We are really excited about plans to bring a single pop-up padel court to Wargrave. Our plans have the full support of Wokingham Council and the Wargrave Parish Council, and based on the latest discussions with the suppliers, the court is now due to be delivered to Wargrave w/c 28th April and hopefully it will be installed the following week. This should make the court ready for members to book from mid-May (a couple of weeks later than we had originally hoped). As we prepare for PADEL at Wargrave, here are some answers to common questions that are being asked.
What is Padel?
Padel is short format of tennis that is hugely popular in Europe. It combines elements of tennis and squash and is a doubles game played on a court enclosed by glass walls and wire mesh. The scoring and rules are similar to tennis, but the use of walls allows for unique strategies involving rebound shots.
How will I be able to book the Padel court at Wargrave and how much will it cost to hire?
The initial plan is that only adult members will be able to book the padel court using the ClubSpark online booking system. Using this system, members can book up to 14 days in advance. The cost to book the court will be £20 per hour for peak rates and £10 per hour for off-peak times. This compares to around £40-£60 an hour that is being charged by many commercial padel clubs.
What are the times for peak rate and off-peak padel court bookings?
The peak rate times to book the court (£20 an hour) are on weekdays from 5pm until 10pm, and at the weekends from 8am until 5pm. All other times will be off-peak (£10 an hour). These times will be reviewed once we have a better understanding of how the court is being used.
P = Peak (pink). Green = offpeak.
Can non-members of the Club book the padel court at Wargrave?
The answer is no. The padel court is only for members of Wargrave Tennis Club. However, non-members can play if they are invited as guests and accompanied by a member who has booked the court and have paid the visitors fee.
Will the Club be offering any Padel-Only Memberships?
At this stage, we have decided not to offer any separate padel-only memberships, although this will be reviewed later in the year. The padel court is primarily designed to meet the demand of our existing 200+ adult tennis players and to attract more tennis members who are also interested in playing padel at rates significantly lower than those of commercial padel operators. For those who are keen on only playing padel, we hope that the rates we are charging (both for full membership and court hire charges) make it worthwhile to join.
Is there a waiting list to become a member of Wargrave Tennis Club?
At the moment there isn’t a waiting list to join Wargrave Tennis Club, although this will be reviewed once we reach 250+ adult members. Our current adult membership stands at 198 but we are expecting this to rise quickly following the introduction of padel and our new artificial clay tennis courts.
Will it be easy to book a padel court?
We imagine that there will be a surge of interest when we first introduce the court, but that things will settle down so that most members will be able to book the padel court during the course of a week. And this should be helped by keeping total adult tennis membership to around 250. This still gives us a membership to court ratio that is still far lower than other clubs in the area.
Will members be able to make numerous bookings in a single week?
To ensure that all members can easily access the court, we have agreed to place an initial limit on the number of bookings that a member can make both in a single day (no more than 2 hours per member per day) and in a single week (no more than three bookings per week). This will be reviewed once we have a better understanding of the demand for the new court.
Can members play with their guests?
Yes, members of the Club can invite guests to play and enjoy our facilities at any time of the week. However, guests must be accompanied by the member and they should pay a £5 all-day guest / visitors fee before they start playing on the court using the QR code on posters in the clubhouse (cash payments are not accepted). A guest of a member can play as a visitor up to 4 times in any one year. After this, the guest will be expected to join the Club.
Do I get a refund if I cancel a court?
Yes, if the court is cancelled before 24 hours of the booking, the Club Spark Court Booking System will be able to offer an automatic refund. However, if cancelled within less than 24 hours of the booked time, no refunds will be granted. We encourage members to avoid making too many advanced bookings to avoid this risk and to certainly check the 5-day weather forecast in case heavy rain is expected. We are also aware that if people cancel at the last minute, it will be hard for the court time to be allocated to other members.
Will there be any padel club sessions and how will it work with pickleball tennis?
Our initial plan is to run two combined Padel and Pickleball sessions every week (for up to 20 players). These will be offered on a Thursday evening from 7pm – 10pm and on a Thursday morning from 10am to 12 noon with players using the padel court and three pickleball courts. The session will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis and will give our members, and potential new members, the chance to try out padel on the new padel court (and to play pickleball on the other courts while they are waiting). Given the similarities between both games, we think that these sessions will be fun and popular. Depending on demand, we might look to split the session on a Thursday evening. More details to follow once the court is finally installed.
Will I be able to come and try the court before becoming a member?
Yes, you can come and play as a guest of any existing member and pay the visitor’s fee of £5. Alternatively, potential new members will be able to attend one of the two open club sessions each week (see above), where members will participate in a mix of padel and pickleball over 2-3 hours. More details to follow once the court is finally installed.
Will padel bats and balls be provided by the Club?
Unless it’s an approved Club session, players will be expected to provide their own padel bats and padel balls.
Can Pickleball-Only Members book and play padel?
No, pickleball-only members will not be able to book the padel court. However, they will be able to play on the padel court during the weekly padel / pickleball Club sessions (see above). They can also play padel if they are playing as an accompanied guest of a full adult tennis member and they have paid the £5 visitors fee (see rules for visitors above). There is currently a limit of 40 pickleball-only memberships.
Have you any further questions?
Sorry if we haven’t answered all your questions about padel. For more information or any other questions, please email our membership secretary at membership@wargravetennis.com.
The answers to these questions were last updated and agreed by the Club committee on the 7th April. They will be reviewed again once the padel court is installed and we have a better understanding of how the court is being used by our members and their guests.
