Roda Golf Resort Opens New Padel Courts for August 2026

Four brand new padel courts opened at Roda Golf this month, and if you've been wondering what all that hammering and floodlight installation was about behind the clubhouse since June, well, now you know. I went down for a nose about at the works back in spring and honestly thought they were extending the car park. Turns out Roda's finally caught up with the rest of the Costa Calida, where padel's been taking over from tennis at a rate that's frankly a bit alarming if you're a tennis coach trying to keep bookings up.

For anyone who hasn't played, padel's a bit like tennis had a baby with squash. Smaller court, glass walls you can play the ball off, underarm serve, and it's stupidly addictive within about ten minutes. You don't need to be fit or particularly coordinated to have a laugh at it, which is precisely why it's become the sport of choice for every expat WhatsApp group between here and Cartagena.

What's actually been built

There are four courts in total, all with the proper glass and mesh panel construction rather than the cheaper chain-link version you see at some of the municipal places in San Javier. Two are floodlit for evening play, which matters more than you'd think in August when the tarmac's still radiating heat at nine at night. The surface is the artificial turf with silica sand infill, the standard for padel these days, and it drains well, which after a summer storm is not nothing round here.

They've also put in a small seating and shade area between courts two and three, with decent parasols rather than the flimsy ones that blow inside out the second the levante picks up. There's talk of adding a fifth court next year if bookings justify it, but for now four is plenty given the resort's size.

When to actually book a court in August

Here's the bit the official resort emails won't tell you. Midday is a write off. Even with the shade sails, you'll be a puddle by the third point, and the ball comes off that glass hotter than you'd expect. Locals who've been playing at the courts in Los Alcázares town for years all say the same thing: early morning before 10am, or after 8pm once the sea breeze off the Mar Menor starts pulling through.

That evening breeze is the trick nobody mentions in the brochures. Because Roda sits close enough to the water, you get a noticeably cooler window from about 8:30pm onwards, same effect that makes an evening round bearable on the back nine of the golf course. Book courts three or four for the 9pm slot if you can, they catch that breeze best because of how they're angled against the clubhouse wall.

What to bring

Proper padel trainers if you've got them (regular tennis shoes work at a push, but the surface chews through running trainer soles fast). Bring more water than you think you need, a towel you don't mind ruining with sun cream, and if you're new to it, don't bother buying a bat until you've tried a rental one from reception first. Save yourself forty euros and a wasted purchase.

Booking, coaching, and the social scene

Courts can be booked through reception or the resort app, same system as the tennis courts, in one hour slots. From what I've seen so far, the 8pm and 9pm slots are already going fast, so if you're staying in one of the holiday rentals near Roda Golf for a week or two this August, it's worth booking a couple of days ahead rather than turning up hopeful.

There's a coach, Manolo, who's been doing lessons at the padel club in Torre Pacheco for years and is now running Tuesday and Thursday morning clinics at Roda for beginners. Genuinely good bloke, patient with people who've never held a bat, and his sessions have already built a proper little social scene. A few residents have started an informal Wednesday evening mixed doubles night too, nothing official, just a WhatsApp group that fills up fast, so ask at reception if you fancy joining in.

Worth saying, this is exactly the sort of thing that's turning Roda into more of an all round sports resort rather than just a golf address, which matters if you've got a partner or kids who don't fancy eighteen holes in August heat. Golf in the morning, padel in the evening, chips at the clubhouse bar in between. Not a bad way to spend a week.

If you're thinking about a longer stay or even looking at property here, it's worth popping over to the area guide to see what else is nearby, the courts are a nice addition but they sit alongside everything else Los Alcázares and San Javier already do well. And if you want more detail on court availability, coaching costs, or just want to check before you book flights, drop a message through the contact page and someone at the resort will sort you out. For more on what else is changing around the resort this year, the resort news section has the rest of it.