Latest news with #racket sport
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Hove Beach Park to host padel and racket sport tournament
A Brighton beachside park will host a racket sport festival this week to try and introduce the sport to new Rackets Festival will take place in Hove Beach Park from Monday 21 – Sunday 27 July to promote tennis, padel and pickleball to people in the event comes after the opening of the £13.7m park, which includes tennis and padel courts, and will include visits from tennis star Judy Murray and former Wimbledon doubles champion Jonathan Fulcher, founder of The Progress Tour which is hosting the event, says the event is "bringing together racket enthusiasts as well as the local community in a celebration of sport, community and education". During the week-long festival, racket sport players can take part in tournaments as well as receiving workshops from coaches and experts, including former Fed Cup captain Murray, mother to Grand Slam winners Andy and Jamie event will also feature exhibition matches from pro players alongside music and pop-up food and drinks Beach Park's padel courts opened in December 2024 ahead of the full opening of the park in park was mostly paid for by a £9.5m grant from the government's Levelling Up fund and also features a BMX track, skate park and new café.Padel became one of the largest growing sports in the UK, with more than 30 millions players across the Brighton, more than 1,000 people signed a petition calling for indoor tennis courts not to be replaced with padel courts after plans for more facilities at the Withdean Sports Complex were mooted by Brighton and Hove City Council.
South China Morning Post
19-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Ancient Chinese played football? Ball games popular in China centuries ago
Pickleball is experiencing rapid growth across Asia, gaining popularity in countries including China, Japan and Thailand. Invented in the 1960s by American businessman and politician Joel Pritchard, who went on to become the lieutenant governor of the US state of Washington, pickleball is at once tennis and ping pong, and everything in between. The name of the game has more to do with the 'pickle boat' in the sport of rowing, reflecting its patrician origins, rather than with processed cabbages and cucumbers. In Malaysia, many purpose-built pickleball recreational centres have sprung up, with attached restaurants, cafes and shops, reflecting the social aspect of the sport. Pickleball is a racket sport invented by an American that has become popular in Asia. An entire industry, involving venues, coaches, equipment and apparel, has grown within the last year or so, buoyed by the increasing popularity of the sport. It is even making inroads in schools.
