The Unstoppable Rise of Padel in Numbers
British padel has just hit a major milestone – and it’s great news for the whole UK PADEL community. New LTA figures show a remarkable DOUBLING in participation in one year, with 860,000 players in 2025, some 1,553 courts nationwide across 559 venues, and an extraordinary 10 million people expressing interest in trying the sport. All this shows padel is no longer a trendy pastime. It’s a whole movement that’s truly capturing the attention of the national media.
This momentum is of course powered by everything that UK PADEL promotes about the sport: it’s fun, social, accessible and supported by a welcoming community. UK PADEL’s clubs, coaches, and players who introduce newcomers, run competitions, and build the culture that keeps people coming back are a major part of this national success story – so well done everyone! And it won’t stop here.
Your Latest Top Clips
In our third instalment of the TOP 5 PLAYS, we’ve once again been hunting for the most thrilling moments of your everyday padel experiences. The accent is always on fun – and remember, all this content is captured by our club players using the PUSH IT technology that it seems none of you can quite get enough of. So, once again, sit back and enjoy these inventive, unpredictable, and downright joyful moments on court – and see whether your own rally made it into this latest collection.
David Castle: The Coaching Legend of Stoke Poges
The 1,000+ Squads project continues apace under the tutelage of “The Jedi Master of Padel” David Castle. It gets its name because players hit 1,000 balls during each 90-minute session. David’s unique style and uncanny ability to get the best out of players is one of the best things about UK PADEL Stoke Poges – and gets players mixing socially while increasing the standard of play. Starting with carefully thought out drills, David builds towards controlled matchplay situations, before finishing with a Hercule Poirot-style analysis of his findings!
Interview: YouTube and Ireland Star Louis Jarrold
Louis Jarrold recently represented Ireland in the UK PADEL Four Nations tournament, which is impressive since he only started padel two years ago having given up tennis long ago. We interviewed him to discover what his favourite shot is, the hardest shot to play, and to ask him for some reflections on the Four Nations itself. Louis is truly multi-talented, running padel camps in Spain this summer, while he also has his own YouTube channel, Padelactico, through which his 17,000 subscribers hear him documenting his journey into the sport.
National Pride on Show in Leeds
The UK PADEL Four Nations at Slazenger Padel Leeds showed just how far the sport has come across the UK and Ireland. England secured the overall title with multiple event wins, but the strength across all nations told the bigger story. Whilst the Scotland Open Men’s team were second to none, they were also particularly strong in the older age groups, with real depth in the Over 50 and Over 60 categories.
What sets this event apart is the format. It is team sport, but with multiple age groups in one room, all playing for the same shirt. That does not happen often. Neil Percival, co-founder of UK PADEL, says: “It creates pride, a lot of noise and a real connection across generations. Teams buy into it and the atmosphere builds quickly. This is a format that people want to be part of.”
0 Comments