Padel Nation NEWS

UK padel bookings on Playtomic overtake Spain numbers

UK padel bookings have surpassed Spain on Playtomic, highlighting the rapid growth of the sport as London P1 took place in August.

Britain moved ahead of Spain for padel bookings on the platform in February 2026 and has remained in front every month since, according to new data from Playtomic.

In July, players made 595,511 UK bookings through the platform, compared with 418,034 in Spain.

The milestone is particularly significant given Spain’s long-standing position as one of padel’s global powerhouses. The country has around 17,000 courts, while 14 of the current men’s and women’s world top 20 players are Spanish.

Playtomic, which estimates that it handles around 85% of UK padel bookings, also recorded 104,430 people making their first UK booking during July alone. The figures underline the sport’s growing appeal across Britain, with new players continuing to discover padel through clubs, leagues, coaching sessions and social matches.

The growth of the UK’s padel infrastructure has been equally dramatic. In July 2021, Britain had just four dedicated padel clubs. By July 2026, that figure had risen to 475, demonstrating how quickly a standalone padel industry has developed. The latest data arrived as leading players, fans and industry figures gathered in London for the London P1 tournament, placing further attention on the UK’s emergence as one of padel’s fastest-growing markets.

Ignite Padel expansion to create UK’s largest padel site

Ignite Padel has announced a major expansion of its flagship Speke venue, which is set to become the UK’s largest single padel site when work is completed this August.

The Liverpool facility will more than double in size, increasing to 56,000sq ft. Its court capacity will also grow from 10 to 17, supporting rising local demand and plans to stage elite-level competitions. The expanded site will include facilities designed for both community participation and professional events.

A new viewing gallery will be created for tournament matchplay, while Ignite Padel plans to work with the International Padel Federation to bring major competitions to Liverpool. The venue will also operate as a 24-hour community sports hub and elite training centre.

Padel Nation NEWS

Clash of the Coaches eyes expansion

Clash of the Coaches could expand into regional and international tournaments following the success of its inaugural event in London. More than 50 padel coaches from across the UK and overseas competed at Racketeer in London in August, bringing together some of the people described by organisers as the “backbone” of the sport.

Created by World Padel Network founder Jamie Rowe and delivered in partnership with Nico Padel 22, the first Clash of the Coaches featured nine UK regional teams alongside an international side.

“To take it from an idea to reality, it’s been incredible,” says Jamie. “I think what means the most to me is how far some people have travelled with coaches coming from all across Europe to take part.”

Pure Padel opens Solihull site as it continues UK expansion

Pure Padel has opened a new four-court facility at Moseley Cricket Club in Solihull.

The Solihull venue features three premium covered panoramic courts and one uncovered court, a bespoke clubhouse, licensed bar, pro shop and free on-site parking.

Courts are available on a pay-to-play basis, bookable via the Playtomic app, with pricing starting from £28 per hour. Coaching, leagues and social events will be available on site for players of all levels, giving the local community not just a place to play, but a full sporting and social destination.

The venue is also expected to attract strong interest from local businesses, with its clubhouse, bar and court facilities making it well-suited to corporate events, private hire and client entertainment.

It is the first site in what the company intends to become a cluster of sites across the West Midlands, as it looks to further grow its presence on the UK market.

With a site already secured in Warwick, subject to planning, and a seven-court indoor facility due to open in Hockley, Birmingham, the company is assembling a connected network of premium facilities across the region.

Sammy Arora, Founder and CEO of Pure Padel, said: “Solihull is the start of something we have been planning carefully. The West Midlands presents one of the most exciting opportunities for UK padel.”

Padel Nation NEWS

PadelXpo to launch UK’s first national padel exhibition at NEC

PadelXpo will launch at NEC Birmingham on 5-6 June 2027, creating a new national meeting point for the UK padel market.

Launched by Raccoon Media Group, the large-scale event has been designed to bring the full padel ecosystem together. Players, fans, clubs, operators, brands and industry leaders will all be part of a two-day showcase for one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.

The launch has already attracted a strong celebrity and sporting line-up. Confirmed guests include Brit Award-winning rapper Aitch, comedian Jason Manford, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan OBE, and Olympians Chemmy Alcott, Montell Douglas, and Gail Emms.

GB padel player Nikhil Mohindra will also appear, alongside Sky presenters Gail and Jo. More names are expected to be announced ahead of the inaugural event. Padel participation has grown rapidly across Britain. According to the event organisers, participation has more than doubled in the past year to more than one million players, while the UK now has more than 1500 courts in operation. However, the sport has not yet had one major national platform that connects consumer demand with the commercial side of the market. PadelXpo has been created to fill that space.

Smash Padel secures £1.25m investment

Smash Padel has secured £1.25m in new funding to support its expansion strategy, with the UK operator aiming to grow from five to 20 sites.

The investment has been led by Middleton Enterprises, the UK-based investment firm founded by entrepreneur Jeremy Middleton. Smash Padel will use the funding to accelerate its rollout across the UK, with a focus on underserved communities.

The business currently operates five profitable sites in Bicester, Oxford, Whitstable, Mid Sussex and Cardiff. A new venue will open in August 2026, with a further three sites planned before the end of the year.

“Middleton Enterprises has a proven track record of supporting businesses like ours as we scale and expand into new locations,” says Simon Champ, Co-Founder of Smash Padel.

Padel Nation NEWS

SEGRO named official LTA partner to support growth

SEGRO has been announced as a new official partner of the LTA, with the partnership set to support the growth of tennis and padel across UK communities.

The agreement also sees SEGRO become development partner to LTA padel, creating a new collaboration focused on making racket sports more accessible at both national and grassroots level.

As part of the partnership, SEGRO will work with the LTA across the 2026 season, including on the launch of a new grassroots padel initiative. The programme will support the LTA’s ambition to open up padel to more diverse audiences, with a particular focus on underserved communities.

“SEGRO is a business rooted in places and the communities around them,” explains James Craddock, UK Managing Director at SEGRO. “This partnership with the LTA reflects our commitment to widening opportunity and supporting wellbeing through sport. By also working in tandem to deliver a new grassroots padel programme, we are helping to remove barriers to participation and open up the sport to more communities across the UK.”

Britain’s first Premier Padel P1 held at Olympia

British padel got its biggest week yet as the Premier Padel Tour, the sport’s top professional circuit, landed in London for the first time, with six days of top-level matches at Olympia’s Grand Hall from 4 to 9 August.

As a P1, the event sits one tier below the Majors and draws the full professional field. World No.1 pair Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello headlined the men’s draw, with their rivalry against Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto tipped as the standout contest on tour this year. Ariana Sánchez, Alejandra Salazar and Paula Josemaría lead a strong women’s field. The home interest ran deep. Eight British players had wildcards across the draws.

For a sport that has grown almost entirely through grassroots club openings and word of mouth, a home P1 with this level of British representation marks a shift. This is the first time UK players could test themselves against the world’s best on a home court, in front of a home crowd.

MATCHi and Eversports join forces to strengthen offering

Sweden-based MATCHi Group and Austrian Eversports have joined forces to strengthen their offering to sports facilities across Europe. MATCHi’s platform currently supports more than 3,000 facilities, while Eversports provides software and booking solutions to more than 6,000 sports and wellness facilities.

Together, the companies combine MATCHi’s understanding of racket sports and club operations and Eversports’ experience in building scalable software. The partnership will allow MATCHi to further accelerate the development of racket sport-specific solutions tailored to padel facilities.