New indoor padel centre to open in Shrewsbury

Henley Padel is set to open in June at the town's Battlefield Enterprise Park. Shropshire couple Luke Henley and Shey Recalde, who are behind the venture, are excited to be introducing a new venue to the county for padel, a fast-paced racket sport.

Combining elements of tennis and squash, padel is mainly played as doubles on an enclosed court, with a net dividing both sides, and walls surrounding it, which you can play the ball off.

“This will be Shrewsbury's first indoor padel centre," said Luke, a regular member of the Shropshire county tennis side for a number of years, who also owns Henley Rackets, an established racket restringing service.

"Padel has strong links to tennis, so I've been aware of it for a while. It's become more prominent globally in recent years, and the boom in the UK over the last two or three years has been prolific.

"It's great fun to play. You can be a relative novice and find it entertaining, addictive, and you will want to come back and have another go with your friends, with your family. It's also a great way to make new friends as well.”

Shey, who moved to Shrewsbury from her home city of Barcelona eight years ago and who also runs the dog grooming studio Casa Blue, added: “Padel is very big in Spain and it’s a very sociable sport.

"People like to play padel in Spain before going to work, so you can play at 6am, 7am, have a shower, grab a coffee, all in one place, and then go off to work.

“You will be able to book a court to play a game with people you may not know through the Playtomic app, so it's a great way of making new friends.”

Henley Padel, in Knights Way, will be a pay and play facility with no membership required to book a court, with Luke and Shey keen to provide the opportunity for as many people as possible to experience the sport.

It will feature two indoor padel courts, as well as changing rooms and an area for players to socialise and enjoy a coffee.

"We first came up with the vision, the dream, over a year ago," said Luke. "It took a while to find the right site to be able to provide what we want to offer the local community and also people around the county.

“This is an ideal location as it's easily accessible from the local main roads and has car parking. It has the space we need for courts, changing rooms and everything else we want, including the social element. The height of the building is also fantastic, which is very important in padel.”

Shey added: “We can see how excited people are, who have heard about Henley Padel. We can imagine them coming to play and enjoying it. That's motivating us to open as soon as possible.”

You can follow Henley Padel’s Instagram page for the latest news ahead of the official opening.