Newport Pickleball Club Opens Outdoor Courts, Brings Padel to Aquidneck Island
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — Newport Pickleball Club has taken its game outside. The club held the grand opening of its new outdoor court complex on Aug. 27, adding two pickleball courts and two padel courts to its Middletown campus, along with an open-air recreation area furnished with lounge chairs, umbrellas and fire pits. The expansion delivers on a plan the club made public last summer. In August 2025, the club announced it would build new
The outdoor pickleball courts add fresh-air play to a club built around indoor courts. Newport Pickleball Club opened as an indoor facility in 2024 at 866 West Main Road in Middletown, and its clubhouse includes private event space, casual dining and a bar. The club offers memberships and is also open to the public. Booking is simple for current players. The outdoor courts use the same app and reservation system as pickleball and the indoor padel court, and Newport Padel shares a campus, clubhouse and kitchen with Newport Pickleball Club. The recreation area gives players and guests a place to stay after the last point. Chairs, umbrellas and fire pits surround the courts, and the space was planned for more than post-match conversation. The club designed the turf and hardscape area for socializing, live music and community gatherings, and plans to host leagues, tournaments and social events throughout the season. The club is also looking beyond the island. It describes the Middletown site as centrally located between Providence and the Cape, and within easy reach of summer visitors from Boston, New York and Philadelphia. That reach matters in a market where, as one regional court guide points out, Aquidneck Island's population grows from June through Labor Day and court time books up quickly. The club has grown steadily since opening. It reported more than 400 members at the time of the 2025 expansion announcement, and said it would keep working with the Town of Middletown and neighbors so the expansion would be an inclusive, comfortable destination for all. Court reservations, lessons and membership information are available at newportpickleball.com and newportpadel.com .
outdoor padel courts on its 2.75-acre Middletown campus, with an opening planned for 2026. The two padel courts are the first outdoor padel courts on Aquidneck Island, and the first public padel courts in Newport County. For many local players, padel will be a new
experience. The sport is played in doubles on an enclosed court about one-third the size of a tennis court, using solid, stringless paddles and lower-pressure tennis balls. It blends elements of tennis and squash, and has seen rapid growth across Europe, Latin America and the United States. The club notes that most newcomers are rallying within their first session, and the game is easier
on the joints than tennis while still delivering a strong cardio workout. The enclosed court design also offers some shelter from wind and sun, a practical advantage on a coastal site. Players did not have to wait for the outdoor courts to learn the game. The club's indoor Development Court is bookable by the hour year-round and is designed for learning and skill-building, with a slightly lower ceiling than a regulation tournament court that rewards control and shot placement. Lessons and clinics for new and developing players run weekly, and the club also ran a Junior Pickleball and Padel Camp this summer.
36 DISCOVER RHODE ISLAND
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