The sky is the limit for padel’s growth

Richard Shaw CEO, SAPCA

It was fantastic to spend time at the P1 event in London in August. The standard of padel on show was incredible. I was lucky enough to witnesss Augustin Tapia play with a style and grace that reminded me of watching Roger Federer play tennis. As masters of their craft, they both make it look like they have more time to play their shots than everyone else. It was also great to see Olympia being used for a sports event. It is an iconic venue and one of my personal favourites, having watching boxing there in the early 2000’s. However, the best part was seeing people who have been involved in padel in the UK since the early days of the sport’s phenomenal growth take pride in the event. The venue, the level of excellence on show and the sell-out crowds provided validation that, as sport, padel matters and is becoming part of “the mainstream”.

It was great to see Olympia being used for a sports event. It is an iconic venue and one of my personal favourites

Many of the conversations I had during P1 reminded me of the Paul Rudd meme: “Look at us, who would have thought? Not me!”. There were lots of ‘remember when’ conversations among the padel industry professionals, reminiscing about the early projects and jobs they were involved with. The sport has grown exponentially, in every way, over the past decade. I wonder how big padel will be in another 10 years. For now, it seems that the sky is the limit.