As a follow-up to our annual membership meeting in November, we are running a 2 week online EGM, with members voting on two resolutions that, if approved, would see padel tennis and two more artificial clay courts installed at Wargrave this coming April.
Our initial plans for padel would see the installation of a single padel court (like the images below) on one of our existing eight tennis courts. Members could then book the court for between £10 and £20 an hour, compared to the £40-£60 per hour that is being charged by most commercial padel operators.
Padel is an incredibly popular short tennis format that is played on a small court with tempered glass walls. In the recent annual membership survey, nearly 70% of members favoured the idea, with only 6% against it. In a separate survey, over 90% of non-members said they would join the Club if we introduced this exciting new tennis format.
For the second EGM resolution, the plan is to resurface a further two hard tennis courts with a modern all-weather artificial clay surface, similar to the artificial clay that we introduced in 2024 on courts 1 and 2. This would provide members with 4 artificial clay courts for times when we are running club sessions or for matches, with three hard courts for the minority of members who prefer this surface.
The final results of the EGM voting will be announced on the 21st January, and if members vote in favour, we will move ahead with plans to see the courts ready for the start of the new season from 1st April.
