Padel 2025: where will you be playing?
2025 is gearing up to be a bumper year for padel in the UK, with a huge number of new courts planned, new multi-site operators poised to launch and more padel firsts on the horizon. The Bandeja reports
Let’s start with current court numbers. Putting a figure on them remains an educated guess given there is no database collating all clubs and courts.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is padel’s governing body in this country and put out stats a couple of months ago, as part of its 2024 – 2026 strategy launch, pegging court numbers at 350 (NB: in response to this article it has updated this number to a phenomenal 726 courts). Its stated aim is to drive the sport forward to reach 1,000 courts by the end of 2026. Fair to say it’s going to deliver.
Before the LTA released its new numbers, 550 courts was a figure more often heard in the industry and in the last week Pablo Carro, co-founder of booking app Playtomic, said he believed the UK would end the year at around 600. It is indicative of the astounding and rapid growth of padel that even Playtomic, which has the majority of non-LTA padel facilities on its books and is one of the organisations at the very heart of padel in the UK, has struggled to keep track. Counting padel court openings is no mean feat.
Couple this with the amount of court-building activity the sector is seeing (it’s no longer the wild west, but more the wild north, east, south and west), and if our lovely friends in planning departments play ball, it’s not unimaginable that in a year’s time the UK could be blessed with 1,000 courts or thereabouts. New names emerging include Advantage Padel, Padel Box and Destination Padel, with many more – including some big hitters – waiting in the wings and established operators such as Rocks Lane, Pure Padel, Game4Padel and The Padel Club pushing forward with expansion plans. Powerleague is unlikely to stop at its known current sites (Birmingham and London up and running, Peterborough in progress) although its plans for Manchester and Gateshead have gone quiet. Major health club brands are no doubt assessing the opportunities too and watching how David Lloyd moves forward with its plans for 33 courts in 14 UK clubs. A company spokesperson previously told The Bandeja that they are also building in other countries but the UK is a ‘big focus’ for them, adding: “We’re expanding at pace and it’s an area where we are seriously investing in. Where it’s possible, where it’s practical, we’re introducing it.”
Before diving in to what 2025 might hold (floating padel courts, anyone?), we had wanted to give special mention to UK Padel and its gorgeous new development of three double courts and two singles at aparthotel/health spa SeaSpace in Newquay, Cornwall. Not only was it Cornwall’s biggest padel facility, it delivered the county’s first singles courts and the second retractable roof on public courts in the UK. Sadly, Storm Darragh caused what UK Padel described as ‘extensive and irreparable damage’ and the courts will be closed for ‘weeks rather than days’. We wish Neil, Nick and team the best for the re-build.
New names
Advantage Padel is in the process of installing seven indoor courts in Kingsley, Hampshire, with plans to open early next year and develop another another six indoor sites, from the south coast to the Midlands, all indoor and multiple court.
Lewis Deyong, of Advantage Padel, said: “We are delighted to bring the first indoor multi-court padel facility to Hampshire. Our goal is to make Advantage Padel the place where people of all ages can come to enjoy this exciting sport, improve their skills and be part of a thriving community. Our plans are to open a whole series of Advantage Padel centres which we intend to become synonymous with all that’s new and exciting about the sport of padel.”
Padel Box, a family affair of brothers Charlie and Terry Williams, was granted planning in September to convert a Victorian warehouse in Bermondsey, South East London, into a padel club with five indoor courts. It’s due to open in January and, the Williams hope, will be the first of a number of Padel Boxes.
In Cheshire another new name is on the cusp of opening. Destination Padel is bringing the first indoor club to the county, with a five-court venue opening next week at Wolstencroft, Northwich. A second club opens in January in Handforth. With three indoor courts it’s sure to prove a winner with the huge number of padel fans in the area. A third venue is understood to be on the cards in Knutsford, with Padel Destination wanting to have five sites open within two years.
So what are the big names up to?
New kid on the block Dubai’s World Padel Academy has just opened its first UK club in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, with four indoor courts adjacent the town’s football club. In an exclusive interview with The Bandeja, WPA CEO Ali Al Arif said he believed the UK, and US, had the biggest potential for developing the sport and pledged up to £10 million delivering a network of clubs around the UK. Read the interview here.
Rocket Padel has three sites with a total of 29 indoor courts up and running (Bristol, Ilford, and the gorgeous Battersea Power Station club, London’s first indoor riverside padel venue). Planning permission has been secured for a nine-court site in Croydon, south London. And Rocket has teased with plans for another East London site, which it described as ‘the perfect complement to Rocket Padel, Ilford‘.
The Padel Club, the driving force of padel in the north west of England, continues to expand, with a nine-court indoor centre recently opened in Gloucester (the best use of a Toys R Us we can think of!), with work currently underway for what will no doubt be the company’s flagship location – 11 courts at TraffordCity, Manchester, adding to its original four-court club in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Company founder Kris Ball recently stated that The Padel Club will have 28 courts open by mid next year, with plans for an additional 40 in 2025; plans include a new Cheshire venue with five courts, 10 courts in Sutton Ashfield and another 10 courts in the North East of England.
