Padel at The West Side: The Sport Everyone Is Talking About

There's a new sound at The West Side Tennis Club this summer. It's the pop of a padel ball off a glass wall, usually accompanied by laughter and house music drifting across the grounds. The club's new padel court has been open since May, and members love it.

Marnie Perez-Ochoa, a West Side member and board advocate who spent years pushing to bring the court to life, has watched it take off. Andrew Herring, a padel enthusiast and longtime collaborator who helped bring the sport to other clubs across the country, helped make the case for why it was the right fit here.

A Game Anyone Can Play

Padel is a racket sport played on an enclosed court with glass walls and a turf surface. There are around a thousand courts in the United States, but that number is growing fast—and so is the community around the game.

Part of the appeal is that anyone can play.

"It's super easy to pick up for all levels," Andrew shares. "There's no serving overhand. All levels can play, which makes it really fun."

The enclosed court also changes the physical experience. Because the ball can come off the glass walls, points last longer without needing the same lateral movement as tennis.

The turf surface helps, too. "The movements are very fluid, so you don't find yourself herky-jerky," Andrew explains. "You're not having the same impact you might on a hard court."

Tennis Players, Meet Your New Favorite Sport

Tennis players take to it quickly.

"It's a lot of converted tennis players," Andrew notes, adding that they’re“more willing to adopt padel than some of the other racket sports. There's a lot more overlap and natural progression."

He says it’s exciting to feel like a beginner again. "My ceiling is still so high in padel. That ability to learn something new and experience true growth in a sport is really rare. I'm making material gains in my 30s when I feel like I'm deteriorating in other things," he laughs.

After years of tennis, padel gave Marnie something different. "I just feel so stimulated mentally. You have so many options. You have to think about a new strategy." She says, "I think people starting to fall in love with it is nice to see."

The Court Has a Culture of Its Own

"You see people going out and just hanging out by the court, not even playing," Andrew says. "The people on court are having a great time, and so are the ones watching."

"There's always music going, house music type. It almost feels like you're not in New York," Marnie added. ”You kind of feel like you're in Miami sometimes."

Padel also has a social dimension built into its structure. The game always has four players, which means showing up is already half the work of building a group. That built-in requirement for company has made it a nice social addition to the club and an easy way for newer members to find their footing.

What the Program Looks Like at The West Side

The court opened to member booking in May, with clinics layered in starting June 1st. The pro staff, including the director of racquets, runs several clinics a week, and events are scheduled throughout the summer.

"We wanted to be intentional about how we rolled it out this year," Marnie says. The court is a real, regulation surface — portable, but built to play like a permanent installation.

For Marnie, it’s been a universal experience. Padel players have different ages and athletic backgrounds, but they all seem to leave wanting more.

"You've just got to try it to believe it," she said.

The best way to do that is to come see the club for yourself.