HEAD named as Championship Ball Sponsor
We’re proud to announce HEAD as the official ball sponsor of the UK PADEL National Championships. It’s a three-year agreement that ensures every level of the UK PADEL events pathway will be played with the world-class HEAD PRO S+ padel ball highly regarded across the game. It will be used in all age groups right up to the UK PADEL County Championships.
CEO Nick Baker said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have a global powerhouse like HEAD behind us for the next three years. Their world-class ball elevates our competitions, while their commitment to grassroots growth will help us bring more schools, universities and young players into the sport than ever before. We share a clear vision to create more opportunities for these players to represent their regions through the UK PADEL County Championships and beyond.”
A great way to share your clips!
At two of our clubs we’ve started using PUSH IT, a simple idea that lets players share their best padel moments online during breaks in play. When a player does something they love, they dash off court and hit the big red PUSH IT button which captures the previous 30 seconds, making a clip ready to be shared after the match. Each newsletter, we’ll round up the top five. This edition’s top moment shows new players enjoying the rally of their lives – because in padel every player is a game show winner.
Making a Mark in Murcia
We organised our first overseas competition as the final qualifying round for the Masters series took place in the perfect sunny, warm weather of Murcia, in the south of Spain. It was uplifting to play in perfect conditions after so much damp, wet UK weather – and some sublime padel was played by a small but perfectly formed group of players. Going through to the finals event in Southampton next week are Stuart Warboys, Craig Giles, Darren Boner and Andy Veasey. Congratulations to all four!
The Ranking Debate: Algorithms
One thing that sets UK PADEL apart is the deliberate decision to leave computers out of the system that decides each player’s individual ranking. Most clubs opt to allow the algorithm to dictate, but we take the view that only a human eye can detect where a player deserves to be positioned. Director of Clubs Phil Cornhill says: “Algorithms change the atmosphere. People start getting too competitive and it becomes less friendly. The main thing I do is I try to create groups that work well and make sure people enjoy themselves.”
Elsewhere in the World of Padel
One of our sponsors, MATCHi, has spoken to Lauren Pedersen, Co-Founder and CEO of SportAI, to learn about how AI is removing the player development barrier in racket sports.
She explains how “almost every pixel on the screen becomes like a sensor, allowing us to track body movement without requiring physical sensors or expensive motion-capture setups.” Lauren’s work has even caught the attention of the BBC News Tech Now team who filmed a feature with her in Oslo.
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