One man's quest to bring padel to his home town

When Callum Slater became obsessed with padel while on holiday about 10 years ago, he grew frustrated when he could not find any local courts to play at.

As the years went on and the sport grew in popularity, the 33-year-old from Haverhill in Suffolk would drive about an hour to get his fix of the sport each weekend.

Fed up of having to drive so far, he took matters into his own hands and set about bringing padel to his local town.

After months of graft, his vision has now almost come to life as Haverhill's first courts open to the public on 3 May.

Slater was introduced to the sport in 2016 when holidaying in Spain and said he was "instantly hooked", thanks to the ease of the game and its social aspect.

But he said every time he came back to the UK over the years he could not play as there were very limited courts.

The sport, which is a blend of tennis and squash, started to rapidly grow in popularity in the UK over the past five years.

Research from the Lawn Tennis Association last year shows 860,000 adults and juniors in the country now play the sport, more than double the previous year.

Slater said in 2017 he started to see more courts appearing and by 2023 he was travelling about an hour to Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire to play.

"I was doing that every weekend," the former PE teacher said.

"My friends and family would be travelling an hour each way to play so I knew [Haverhill] would be a prime spot."

Slater said the sport was excellent for all abilities and he believed it was something that could benefit his community.

In 2024 he began looking for a location, which he said was the most challenging part, visiting 15 locations to ensure he got the right spot.

There were also many requirements that had to be met such as obvious space for the courts, a big enough car park and building height requirements on top of planning permission.

The location was eventually settled at the New Croft hub where sports facilities already exist.

With planning permission secured, work began last November, all funded by Slater and his father.

He was "incredibly excited" for the opening of the club, called Padall, and there had been a great reaction from locals.

"So many of our people that have been interested in our WhatsApp group, email and Facebook have never played," he added.

"It's something that's going to be completely new for them.

"I'm really excited to bring a completely new sport and social aspect and all of the positive benefits that brings to Haverhill and the surrounding community as well."

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