Padel courts are being built in more and greater numbers around South Africa. Padel is starting to gain popularity in Central South Africa and is quickly making its way into South Africa’s mainstream sports landscape. Padel is a Mexican-inspired racket sport, derived from the Spanish word “pádel.” Pickleball uses a plastic ball and a solid bat, not the same as padel, which is a game played outside using a tennis ball and a racket that has holes in it to enable airflow to make it faster.
Chereé Lategan, a founder of the soon-to-be Jubilee Padel Court in Hartswater, said she and her husband Johan fell in love with the sport when visiting their parents in Ballito and realized they had to take on the challenge. “We stay in Hartswater, and I think there is a huge need for something else and excitement. And also because our whole family loves sport.”
But Jubilee Padel didn’t just go on the bandwagon without a little study beforehand. Chereé conducted a survey with 77 participants to find out what they thought about the launching of this sports code in their town. The results showed that 75 individuals believed this would be a terrific idea, giving Chereé the green light to move forward with building the court.
Padel Worx, a new padel court in Bloemfontein that opened its doors at the beginning of April, stated that they want to create a more family-friendly padel court. “We wanted a padel court that the whole family could use; I believe that’s what makes ours special,” the grandparents said of their grandchildren.
