Why doing something together works
When you’re playing a game, learning something or walking side by side, the conversation has something to hang on. There’s less pressure than a first date across a table, and you see how people actually are: how they laugh at a bad shot, whether they help a stranger, how they treat the team.
Ideas around Surrey
- Social sport. Padel, tennis and netball clubs often run social sessions where you’re mixed in with new people. Doubles sports are especially good, because you always have a partner to talk to.
- Running. parkrun holds free, timed 5k events every Saturday morning in parks across Surrey, and many local running clubs have a social run with a coffee or a pint afterwards.
- Walking. The Surrey Hills are on the doorstep, and walking groups make it easy to join in without knowing anyone.
- Classes. Cooking, climbing, dance or language classes put you alongside the same people week after week, which is how friendships and more tend to start.
- Volunteering. Helping at a local event or charity is a good way to meet people who care about the same things you do.
- Singles events. Events built for single people take the guesswork out of whether everyone else is available. That’s why we started Matched X Singles.
Making it work
- Go more than once. Familiar faces become friends, and friends introduce you to their friends.
- Bring a friend. It takes the edge off walking in, as long as you still talk to new people.
- Say yes to the drink afterwards. That’s usually where the real conversations happen.
- Stay safe. For a first date, meet somewhere public, tell a friend where you’re going and get yourself there and back.
Where padel speed dating fits in
Our events combine the best bits: a sport with a built-in partner, hosts who do the introductions, and a private way to say who you’d like to see again afterwards. If that sounds like your kind of afternoon, read what to expect at padel speed dating.
Last checked . Questions? DM @matchedxsingles or email hello@matchedxsingles.co.uk.