Talk about a game changer – the Canberra Racquet Club brings a 4,000m2 pickleball and padel facility to Fyshwick

Posted on 23 April, 2025

A premier pickleball and padel facility has opened in Fyshwick to bring a new way to play – and nothing about it is small-scale.

In a city of political rallies, the Canberra Racquet Club is bringing a different kind of power play: a 4,000-square-metre complex redefining recreational sports in the ACT.

Including six padel courts surrounded by panoramic glass and four pickleball courts, the facility offers a premium playing experience unlike anything else found in Canberra, making it a purpose-built playground for the fastest-growing racquet sports in the world.

Booming in popularity as participation sports, if you haven’t heard of padel and pickleball, consider this your sign to get Googling – and don’t blame us if you become obsessed.

Where padel is a ball sport that could be described as a mixture of squash and tennis, pickleball blends elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. And while that might sound overly complicated, there’s nothing hard about these sports.

In fact, Canberra Racquet Club Manager Sonja Balic says that the smaller court size and simplified ball control make both padel and pickleball highly accessible, social, and fun for all skill levels.

“Padel and pickleball are providing another avenue for individuals to enjoy and fall in love with racquet sports – there’s less court to cover, and more opportunities to socialise and have fun” says Sonja.

“One really good thing about pickle and padel is because of the close proximity to players, you can actually socialise with your opponents and training partners.”

Of course the HC team had to try it for ourselves…

Explaining that many current pickleball players typically play on tennis courts that have been halved or in multi-use halls, Sonja says Canberra Racquet Club is providing indoor pickleball courts specifically for the game.

“We’re partnering with Pickleball Canberra to do Monday night socials and introductory sessions from 28 April. That’s a really big scene here, there’s a lot of pickleball players in Canberra,” she explains.

“The fact that you just have the pickleball lines and they’re the proper dimensions for tournaments and practice will be really exciting for the pickleball community.”

The Canberra Racquet Club is also one of the first centres in Australia to have pink padel courts (which unfortunately don’t help you play better – but they ARE pretty), and panoramic glass, making it perfect for both playing and spectating.

Honestly, we tried.

Because it’s not all just happening on the courts.

Along with opening a fully stocked bar in May, their members’ lounge will be designed by Sally Hieatt (one of the co-owners of The Malbon in Bungendore), offering a luxurious space to relax pre- and post-game, complete with a coffee machine brewing Red Brick Coffee.

And for those seeking to make new friends in Canberra or try something new, as Sonja explains, the beauty of The Canberra Racquet Club is you don’t need to know anyone, as they’ll help you connect to a community that’s already buzzing.

“The Racquet Club stands for fun, community and play and that’s why we have both pickleball and padel. We just want people to come out and play something. Be physical but play it with friends, play it with family but also play it with a community,” she says.

“You do need another person to play pickleball with and for padel you need another three for a game and the awesome thing about our app – the Playtomic app – is that you could book a court and pop it up on our WhatsApp group to find people to play with…the culture is you have this big community on WhatsApp so you don’t need to know another three people in Canberra to play a game.. it’s a great way to meet new people.”

Soft launching until Sunday 4 May, Canberra Racquet Club will be offering 30-minute weekday padel taster sessions so you can learn the basic technique and strategy behind the game, along with 50 per cent off padel and pickleball court hire.

First, the padel courts. Next, the world. 

Racquet Club merchandise (including your very own padel) will also be available at the club, and if that’s not incentive enough to play, during the month of May, whoever has played the most will win a one-year free court hire membership.

Positioning itself as the capital’s newest social hotspot as the weather starts to cool, competitive spirits will be burning all year around.

“This is a really great opportunity for Canberrans to be able to play two sports all year round and never stop playing.”