Padel is coming to the busiest mall in South Africa
Balwin Padel, a division of Balwin Properties, and Attacq Limited will build six new rooftop padel courts at Mall of Africa in Waterfall City, Johannesburg.
Four courts will be covered, allowing for matches in all types of weather.
The venue will also host the first Balwin Padel Club, which will include locker and shower facilities for players.
The six padel courts will open for play in September 2024 as part of a tournament with prize money of R200,000. A soft opening is planned for mid-July to end-August.
Balwin Padel has five courts in Johannesburg and the Western Cape and will add 21 new courts in the future, including the six at Mall of Africa, by early 2025.
New padel courts will also be opened at Balwin’s Munyaka in Waterfall City, Izinga Smart City in Durban, and Mooikloof in Pretoria, while the Thaba Eco Lifestyle Estate in Johannesburg South will increase its two courts to six by the end of April.
“This is the first time that we’ve expanded the Balwin Padel brand outside of our Lifestyle Centres, and we’re excited to capture some of Mall of Africa’s millions of loyal shoppers each month while adding to the huge shopping and entertainment diversity the mall already offers,” said Steve Brookes, Balwin’s CEO.
Attacq’s Mall of Africa is the busiest mall in South Africa when it comes to visits and mall durations (counting per visiting vehicle).
A consortium of private investors will fund the development of the six padel courts in Mall of Africa.
Padel – a combination of tennis, squash and badminton – is the fastest-growing sport globally, with over 25 million players in over 90 countries.
In South Africa, padel has over 100,000 players through Playtomic, with the new courts set aimed at meeting the growing demand/
South Africa currently has 400 padel courts, and Sebastian Brokmann, Chief of Padel at Balwin, said that this could grow to about 2,500 courts.