Padel Revolution for city’s adaptive players
Revolution at Manchester Padel Club
Manchester Padel Club teamed up with the city’s Revolution wheelchair basketball club to launch a new initiative between the two sports.
Initiated by Cheshire Tennis, which works in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the event provided a unique chance for the Manchester Revolution players to discover padel – and for the padel club to find out more about requirements of the adaptive sport.
Revolutions’ wheelchair players were taught the basics of the game and rules by professional coaches, including former world top 10 player Leo Padovani, director of Manchester Padel Club, and club co-founder David Thomas. The players quickly picked it up, challenging themselves on court and demonstrating the inclusive and accessible nature of padel.
The initiative also proved a good opportunity for MPC padel coaches to learn more about adaptive padel in what proved to be a fun day at the Cheadle-based club.
“It was brilliant for the Revolution players to discover padel with professional coaches,” said David Thomas. “They learnt how to adapt to playing in a confined space and the best way of manoeuvring on court. They picked it up so quickly, the standard was really good. It was great to see.
“It was also a great opportunity for our coaches to learn more about adaptive sport from Paralympians [there were two in the Revolution squad] and how the two sports can work together.
“It was fascinating to see the parallels between the open game and the adaptive game and the same need for agility and anticipation in navigating the intricacies of padel (such as the double glass), plus the tactical attacking and defending formations. The Revolution team loved the day so much they’re now booking a regular court to play,” added David.
Our sport lends itself to being adapted in many forms, making it accessible and enjoyable for all.
Jayne Huxley-Grantham, Cheshire Tennis
Manchester Padel Club opened around 18 months ago with the ethos of building a fully-inclusive community where the sport can be accessed by anyone from junior school right up to the higher end of the age spectrum respectively. It has four covered courts, one outdoor court and two smaller TouchPadel courts.
David added: “We’re looking at launching a lot more initiatives in the future, we’ve been growing the club organically and mainly relied on word of mouth, gradually building a really good following of players of all ages and abilities. We’re keen to keep growing our community and generating a buzz about the sport.”
Revolution is an amateur wheelchair basketball team competing against professional teams, with several GB players and Paralympians amongst their ranks. They utilised the padel event to try and raise much-needed funds in their quest to complete at the Euro Cup in Turkey this year.
Cheshire Tennis supported the initiative with the aim of raising awareness about the accessibility of wheelchair padel as a fun and inclusive sport.
Jayne Huxley-Grantham, Cheshire Tennis EDI Chair and Cheshire County EDI Lead, said: “Our sport lends itself to being adapted in many forms making it accessible and enjoyable for all.
“When our ambassador for diversity & inclusion, Paralympian wheelchair basketball player and International Tennis Federation wheelchair tennis player, Robyn Love, accepted our invitation to try wheelchair padel we were delighted. She agreed to arrange for some of her Manchester Revolution team mates to try padel tennis at Manchester Padel Club.
“They picked the game up very quickly. Their movement around the court was amazing and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience, proving that the game is accessible to anyone in a wheelchair or who has limited mobility.
“We hope to host many more such events to encourage wheelchair users or those with limited mobility to try the sport,” added Jayne 🎾
