LONDON, September 11th, 2025 –  UK PADEL is proud to announce its acquisition of a significant stake and title sponsorship in the National Universities Padel League, now officially rebranded as the UK PADEL NUPL.

The landmark three-year partnership will power the future of university padel, removing the requirement for competitors to pay entry fees, and making padel significantly more accessible for students eager to play the sport competitively.

With 20 universities competing, the NUPL’s second season will bring student athletes together from across the country this autumn. Several rounds of fixtures will continue, and the competition reaches its climax on Finals Day on April 1st, 2026, also powered by UK PADEL.

Beyond competition, the collaboration reflects UK PADEL’s mission to drive sustainable growth in the rapidly growing racket sport, through quality infrastructure, innovative programming, and a strong community spirit.

‘Passionate’ about supporting students

Nick Baker, CEO of UK PADEL, said: “Competitions that give padel players across the country an opportunity to meet, compete and have fun are at the heart of UK PADEL, and we’re excited to take this to another level with NUPL. Supporting students, from school to university age, is something we’re incredibly passionate about, and we can’t wait to see what the next generation of British padel players have to offer.”

Barnaby Stephenson, Director of the NUPL, said: “We’re buzzing to team up with UK PADEL. They’ve been leading the way in making padel accessible and community-driven, not just through competitions but across the sport as a whole. We feel this mentality really aligns with our own, putting players on court with smiles on their faces, and with UK PADEL coming on board for the long term, we’re excited about what we can deliver together.”

UK PADEL has already cemented itself as a leading force in the development and promotion of padel across the country by running a stream of successful competitions nationwide. Flagship national competitions include:

• The County Championships (in five different age categories including the recent over-60s County Championships)
• The National Schools Championships (across three different age categories)
• The National Universities Championships
• The new Masters Series (launching in October), featuring qualifying tournaments across Britain and overseas.

UK PADEL operates four padel venues: Newquay (Cornwall), plus High Wycombe, Princes Risborough and Stoke Poges (all in Buckinghamshire), with 8,000 players registered across its clubs and two more clubs to be announced imminently.

It promotes the sport digitally, producing digital content and live streams of events, providing critically important community engagement for padel enthusiasts and fans. And it creates opportunities for brands to get in front of the rapidly expanding and attractive padel demographic through sponsorship and brand partnerships.