September 2024 will see the six padel courts go up for use as part of a competition offering R200,000 in prize money. From mid-July to the end of August, there will be a soft opening.
By early 2025, Balwin Padel will have 21 courts total, including the six at Mall of Africa, in addition to its current five courts in Johannesburg and the Western Cape.
In addition, Balwin’s Munyaka in Waterfall City, Izinga Smart City in Durban, and Mooikloof in Pretoria will also open new padel courts. By the end of April, the Thaba Eco Lifestyle Estate in Johannesburg South will have six courts instead of only two.
The CEO of Balwin, Steve Brookes, stated, “This is the first time we’ve expanded the Balwin Padel brand outside of our Lifestyle Centers, and we’re excited to capture some of the millions of devoted shoppers that Mall of Africa already attracts each month while adding to the huge shopping and entertainment diversity the mall already offers.”
When it comes to both visits and mall durations (counting per visiting vehicle), Attacq’s Mall of Africa is the busiest mall in South Africa.
The construction of the six padel courts at Mall of Africa will be financed by a group of individual investors.
With more than 25 million players in more than 90 countries, padel—a hybrid of badminton, squash, and tennis—is the sport with the fastest rate of growth in the world.
With Playtomic, there are over 100,000 padel players in South Africa, and the new courts are designed to accommodate the increasing demand.
There are 400 padel courts in South Africa at the moment, but according to Sebastian Brokmann, Chief of Padel at Balwin, there may be as many as 2,500.
