Padel is a racquet sport which combines elements of tennis and squash, typically played in doubles on an enclosed court which is slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Much like tennis, the ball is allowed one bounce or zero bounces, however you are allowed to play the ball off the walls (often made of glass). It is played with slightly different balls to tennis, and with smaller but heavier padels.

The sport originated from Mexico in the late 1960s and is considered to be one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.

Pickleball is a racquet sport which is somewhat similar to mini tennis. It is played on a smaller court than tennis and has a slightly different court layout including an area called “kitchen”. Much like tennis the ball is allowed 1 bounce or zero bounces. It is played with a plastic ball that has holes in it, and with smaller pickleball rackets which are similar to those used in Padel. Players can play singles or doubles.

The sport originated from the USA in 1965, and like padel, is experiencing rapid growth both in the UK and globally.

The new site has been designed to maximise the real estate in front of the Tennis Office, much of which was underused, and to reduce the impact on our current tennis offering.

The addition of the two new padel courts (shown in blue below), with the reorientation of the three new pickleball courts (blue/pink), has meant that we will only lose one hard court, Court 20. The remaining court, Court 19, has been reorientated into the same direction as the other hard courts.

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In exactly the same way you currently book tennis and squash courts. Head to the Lensbury app, put the time and court into your basket, and check out.

The new courts will be available to book from Monday 13th of October.

• Court bookings will be marked as attended automatically when members scan to enter the court.
• Please note booking bans will be enforced for all no shows, courts can be cancelled up to 2hrs before booking start time.

All courts will be access controlled – this will apply to all of the roadside courts. You will only be able to access the courts if you are an active member of The Lensbury, by scanning the QR code at each court gate, or as a hotel guest. All member guests must have a valid activity day pass.

The courts will be available to book for one hour at a time from 7am to 10pm. The new courts will be available to book from Monday 13th of October.

Yes there will be a limit of two courts per week, per member, per sport. This will be reviewed after the initial settling in period of the first few months, as we ascertain the popularity of these new facilities. We are anticipating that the courts will be very popular, particularly when first introduced.

We encourage all bookings to be with four people, to maximise the number of people that can use the courts. It is also more fun playing doubles.

Members and hotel guests.

If you would like to bring a guest in to play, you may only do so, in line with the Club Rules. All guests participating in an ‘Activity’, are required to purchase a Guest Pass from Members’ Reception and must be accompanied by the member. Failure to do so may lead to termination of membership.

Yes. Access to all the new facilities is included in your membership of The Lensbury.

Opening times will be 7am-10pm – light permitting.

Due to planning constraints, these padel courts, pickleball courts and Court 19 may only be floodlit during the hours of 9am – 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am – 6pm on Sundays, as required. All floodlights in this section will be set with timers, to ensure these timings are adhered to. Therefore during winter, court opening times will gradually be moved back to 9am, in line with sunrise.

Basic equipment will be available to hire, but members are encouraged to purchase your own padels, paddles and balls. A limited selection of equipment will be available to purchase at Members’ Reception.

Yes, all competitions and events will be run through Matchspace, The Lensbury’s Racquets App. All social and intro sessions will be bookable via the Lensbury App.

For the first few weeks, we will be running:

Adult Intro to padel – how to play the game, basic rules, tactics and techniques.

Tuesday 11am to 12pm
Friday 5pm to 6pm

Adult Social padel & pickleball – All levels welcome for relaxed mix in session.

Monday 9am to 11am
Wednesday 1pm to 3pm
Thursday 6pm to 8pm
Saturday 1pm to 3pm

Longer term club competitive events will be introduced.

Yes we have qualified padel coaches at the club and we will run a coaching programme for both adults and juniors. We hope to have a qualified pickleball coach in due course. We will communicate more about these offerings during the launch period.

Potentially – let us see how these new courts are received. Please note, it took over two years to get approval from Richmond Council for these new courts.

Yes – there will be complimentary introduction sessions in the first few weeks, to ensure as many members as possible get the opportunity to try these new sports.

Please join Matchspace, The Lensbury’s racquets app, available for all of our racquet sports. This will enable you to join competitions, events, receive racquet updates and connect with other members looking for a game. Alternatively, please attend the social events to meet fellow players, spaces will be limited so please book in advance.

Our initial priority is for our members and hotel guests to get access to these facilities; we will then look at other corporate opportunities in due course.
One of the planning conditions attached to Richmond Council’s approval for this project is a Community Use Agreement, which necessitates that The Lensbury gives:

• Public access to three roadside tennis courts and both padel courts four times per year on weekends between October and April 1pm – 8pm
• Access to schools within the Richmond Borough to two roadside tennis courts between 11:30 – 3:15pm on weekdays during term time (preference given to state schools).

• All court usage during these times will be charged, at prevailing Council-run rates.

Further details will be shared by The Lensbury regarding the public access once the project has been completed. If anyone knows of a school within the Richmond borough that might be interested in the term time weekday access to the two roadside tennis courts, please contact tennis.manager@lensbury.com.

If you have any further questions, please contact:

Adam Liszka

Racquets Manager

Tennis.manager@lensbury.com