Every league needs clubs willing to go first. Before there was a fixture list, a trophy or a single result, ten Cape Town clubs, the Cup Series Founder Clubs, looked at a brand-new idea, a proper club league for padel, and said yes. They committed squads to all six divisions, put their names on the line and trusted that the rest would follow.
On 19 October 2026, the tenth and final place was taken when Padel 365 – Century City entered. So this is the moment to say it properly: all ten Founder Clubs are in, and we owe every one of them a thank-you. Here is who they are, the order they joined and what makes each one worth the trip.
The ten Founder Clubs of the Bear Digital Cup Series are Padel X Somerset West, Virgin Active Padel Club – Lourensford, Welgemoed Padel, Aura Padel Club, The Racket + Ball Club – Bree Street, Atlantic Padel – Sunningdale, Atlantic Padel – Parklands, Virgin Active Padel Club – Epicentre, Eden Padel Club and Padel 365 – Century City. They were the first ten clubs to enter the 2027 Summer League, and each keeps the Founder Club title for good.
What it means to be a Founder Club
Founder Club status is simple: only the first ten clubs to enter the league in a city get it, and it never expires. It appears on each club’s profile page, and it will still be there when the league has run for years. You can see the badge on every Founder Club on the Teams page.
But the title is really a recognition of what these clubs did. They entered before anyone else had, when the league was a plan rather than a season. They agreed to field squads in all six divisions, three for men and three for women, and they are part of keeping the league fair: Cup Series Admin and the Founder Clubs check every player’s level when squads are registered.
The order they joined
The ten at a glance
| Club | Home venue | Courts | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padel X Somerset West | Somerset Crossing, Somerset West | 4 indoor | Drop Shot panoramic courts and the hexagon light wall |
| VAPC – Lourensford | Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West | 4 | Vineyards on one side, the Helderberg on the other |
| Welgemoed Padel | Welgemoed | 2 | A leafy club with a grassed lounge under the trees |
| Aura Padel Club | Montague Gardens | 5 indoor | A Centre Court with a grandstand and live streams |
| The Racket + Ball Club – Bree Street | Bree Street, city centre | 4 indoor | Padel in a former parking garage, with SHOTT downstairs |
| Atlantic Padel – Sunningdale | Sunningdale | 4 | Part of the West Coast brand that began in Table View |
| Atlantic Padel – Parklands | Rivergate, Parklands | 4 | Open 6am–11pm every day since May 2025 |
| VAPC – Epicentre | Paarden Eiland | 5 indoor | South Africa’s first multi-court indoor padel centre |
| Eden Padel Club | Durbanville Hills | 4 indoor | Purple turf and two ball machines |
| Padel 365 – Century City | Century City | 5 indoor | Streaming on every court and a Nationals pedigree |
Padel X Somerset West
Padel X was one of the very first clubs to put its hand up, and it has a habit of thinking big. Its four indoor panoramic courts are made by Drop Shot, with 12 mm tempered glass, high-density turf and LED floodlighting, and its glowing hexagon light wall is hard to miss.
In the Helderberg, where wind and winter rain can wreck outdoor play, an all-indoor club is gold. Padel X adds a café, a pro shop with rental rackets, coaching for all levels and a play park for kids, and it also runs a two-court club in Stellenbosch. It will host the league’s biggest day too: Finals Weekend takes place at Padel X on Saturday, 1 May 2027.
At a glance: 4 indoor courts · 6am–10pm daily · Finals Weekend host · Club page · Venue guide
Virgin Active Padel Club – Lourensford
If any club can claim the best backdrop in the league, it is this one. The courts sit inside Lourensford Wine Estate, with vineyards on one side and the Helderberg range on the other, and it is easy to forget you are in the middle of a match when the light hits the mountains.
Lourensford started with two courts and has grown to four, with a fifth under construction. It is part of Virgin Active’s network of Padel Club venues, open to non-members as well as members, and it offers pickleball alongside padel. Virgin Active members get 20% off bookings.
At a glance: 4 courts, a fifth on the way · Lourensford Wine Estate · Pickleball too · Club page · Venue guide
Welgemoed Padel
Welgemoed Padel proves that a club does not need a warehouse full of courts to have a big heart. Its two courts, the Fairtree Court and the Brenthurst Court, sit in a leafy corner of Welgemoed, with a grassed lounge beside them full of sofas, benches and umbrellas under the trees.
It was one of the first clubs to enter the league, and it runs a busy social calendar: Golden 60s, a Lunchtime Social, Midweek Mayhem and Super8 events for stronger players. Annual members get 20% off bookings, R500 in their club wallet and can book four weeks ahead.
At a glance: 2 courts · 6am–10pm daily · One of the first three to enter · Club page · Venue guide
Aura Padel Club
Aura opened in mid-2024 in an industrial unit off Koeberg Road and has become one of the best-equipped clubs in the city. All five courts are indoor panoramic doubles courts, including a Centre Court with more than three metres of run-out and its own grandstand, and a Private Court tucked away with its own bathroom.
Every court has Send-It replay technology and matches are streamed on the club’s YouTube channel. Off court there is a halaal-certified café and restaurant, a warm-up area with a gym, physio and sports massage, a supervised kids’ area and junior coaching with Blueprint Padel Academy. On Fridays and Saturdays the courts stay open until midnight.
