Bad Soden Tennis Club Hessen champion in padel tennis

Last weekend, the men’s 40 team from TC Blau-Weiß Bad Soden won the Hesse Padel Championships, which were held for the first time by the Hessian Tennis Association.

The team, whose core otherwise plays “classic” tennis in the Hessenliga, was rewarded for their foray into padel sports and brought the cup to Bad Soden after a dominant 4-0 win in the Hessen final against SG Niederwalgern.

Padel is a variant of tennis that is played within boundary walls, similar to squash, which can also be used by the players. However, like tennis, there are two halves of the game separated by a net. Special plastic bats and balls with lower pressure are used. Finally, padel is played exclusively in doubles, even with two players on a team. The result is a fast and action-packed game in which precision and overview are more important than hitting hardness.

The Hessian Tennis Association organized a padel team championship for the first time. Patrick Meyer from the association is sure that such events will help spread the sport: “Padel is not only a trend sport, but also on a clear growth path. As an association, we want to make it as easy as possible for all tennis players and clubs to use the additional padel offer.” There is a second association, the German Padel Association, which is, however, less anchored in the sport of tennis itself.

The championship was initially played in one round in which each team played every other team once. Four doubles were played each time, so that at least four players were used per team. However, the people of Bad Soden regularly use more players in order to distribute the stakes as evenly as possible. The group round of the TCBW after a 3-1 win against direct competitor BW Camberg in second place, which is entitled to take part in the Hesse final.

On September 22nd, HTV centrally invited people to the Hesse finals in the various age groups in Wiesbaden. The Bad Soden team took revenge for the defeat in the preliminary round and clearly won the final 4-0, so that the players Christian Banzer, Dirk Hochapfel, Alexander Barthold, Heiko Pillhofer, Max Eckhardt, Michael Frey, Andreas Brendel and Reinaldo Braun distinguished themselves can now call Hessenmeister. Team captain Max Eckhardt was correspondingly enthusiastic about his team: “We are really happy that, as newcomers, we became Hesse champions in our first padel season.” We will compete again next year and take on the challenge of defending our title.”

The TC BW Bad Soden not only wants to take this momentum with them on the pitch, but has also been thinking for some time about how padel courts can be built on the Sauerborn sports facility. Since padel is considered both a beginner-friendly sport and a sport that can still be actively practiced even in old age, and is currently trendy, permanent structures should be created that can expand the city’s sports offerings. Since the club’s padel teams currently have to play their games on external facilities in other communities, the teams should also be provided with a local facility for playing in the highest leagues in Hesse.