Cape Town Life Style
Where to Play Padel in Cape Town
Padel arrived in Cape Town recently and grew fast, and the useful thing for a visitor is that almost none of it runs on membership. Courts at every club below are bookable by anyone, most of them through the same app, and every one of them hires out rackets, because nobody travels with one.
This is a guide to where the courts actually are rather than a ranking. The clubs are grouped by part of the city, so you can pick the one nearest to where you are staying, and each entry says how many courts there are, whether they are indoors and how you book.
The city bowl
Two clubs within a few minutes of the centre, both indoors, both bookable without a membership. If you are staying in town and want to play once, start here.
Four indoor courts in the middle of town
The Racket + Ball Club
Padel in the centre of the city, on Bree Street. Four indoor courts sit alongside a gym and stretch zone, a restaurant and bar, a pro shop and a private deck, and anyone can book a court through Playtomic without joining.
It is the only club on this list with a membership built for people who are not staying long, which is worth knowing if your trip runs to several weeks rather than several days. Coaching runs from beginner group lessons up to high performance squads.
Covered courts, so the wind does not decide
Aura Padel Club Woodstock
Three indoor courts on Newmarket Street, a few minutes out of the centre. Because the courts are under cover the club plays through wind and rain, which matters more in Cape Town than it sounds.
Courts are bookable by anyone through the Playtomic app, rackets and balls can be hired, and the academy runs public classes a visitor can join. There is a halaal certified coffee shop and restaurant on site.
The Atlantic seaboard
Both of these are outdoors and both are a short walk or drive from the beach. One is a padel club attached to a tennis club, the other is a club that has been there since 1955 and does a great deal more than padel.
A short walk from the beachfront
Africa Padel Camps Bay
Four courts on The Drive, two beside the Camps Bay Tennis Club and two on the adjoining sports field, a short walk from the beachfront. Anyone can book through Playtomic, and rackets and balls are hired on arrival, so a visitor with no kit and no club can play.
There is a restaurant, a pro shop, changing rooms and showers, a playground and free parking, and the courts run from early morning until late every day.
Padel at a club that predates it by seventy years
Glen Country Club
Founded in 1955 in the Clifton scenic reserve, and much more than a padel venue. Alongside the three padel courts there are eight outdoor tennis courts looking at the Atlantic, pickleball, three bowling greens and a clubhouse with a bar and a restaurant.
The access rules differ by sport, and that difference is the reason to read this entry rather than assume. Padel and pickleball are open to the general public through Playtomic. Tennis takes visitors at a visitor rate, but the organised social tennis is for members only.
The southern suburbs
The biggest club in the city is out this way, and so is the one built entirely indoors. Both suit anyone staying in Constantia, Claremont or further down towards the False Bay side.
Nine courts, the largest in the group
Africa Padel Claremont
Nine courts on Herschel Close, the largest Africa Padel club in Cape Town. Anyone can book through Playtomic without a membership, and the club runs public coaching classes that visitors can join alongside members.
There is a restaurant, a pro shop, changing rooms and showers, a play park, free parking and step-free access. It opens early and runs late six days a week, with a slightly shorter Sunday.
Indoors, solar powered, open until eleven
Bay Padel Retreat
Five indoor panoramic courts on the Main Road in Retreat, plus a small one built for children up to ten. Being indoors is the point in a city where the wind decides most outdoor bookings, and the club runs on solar, so loadshedding does not end the game either.
Rackets and balls are for hire at reception and the staff will help a first-timer pick one. Open seven days a week, from seven in the morning until eleven at night.
The northern suburbs and Paarden Eiland
Three clubs on the industrial side of the city, which is where the space for large indoor facilities is. The country’s biggest padel arena is here, and so is the first club that ever opened in the Cape.
Ten courts, open from six until midnight
Arturf Padel Arena
Ten courts on Industry Road in Paarden Eiland, nine indoor and one outdoor, the largest padel facility in South Africa. Anyone can book through Playtomic, and the arena runs from six in the morning until midnight every day of the week.
That is the easiest padel booking in Cape Town to fit around a day of sightseeing. There is a pro shop, a coffee shop, private showers, lockers, a lounge and salaah facilities. Weekly open sessions include a Saturday morning team tournament and a beginner-friendly mixed Americano on Sundays.
A centre court with a grandstand
Aura Padel Club Montague Gardens
A purpose-built indoor facility on Ludel Close, the larger of the group’s two Cape Town clubs. Five courts include a centre court with a grandstand and a three metre run-out, and a private court with its own bathrooms. Replay technology and live match streaming are set up on court.
Beyond the padel there is a warm-up gym, physiotherapy, sports massage, a supervised kids area, a co-working space, a halaal certified coffee shop and restaurant, and a pro shop. Courts are bookable by anyone through Playtomic.
The first padel courts built in the Cape
Action Padel Century City
Two courts at the Fives Futbol grounds on Century Boulevard, and the first padel club to open in the Cape. Anyone can book through Playtomic, bats can be hired on site, and the club will move a booking to another slot if it rains.
There is a restaurant, changing rooms, wifi and free parking, and the courts run from mid morning until late every day including public holidays.
The Cape Winelands
Two clubs out towards Stellenbosch and Somerset West, useful if you are staying in the Winelands rather than driving back into the city for a court. One of them is on a wine estate.
Four courts in the middle of Stellenbosch
Africa Padel Van der Stel
Four courts in Stellenbosch Central, open from six in the morning until ten at night. Africa Padel states plainly that a non-member can book on Playtomic up to two weeks ahead, where members get four, so a visitor is not locked out of the calendar.
Rackets can be hired, which matters because nobody travels with one, and balls are sold rather than lent. There is a restaurant, a pro shop and a playground on site. Note that the tennis courts on the same Van der Stel site are run by somebody else entirely.
Padel on a wine estate, and no membership gate
Virgin Active Padel Club Lourensford
On Lourensford Wine Estate outside Somerset West, and the one Virgin Active padel club that says in writing what a visitor needs to hear: if you are not a Virgin Active member you can still book courts, hire and buy gear, use the locker rooms and eat there.
Members get discounted rates and priority booking, but membership is not the gate. Pickleball is offered alongside the padel. Booking runs through Playtomic, and the club asks you to verify your details with them first.
Practical notes
Booking. Almost every club above takes bookings through the same app, Playtomic, and none of them requires a membership to play. You will need to install it and make an account before you can reserve a court, so do that before you are standing outside a club.
Equipment. Every club on this list hires rackets. Some sell balls rather than lending them. Nobody travels with padel kit, and none of these clubs expects you to.
Wind. Cape Town decides a lot of outdoor bookings for you. If the forecast is against you, the indoor clubs are in Woodstock, Retreat, Montague Gardens and Paarden Eiland.
Numbers. Padel is played two against two. A court booking is for the court, not per person, so you need four people or a club session that will pair you up. Several of the clubs above run open sessions for exactly this reason.
Court counts and hours. These come from the clubs themselves and change as courts are added. Check the club before travelling across the city for a particular slot.
Choosing one
Pick on where you are staying first. If you are in town, Bree Street and Woodstock are the short walks; the seaboard clubs suit anyone along the Atlantic; Claremont and Retreat cover the southern suburbs; the Paarden Eiland and Montague Gardens arenas are the ones to drive to when you want a court at an awkward hour; and the two Winelands clubs save you the trip back into the city.
Padel is not the only thing you can book for a single session in Cape Town. Gyms, coached classes, climbing walls and the city centre pool all take a visitor for one visit.