WIMBLEDON — The middle aisle in Aldi is a treasure trove of things you can imagine a use for but almost certainly don’t need.
A second power drill in case your main one breaks, a bird bath that you’re never going to put in the garden or a tatty birthday present for a niece whose exact date of birth you’ve forgotten anyway.
That is until this weekend, when I came across something in the Wimbledon Aldi that so many people are now in the market for: a cheap padel racket.
At £22.99, this does beat out the majority of rackets in the market for the fastest-growing racket sport in the UK – but its symbolism is perhaps stronger than its practicality. Because this was the closest budget supermarket to the All England Club, itself the centre of the tennis universe for the last two weeks, and there was not a tennis racket in sight.
Five padel courts have opened within a few minutes of the All England Club (Photo: The i Paper)