At a glance: 5 indoor courts · Open to midnight Fri–Sat · Fourth club to enter · Club page · Venue guide
The Racket + Ball Club – Bree Street
Only in Cape Town does a newspaper group’s old parking garage become one of the city’s best-known padel clubs. The Racket + Ball Club opened on Bree Street in December 2023 with four indoor panoramic courts named after supercars: the Rolls Royce Centre Court, Aston Martin, McLaren and SMG.
It has hosted serious padel, including a R275,000 Aston Martin cash tournament in March 2025 and the SAPA Daytona Open, a Super Gold event, in March 2026. All of its coaches are PadelMBA-qualified, and SHOTT Restaurant & Bar on site keeps the city crowd around long after the last point.
At a glance: 4 indoor courts · Open since December 2023 · Fifth club to enter · Club page · Venue guide
Atlantic Padel – Sunningdale
Atlantic Padel’s story began at Table View Tennis Club in 2022, and the brand has since grown into a string of venues along the West Coast. Sunningdale’s four courts sit at the Berkshire Boulevard Convenience Centre, on the corner of Wood and Berkshire Boulevard.
Atlantic Padel entered two clubs at once, which says a lot about how seriously it took the league. Annual members pay R2,000 for 20% off court bookings at any Atlantic Padel venue, and racket hire is available at the club.
At a glance: 4 courts · 6am–10pm weekdays · Entered with its sister club · Club page · Venue guide
Atlantic Padel – Parklands
Parklands is the newer of Atlantic Padel’s two league clubs. It opened at Rivergate on 27 May 2025 with four courts, two of which carry sponsors’ names, the Only Realty court and the Kuda court, and it is open from 6am to 11pm every day.
With Sunningdale just down the road, Atlantic Padel has two Founder Clubs within easy reach of each other, which sets up one of the most natural rivalries in the league. We look at it in our guide to the derbies to watch.
At a glance: 4 courts · 6am–11pm daily · Entered with its sister club · Club page · Venue guide
Virgin Active Padel Club – Epicentre
The Epicentre has a claim no other club in the league can make: when Epic Padel opened it in 2022, it was described as South Africa’s first multi-court indoor padel centre. In 2023 Epic Padel partnered with Virgin Active and its clubs became Virgin Active Padel Clubs.
It has five indoor courts, four doubles and one singles, a restaurant and bar, change rooms and free parking, and it sits in The Island business park near the harbour, about ten minutes from the city centre. With Lourensford, it gives Virgin Active two clubs in the league.
At a glance: 5 indoor courts · 6am–11pm daily · Eighth club to enter · Club page · Venue guide
Eden Padel Club
You will not mistake Eden for anywhere else: its four indoor courts have purple turf and glass walls, on the slopes of Durbanville Hills just off the N7. Being fully indoor means the wind and rain never get a say.
Eden is also one of the best places in the league to train on your own, with two ball machines you can book with a court. A casual restaurant serves snacks, smoothies and pizzas, and the pro shop stocks frames, grips and balls.
At a glance: 4 indoor courts · 6am–11pm daily · Ninth club to enter · Club page · Venue guide
Padel 365 – Century City
The last Founder Club place went to a club that has already hosted national championship padel. Padel 365 Century City opened late in 2025 with five indoor courts named for their sponsors, from Court 1 Asics to Court 3 Growthpoint, the championship court, and every court has Capture streaming and replay.
In October 2026 it co-hosted the first Growthpoint SA National Padel Championships with its sister club in Richmond Park, which has entered the league too. Read the full story in Padel 365 joins the Cup Series with two clubs.
At a glance: 5 indoor courts · Run-outs on Courts 2 and 4 · Tenth club to enter · Club page · Venue guide
Thank you
To the owners, managers, coaches and members of all ten clubs: thank you. You took a chance on a first season, you signed up before the details were finished, and you gave Cape Town’s players a reason to wear their club’s name on their chest. The Founder Club badge is small, but it stands for something big.
The league is already bigger than the ten. Due to demand it now has room for 20 clubs, and Padel 365 – Richmond Park has joined as the 11th. Every club that enters before entries close on 30 November 2026 gets a full place in every division.
What happens next
- 31 December 2026: squads of two to four players per division are due.
- By 7 January 2027: the seeded draw splits clubs into Groups A and B, and the full fixture list follows.
- 6 February 2027: the 2027 Summer League starts, with fixtures on Saturdays between 12pm and 3pm.
- 1 May 2027: Finals Weekend at Padel X Somerset West, where six champions share R180,000.
Follow your club, buy its supporter gear and be there when the season starts on 6 February 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the Cup Series Founder Clubs?
Padel X Somerset West, Virgin Active Padel Club – Lourensford, Welgemoed Padel, Aura Padel Club, The Racket + Ball Club – Bree Street, Atlantic Padel – Sunningdale, Atlantic Padel – Parklands, Virgin Active Padel Club – Epicentre, Eden Padel Club and Padel 365 – Century City.
What is a Founder Club?
One of the first ten clubs to enter the league in a city. The title is permanent and shows on the club’s profile and venue pages.
Are there any Founder Club places left?
No. All ten Cape Town Founder Club places are taken. Clubs that enter now still get a full place in all six divisions.
How many clubs are in the 2027 Summer League?
11 of 20 places are taken, so 9 are still open until club entries close on 30 November 2026.
Do Founder Clubs get any advantage on court?
No. Every club plays under the same rules, competes for the same R180,000 prize pool and has the same route to Finals Weekend.
Where can I see my club’s squad and fixtures?
On the club’s page, linked from the Teams page. Squads are due by 31 December 2026 and fixtures follow the draw by 7 January 2027.