Empowering sport

At a time when girls are leaving sport at significantly higher rates than boys, visible pathways into emerging sports such as padel have never been more important. One of the organisations paving the way for girls to get involved is EmpowerPadel. PadelNation sat down with founder, Pep Stonor to find out more

International Padel Federation (FIP) data shows that women account for 28% of professional-ranked players globally, while girls represent almost one-third (32%) of players in the international junior rankings. These figures highlight both the progress being made and the opportunity to further grow female participation in the sport. Through initiatives such as the Girls’ Racquets Programme, Empower Padel is helping to build the next generation of female players by providing access to coaching, facilities, role models and competitive experiences. Empower Padel champions participation in the sport through tournaments, coaching clinics and community events across the UK. PadelNation spoke to Empower Padel’s founder, Pep Stonor, about the company’s mission to to help more women and girls discover padel – and the joy, confidence and connection that sport can bring.

What is Empower Padel and when was it launched?

Empower Padel launched in September 2024 and its mission is to help women start, stay in or return to sport through padel. Our ambition is to be the equivalent of Park Run for padel, with an Empower Padel Activator in every location in the UK.

Where did the idea (and motivation) to set up Empower Padel come from?

I started playing padel in Vale do Lobo in Portugal in 2020. After coming back to the UK my local club, Stoke Park, had two courts. However at the time, there were very few women playing and even fewer competing. Competitions were often cancelled due to a lack of entries. I wanted to provide more opportunities for women to try the sport, get coaching and meet other women playing.

As an Australian native, sport has played a massive part in my life, I played university netball and tennis and loved taking up a new sport later in life. Padel has taken me all over the world (I play for the Aussie National Crocs Masters team) where I’ve met and played with people from many different countries. I want to share my journey and the joy of padel with as many women as possible.

How many events does Empower Padel host each year and what do they “look like”?

We host 40-60 tournaments every year with more than 1,000 women on court. When we first started we ran tournaments once a month all over the UK – wherever there was an indoor venue! We now run regular introductory sessions and social matchplay programmes throughout the year as well as networking events such as panels and holidays with Weebora. Our events are a mix of fun, social padel with an opportunity for women to mix and make conversation. They are very uplifting and we get great feedback from attendees, with many women coming back and bringing their friends to a second or third event.

Do you have regular partners you work with on the events?

We have championed lots of start up brands especially female founded brands at our events - Noffee, Six Love London and Pounce Padel are all brands we have worked with. As we scale, we are starting to work with larger brands such as Babolat and Waterdrop.

We like supporting operators who understand what is needed to attract more women into their venues and we have helped advise and guide many new venues with initiatives designed to encourage more women into their venues.

The biggest achievement has been creating a voice for women and girls in Padel

Which regions/countries do you operate? How do you choose the locations for the events?

We primarily operate in the UK, but also have a presence in Australia. In terms of locations, we choose operators and padel venues that are supportive of our mission to get as many women and girls on court as possible. As we scale, we are looking to base our activators network in venues so that women all over the UK can reach out to be introduced to the sport or to join one of our Empower Padel-led matchplay sessions. Women are mostly looking for community and will be incredibly loyal to a venue if that is where their friends are playing.

What would you describe as Empower Padel’s biggest achievement so far?

We have won several awards this year, including the Padel Community of the Year at British Padel Awards. I also received the LTA President’s Award this year, the first time padel has received the award.

Our Padel PE programme for girls, supported by Laureus Sport and The Hurlingham Club Foundation, is a huge personal achievement. It has given 200 girls from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to have weekly padel PE lessons for free. The impact on introducing padel to these girls is immeasurable and is aimed at keeping them active and interested in sport beyond their teenage years.

However the biggest achievement has been creating a voice for women and girls in padel (currently only one third of all padel players in the UK are women) and hopefully inspiring others to start women and girls initiatives all over the country.

Could you provide details on future events (so our readers can get involved if they wish)?

All our events are listed on our website ([empowerpadel.com](https://empowerpadel.com/)) or our instagram “empower_padel”. The next big one is our two-year anniversary, which we will celebrate Friday 25 September at Padel Hub in Slough. All are welcome! On 1 September, we’re hosting a Padel Festival for girls aged 16–24, designed to inspire the next generation to get involved in the sport and help grow participation within this age group.

Our goal is to equip girls heading off to university or college with the confidence, knowledge and enthusiasm to continue playing padel wherever they go. We want them to take their passion for the sport with them, join university padel clubs and encourage their friends to give padel a try too. By creating new connections and experiences, we hope to help build a thriving community of young women in the sport for years to come.

Why do you think padel has become so popular so quickly?

It is super popular for all the reasons people often mention – social, fun, easy. For Empower Padel, we really focus on why women may want to take up the sport. Many women drop out of sport in their teenage years (double the rate of boys) or they have never had racquet experience. So, when they come to us, they are very nervous and unsure about playing sport again.

Lack of confidence is a huge issue. This is what Empower Padel really understands and we present padel as a sport that can offer women and girls something to try that is easy to take up, you don’t need previous experience and the most important thing is it is social. So women find a sense of belonging when they come to our events. We also help give them confidence to know that they can “be sporty” whatever their age or experience.

People rarely mention the fact that padel is a team sport and I saw a stat from Vitality that only 4% of women in the UK play team sport. It’s hugely important to help women not only start to play but keep playing – that’s our why!

Do you think Empower Padel will work with any other sport? Have you got plans to do so?

Not at the moment. We’re 100% focused on padel and so much to do still in the UK. We aim to grow to more than 200 events per year and 5,000 women on court in the next 2-3 years in tournaments plus intro to padel, matchplay and socials. And then we have plans to go global …

If we inspire just one girl to stay in sport, one woman back into being active and one to take up sport, we have done our job. Hopefully, we will also inspire others to follow our lead and bring more women and girls into the sport. We want to be the leaders in championing women and girls in padel!