By Hamzah Amir Ahmed

Glasgow Life, the city’s charitable organisation that delivers sport on behalf of the council, have plans to change two of Scotstoun’s eight indoor tennis courts into facilities for padel.

Scotstoun currently hosts two ATP tennis events each year which usually takes place in February and October. However, should the padel plans go ahead, Blane Dodds, Tennis Scotland’s Chief executive, has said that the two events would no longer be able to held in Glasgow as all eight courts are required for practice and official matches.

The plans to develop padel in Glasgow has been met with positivity, however some in Glasgow believe that it shouldn’t be at the cost of the existing tennis courts.

Andy Brown, not only a member of a tennis club in Glasgow but has also played at various other courts around the city, he says that it would hurt the sport if they remove the current indoor courts.

He said: “Padel is a great sport but they need to create new courts, not replace existing tennis courts, that will only be detrimental to tennis.”

Another tennis enthusiast who expressed his thoughts on the situation is Andy McLay. Andy is not only a member of Queen’s Park Tennis Club but has won Titwood Lawn Tennis Club champions twice. He takes a different approach and suggests that padel is good for the younger generation.

He said: “Padel is brilliant and will grow. Scotstoun was very over priced for tennis anyway. Mind you they will do likewise with padel. For councils to role out the sport they inevitably will replace indoor tennis courts, which isn’t great, but is great in particular for young folk getting started.“

Instead of criticising or praising the situation, Bishopbriggs Tennis Club member, Barry Greenan, questioned whether or not the outdoor facilities at Scotstoun are better suited for padel.

He said: “Their indoor courts are popular and they often hold Glasgow’s biggest tennis events so I’m surprised. The outdoor courts are barely used, I’m surprised they are not converting that space instead.“

Although there are a wide array of opinions, the biggest benefit that comes from this is getting young people away from screens and onto a court. Sam Hackney fitness coach at the University of the West of Scotland gym speaks to the importance of getting the youth involved in sports.

Padel has quickly became one of the most popular sports in the world especially in the UK. At the end of 2024, the Lawn Tennis Association Padel (LTA) reported that over 400,000 adults and young people in the country are playing the sport. As of February this year, the LTA have invested over £6 million in growing the sport.