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ALLIED TRADE FEATURE
PADEL TENNIS adel uses the same scoring system as tennis and points are won
through strategy rather than by strength and power. Participants
Pplay the best of three or five sets. In each set, six games must be
won, and in a match, points are counted as follows: 0, 15, 30, 40, and
Padel tennis is a fast-growing sport, game. If the score is 40-40, the team can elect to play advantage or a
golden point.
mainly played in a doubles format on Construction and technical details
an enclosed court surrounded by walls The construction of a padel court, whether totally new on a green
of glass and metallic mesh. The area is field site or over an existing tennis court, constitutes development and
may therefore require formal planning consent to be issued by the
about a third of the size of a standard relevant local authority. The site developer is responsible for obtaining
permission and careful consideration of the area to be used should
tennis court and the glass walls and be given, in relation to the impact of noise on adjacent residential
properties.
fence are used as part of the game,
with the ball being allowed to bounce The internal playing area of the court is 20 x 10m wide, enclosed above
ground with a combination of glass and welded mesh rebound wall
off them, as in a game of squash. and fence panels. These are supported by steel posts fixed to a concrete
foundation, with a synthetic turf play surface. The court is marked with
two service lines and a centre line that crosses over the service line by
10 cm.
The clear, unobstructed height above the playing area is a minimum
of six metres in order to accommodate floodlights attached to the
structure, with a recommendation of 8.0 m for new build facilities. For
out-of-court play, each side of the court must have two central access
points, one on each side. There may not be any obstacles outside the
court within an area of two metres wide, or three metres for competition
purposes.
All padel courts are required to include rebound ends, with fencing. At
the ends of the court, a total height of four metres is required. The first
three metres, from playing surface level, can comprise any transparent
or solid material (glass, bricks etc) which does not affect ball bounce, and
the upper one metre is metal fence (metal weld mesh). The transition
between adjacent mesh and glass internal surfaces should be flush and
neither surface should protrude further than the other, as this will result
in irregular ball rebound.
22 Landscape SA • Issue 114 2022
