MONDO Supercourt artificial turf surfaces chosen for the new padel courts at Santo Stefano Padel & Tennis (Biella)
In 2020, 3 new padel courts were built at Santo Stefano Padel & Tennis, MONDO Supercourt artificial turf was chosen for all three courts, the same official surface of the World Padel Tour.
In 2016, after a period of renovation, the former Cascina Casazza in Sandigliano (Biella) reopened to the public with a totally new look and new name: Santo Stefano Relais SPA. The new leisure and sports complex is now a 4-star hotel, offering the public over 70 rooms, an in-house restaurant, and a multi-sports centre.
Shortly after its opening in 2016, the owners of the Relais had already decided to upgrade the existing sports facilities, which included a tennis court, a five-a-side football pitch, a swimming pool and a fitness gym for both guests and external customers. In 2019, the sports area was therefore renovated, eliminating the five-a-side football pitch, enhancing the tennis area and integrating new facilities for padel.
The result was the creation of a veritable "Active Club", a multi-sports centre housing padel courts, tennis courts, a gym, an outdoor swimming pool and a fitness trail. The construction of the 3 new padel courts in 2020 led to the creation of the Santo Stefano Padel & Tennis company.
The construction work on the 3 padel courts, two with a permanent cover and one outdoor court, started in January 2020 and was completed at the beginning of March 2020. The guiding principle of the project from the outset was "quality". The high level of the entire complex and the desire to offer the users of the sports centre the maximum in terms of sporting experience (well-being and health) and performance, led to the choice of top-of-the-range products and materials, both for the structure (courts and covers) and for the playing surface.
Vittorio Tallia, one of the protagonists of the establishment of Santo Stefano Padel & Tennis who managed the project to upgrade the sports area of the Relais, commented: “it therefore was only natural to choose MONDO Supercourt, the official product of the World Padel Tour.” The MONDO Supercourt turfs with textured polyethylene fibres are, in fact, among the most popular for padel, both in terms of the quality of play (grip in dry conditions, ball bounce) and in terms of durability and aesthetics.
Thanks to the texturing, the fibres take on a curled structure and their upper part is thus protected from wear and tear due to contact with the sand, which is retained within the surface, giving the court a bright and consistently uniform colour. The maintenance of the turf is also reduced: there is no need to brush the surface at the end of each day to redistribute the infill sand.
“When it came to building the padel courts they wanted something that was above average [...].” including from the point of view of the “turf, an aspect that is often overlooked”. Luca Tonetti, National Padel Instructor and director of the Padel Area of Santo Stefano Padel & Tennis, describes in a few clear words the choice of the MONDO Supercourt surface for the new padel courts at Santo Stefano Relais.
Tonetti goes on to say that the excellent feedback from users is further confirmation of the validity of the choice of Supercourt turf: “the result is excellent, which is perceived by customers and tournament participants, who then want to return to play on these courts. The surface is excellent, it cushions perfectly and does not create too much stress. It is perfect for professionals, beginners and players who have not been playing for a long time.” Another advantage concerns maintenance work: the padel courts at the Relais are used intensively, 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the only maintenance necessary consists in regular sand filling by qualified technicians.
The padel courts at Santo Stefano Padel & Tennis were officially opened to the public on 18th May 2020. "The idea of playing padel immediately aroused considerable interest," says Vittorio Tallia, "and the quality of the playing surface of the courts was appreciated both by the guests of the Relais and by the participants in the four tournaments hosted by the facility in the following months." The great success, as reflected in the high level of occupancy of the courts only a few months after the opening, has prompted the organisation to embark on a new project to expand the padel area, which will be implemented from 2021 with the construction of 3 new indoor padel courts.
Santo Stefano Padel & Tennis is poised to become one of the most important sports centres in the region and beyond: a facility dedicated to padel that is open to a wide range of users but also an educational centre where young athletes can develop their skills under the guidance of highly qualified instructors. A larger facility also means more space for high-level events, such as tournaments and meetings between professional athletes from the international sporting scene. Without a doubt, this facility will further increase passion for this sport in Italy.
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