Probably the most anticipated event of the Club’s sporting calendar, the Padel Championships, is taking place soon, on Saturday and Sunday 14/15 September. Six categories (Open and Over 50s for Men’s, Ladies’ and Mixed) will be disputed between a wide array of members with participant numbers up once again, breaking last year’s previous record. Those who managed to progress through the preliminary rounds in May get the opportunity to prove themselves against the seeded pairings, who automatically progressed to the knockout stages of the finals weekend.

The great thing about being a padel spectator is how close one gets to the action, and the finals weekend will be just that: up close and personal! There will be a barbecue available for all to enjoy and the event is extremely dog friendly!

SAVERIO CAMPIONE, CHAIR, PADEL

Friday 5 July marked the occasion for the first-ever Padel Challenge for Hurlingham vs Hampton Court Royal Tennis Club, where both teams competed for the inaugural trophy. Hurlingham was represented by David Main, Max Spiegelberg, Nick Fallowfield, Mike Tremayne, Ben Simonds-Gooding and our high-flying Chair of padel, Saverio Campione. In a match between the three pairs RTC, led by their world-class real tennis professional, Nick Wood, narrowly edged a win by 6-3. The match was played in wonderful spirit and produced some high calibre padel, with all matches going to the wire. After the game, both teams enjoyed some well-earned refreshment together.

Should anyone fancy an introduction to real tennis Nick, and his team at Hampton Court Palace, run regular taster sessions. The Palace door is always open.

Padel continues to thrive at Hurlingham and all are encouraged to visit the website for details of how to get involved.

BEN SIMONDS-GOODING

Ladies’ squash is on the way up at Hurlingham with coach, Kace Bartley, organising monthly training sessions for all lady members wishing to try out the game. All standards, from beginner to intermediate, are welcome and racquets are available to borrow if you don’t have one (yet!). Apart from being good fun and a chance to meet up with other members, it is a great cardiovascular workout, and it is reasonably easy to pick up the basics of the game. Kace is on hand at the sessions to give coaching advice, as well as making sure the ladies are paired up to enjoy some evenly matched games.

In the coming season, we are organising several friendly matches (as well as competitive league matches) for Hurlingham Ladies to play against ladies’ teams from other London clubs, usually on a weekday evening. These evenings often end with a sociable wind-down drink in the bar. Hurlingham is one of the few clubs in London to have a doubles squash court (four feet wider than a singles court), adding a further opportunity to enjoy the game in slightly different surroundings!

As squash is being promoted to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028, an uptick in participation across the UK is anticipated. Whilst our sights are not quite trained on the dizzy heights of Team GB selection, we have the facilities and coaching expertise to give it a go!

PAUL LUBBOCK, CHAIR, SQUASH