Broadlands Padel officially opened on Friday, 20 March, an evening marked by exhibition matches and support from friends and family alike. The facility was built from the ground up by brothers Theodore and Harry van der Westhuizen – Theodore, a Stellenbosch University (SU) student, and Harry, a University of Cape Town (UCT) student.
Situated next to their family’s guesthouse, Broadlands Manor 1711, in Somerset West, Theodore said they wanted to pair high-quality padel courts with the surrounding natural beauty, giving both players and spectators a truly scenic experience. “That’s where we saw our gap,” he said. “Not just to have amazing padel courts, but also to complement these world-class padel courts with [the] amazing scenery around them.”
Currently in his third year of a BCom Investment Management degree, Theodore spoke about some of the challenges of launching a business while studying.
“Three days before our opening I was writing my first A1 [a first opportunity assessment at SU]”, he said, adding that Harry, in his final year of Mechatronics Engineering at UCT, had come straight from an exam on the court’s opening night.
Despite their busy schedules, the brothers handled all aspects of constructing the courts themselves, completing the entire build on the Broadlands Manor 1711 farm without outside contractors.
Theodore gave the boundary wall surrounding the courts as an example of this hands-on approach. They collected the stones for it themselves using a tractor, and each one was hand-placed with their team to create a striking mix of colours.
“You always spot different things [like that] that need to be done to curate the full experience,” Theodore said, referring to their goal of combining the appeal of the court with the surrounding natural beauty.
All this work naturally means spending long hours at the farm, and for Theodore that means spending most days at the courts from 05:00 to 22:00. He said balancing his studies with running the business is challenging, but also rewarding. “I’m studying Business Management, but there’s no better way to learn how a business operates than [by] running one yourself,” he added.
The brothers feel that all their hard work has paid off. “Seeing the community arrive here and just enjoy themselves – that makes it all worth it,” Theodore said reflecting on the feedback they’ve received so far.
The court’s opening saw women and men’s exhibition matches played by eight padel professionals; including South African players in both categories ranked among the country’s top six. One of the players, Calvin Bacon, has been part of the Broadlands Padel project since its inception. “Coming on court was quite special for me. I helped them through this journey,” he said.
Benjamin Blaauw, a longtime friend of Theodore’s, also commented on the success of the evening. “I’m very proud of my friend,” he said. “It’s actually very impressive, I can’t believe he got all this together.”
As padel continues to gain traction nationwide, facilities like Broadlands Padel are becoming part of a much larger movement. With more than a thousand courts across the country and a growing player base, this sport is rapidly expanding.
Harry encouraged people to visit the courts and get involved, sharing their vision for the sport’s continued growth in the region.
“We have a blossoming community here,” he said.