Barn Elms Sports Centre

Barn Elms Sports Centre is a large playing-fields complex on Queen Elizabeth Walk in Barnes, SW13, right next to the London Wetland Centre and close to the Thames. It is primarily a venue for pitch sports, and padel is a small add-on to the wider site rather than the main activity. Playtomic lists 1 padel court, which is outdoor. Booking is via Playtomic. Padel hours are 08:00 to 16:00 Monday to Saturday and 09:00 to 16:00 on Sunday, so evening play is not offered even though the wider centre stays open later. There is parking on site, but reviewers warn that it becomes almost impossible on match days when the pitches are busy. The centre as a whole scores 4.3 from 221 Google reviews, mostly for its spacious playing fields, but the padel-specific reviews are clearly negative. Two players describe it as a pop-up court: a portable net that overlaps the court door, side walls that feel like plastic rather than glass so the ball dies on contact, noticeable gaps between the carpet and the walls causing awkward bounces, and a fence beside the court that makes stray balls hard to retrieve. One also feels the price is too high for the quality. It may suit a casual knock-about, but serious players may prefer a nearby dedicated club.