Padel courts funded to make money and padel courts funded to get more people playing tend to look different on the price list. East Grinstead’s fall firmly into the second category, and it shows in what you’ll pay to book one.

Quick summary: East Grinstead Padel has 4 covered, floodlit courts at East Grinstead Sports Club on Saint Hill Road. Non-members pay £9-10/person/hour, members £5-6. No membership is needed to play, and booking runs through the venue’s own EGP app rather than Playtomic.

East Grinstead Padel – the courts and how to book

The courts sit at East Grinstead Sports Club, Saint Hill Road, RH19 4JU, on the same site as the town’s established tennis and squash facilities. Four courts, all covered and floodlit, which means a booking on a wet Tuesday in November plays the same as one on a dry Saturday in June – no rearranged games, no wind blowing your lob off the back glass. They’re open daily from 7:30am, with the lights running until 10pm.

One thing worth knowing before you try to book: this venue doesn’t use Playtomic. Booking runs through the EGP app, downloadable on iOS and Android, and you’ll need to register an account before you can reserve a court or join an open match. If you’re used to booking padel through Playtomic elsewhere in the south east, that’s the one adjustment to make here – search your app store for East Grinstead Padel directly rather than looking for it inside an aggregator app you already have installed.

What it costs

Pricing splits two ways: member versus non-member, and peak versus off-peak. Peak times run 4pm-10pm on weekdays and 7:30am-1:30pm at weekends, with bank holidays priced as weekends.

Non-members pay £9 per person per hour off-peak, rising to £10 at peak times. Members pay £5 off-peak and £6 peak – a meaningful discount, but the point that matters most for a casual player dropping in from outside the area is the non-member rate itself. £9-10 a head undercuts what plenty of privately operated venues in the south east charge non-members, and you don’t need to sign up for anything to get it. Racket hire is available at £3 per person if you’re travelling light.

Getting started – Intro2Padel for beginners

If you’ve never picked up a padel racket, the Intro2Padel taster session is the obvious way in. It runs multiple times a week, costs £5, and includes rackets and balls, so there’s no kit to buy and no experience required. It’s aimed squarely at complete beginners rather than players looking to sharpen a specific shot, which makes it a low-risk way to find out whether the sport is for you before committing to a regular booking.

Beyond the taster sessions, the club runs levelled open matches, mix-ins, social padel, box leagues, tournaments, and coaching – enough programming that a first visit doesn’t have to be a one-off. Turning up to an open match or social session is a reasonable way to meet other local players without needing your own four to book a private slot.

Why this club is different

Most new padel venues in the UK are commercial builds: an operator spots demand, puts in courts, and prices them to cover the investment. East Grinstead’s courts came from a different route. They were funded through an LTA Tennis Foundation Quick Access Loan – the second-largest the foundation has awarded – as part of a broader £6 million padel investment across Great Britain aimed at creating public access to the sport rather than maximising revenue from it. The courts officially opened in 2025, with then-LTA President Sandi Procter attending the opening.

That funding model comes with strings attached, and the strings happen to benefit you. As a condition of the loan, the courts have to stay open to the public instead of becoming a members-only add-on to the sports club. It’s the reason the non-member rate here sits lower than you’d typically find at a private operator, and why there’s no minimum membership tier standing between you and a court. Compare that with most nearby towns, where padel usually arrives as a private operator’s commercial bet, and East Grinstead’s setup is the exception.

Nearby options

If East Grinstead’s courts are booked out, Crawley is around 20 minutes north on the A264, with five indoor courts at The Padel Hub and three outdoor courts at Cottesmore Hotel. Tunbridge Wells is a similar distance east, with six indoor courts at PADELHUB TN2 and free parking near the town centre – a solid backup if you’re weighing options across the Kent-Sussex border rather than sticking to one town.

For a West Sussex town this size, four covered courts with a real no-membership policy is a good outcome, and the LTA funding behind it is the reason why.

For court guides in other parts of the UK, browse the full directory of towns we cover.