A padel club is set to open on the Greenwich Peninsula, bringing the fast-growing racquet sport to the Design District area.

Padel Social Club, which already runs a centre at Earls Court, has applied to Greenwich Council to build two courts next to North Greenwich station.

Former tennis champions Roger Federer, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova are big backers of padel, which is played on a smaller court and uses as smaller, lighter ball. 

But while the doubles sport has grown in popularity across Europe in recent years, there are few places to play padel in London.

Padel Social Club plans to build two open-air courts at the Design District with a “social zone” built from old shipping containers. The courts would be floodlit in the evenings. 

The courts would be lit up each evening. Credit: Zap Architecture

Cricket netting will also be put in place to stop balls flying out into the road, with the courts sitting next to the entrance to North Greenwich bus station.

Full details of the application can be found on the Greenwich Council planning website.