Since opening its doors in May, Shildon's newest sporting venue has been trying to build something that extends well beyond the four walls of its courts.
At Padel Tonic, the aim is not simply to introduce more people to one of the UK's fastest-growing sports, but to create a place where friendships are formed, families spend time together and a community develops around a shared love of being active.
Founders Ryan Watson and Chris Moody believe that starts with being part of the action themselves.
On any given day, visitors to the five-court indoor venue are just as likely to find the pair playing in matches, joining social sessions or chatting with newcomers as they are behind the scenes running the business.
It is a hands-on approach they say has helped shape the club's first few months, allowing them to get to know members, understand what people want from their experience and create an environment that feels welcoming to players of all abilities.
Inside Shildon's Padel Tonic, where founders hope to expand the venue into a wider sport and wellbeing destination. (Image: Ryan Watson)
The club, based on Shildon's All Saints Industrial Estate, opened with five indoor courts and has quickly developed a programme of beginner sessions, coaching opportunities, women's social events and tournaments aimed at encouraging people to try a sport that remains relatively new to many in County Durham.
The emphasis is on removing some of the barriers that can often come with stepping into a new sporting environment.
Whether someone arrives with years of racket sport experience or has never picked up a Padel bat before, the founders want that first visit to feel approachable.
That philosophy also extends to younger players.
Families have become an important part of the club's growing customer base, with free racket hire offered to children under 13 when playing alongside a paying adult.
For Watson and Moody, it is a simple way of encouraging children to discover a new activity while giving parents and grandparents the chance to play alongside them.
The club has also recently partnered with Padel League UK, providing another route into organised competition for those who have caught the Padel bug and are looking to test themselves against other players.
Yet while the sport itself remains at the heart of the venue, the pair are already looking at what comes next.
Plans are being explored for a championship-style show court that could host larger events and create a more spectator-friendly experience.
Alongside that, discussions are taking place around introducing a café and dedicated wellness facilities, potentially including cold plunge pools and saunas.
Those ambitions remain at an early stage, but they offer a glimpse of the longer-term vision for the site.
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Rather than being simply somewhere people arrive to play for an hour and leave, the founders hope it can evolve into a destination where friends meet for coffee, families spend time together and people can focus on both fitness and wellbeing.
For now, though, the focus remains on the community taking shape around the courts.
And as more players discover the sport in Shildon, Padel Tonic's founders believe that is proving just as important as any scoreline.