The Padel Hub, currently crowd-funding to drive expansion plans, is quietly and efficiently rolling out its indoor club blueprint and gaining a solid – and at times high profile – clientele. Slough and Crawley each have five courts and Whetstone, in North London, six. Epsom is due to open any time with five courts and Fleet, Hampshire, is nearing completion. Reading is underway and breaks the mould – it will have five indoor and four outdoor courts.
Padel4all is adding to its sites in Bristol, Southend and Swindon with four covered courts at The Saffrons Multi-Sport Facility in Eastbourne, Sussex, due to open on December 16. It also has planning permission for four covered courts at Bracknell Leisure Centre.
Further along the south coast, Game4Padel – the UK’s biggest padel operator – has opened four padel courts and four tennis courts at Hove Beach Park. Its ‘pop-up’ at Withdean Sports Complex is currently being replaced with three covered courts, expected to be open by Spring next year, and the organisation has plans in place for more courts up and down the country, from Glasgow to South West London, Newquay to Staffordshire (two indoor courts at Draycott Racquet and Fitness Club will be the first padel courts in Staffordshire when they open early next year). Sites include a university, Premier League football stadium, GOALS football centre in Chingford, Essex, and further development of its collaboration with GLL to build padel courts at its leisure facilities under the ‘Better’ brand. Game4Padel was also the first UK operator to venture overseas, with operations in Spain, Australia and New Zealand.
Up in Leeds, the Frasers Group has made its first foray into padel, opening the 12-court Slazenger Padel Club in Coal Road, LS14.
Soul Padel, a North West-based operator, is interesting because of its (slightly genius) collab with Decathlon. It started this year with two temporary courts at Decathlons in Stockport and Glasgow. Soul Padel founder Mark Hewlett has since secured planning to build four canopied courts at the Stockport site and submitted plans to make the Glasgow site permanent too. In addition, Soul Padel has gained approval for four covered courts at Queens Park, St Helens (the first covered courts in Merseyside) and is working with Bolton School to provide four covered courts.
While talking about the North West, Club de Padel is worth noting. It has a fantastic location in Manchester city centre and has built a cult following for its padel and branded sportswear. It has a young and enthusiastic group of founders and, The Bandeja understands, plans are being hatched to take the brand undercover for its next club. Manchester Padel Club also deserves a shout out for adding to its court numbers studiously through the year and popping a canopy over its show court. It now has five courts and its own invention – Touch Padel – which is played on a smaller court and is great for developing skills off the walls. Read more about Touch Padel here.
We can’t leave Manchester without mentioning Pure Padel, which started with three outdoor courts in Alderly Edge, Cheshire, and recently opened Manchester’s first indoor facility, six courts in Dutton Street. For founder Sammy Arora this is just the beginning – the company has plans to build 30 padel clubs in the next five years. We usually prefer not to talk about operators promising large numbers of clubs and courts (it makes investors nervous and does the sector no good) but in this case there’s no doubt that Pure Padel has been a sleeping lion and will be a force to be reckoned with. Sammy’s father Bobby helped build the B&M retail chain into a multi-million pound business so there’s plenty of expertise on hand should it be required.
Over to Wales, where North Wales is about to get its first courts, three canopied at Wrexham Tennis Centre. We’re wondering if ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ stars and football club owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are padel fans…if so they are in for a treat when the courts open early next year.
Birmingham
We had thought Birmingham was looking a favourite to be the UK’s next up and coming padel hotspot but although it can claim to be home to some of the UK’s first indoor courts many years ago, growth there is slow. Powerleague and CorteSport have opened venues and Edgbaston Priory Club has recently installed three new courts. Padel Haus at Fort Dunlop is also on the way and we’re heard whispers of a 10 indoor court venue and a handful of smaller venues but, compared to Bristol and Manchester, Birmingham is playing catch-up. CorteSport has also made public its intentions to open centre in Hertfordshire and Cambridgesire.
North East
In the North East True Padel, co-founded by Carr brothers Alex and Adam with what was, at the time, one of the largest indoor padel centres in the UK with nine courts when it opened last year, is opening in Sunderland with five doubles and two singles courts. It has plans for two more sites. In Darlington The Padel Project has started groundworks for four courts adjacent the town’s football and rugby clubs and Ward and Sons Holdings Ltd has gained planning approval for padel courts within a huge sports complex development at the town’s Faverdale Industrial Estate. In Newcastle, Project Padel has delivered three indoor courts in Benton. Other operators are eye-ing up the region, which has an established and strong padel community thanks to the eponymous Middlesbrough Padel Club. Definitely a case of ‘watch this space’.
Heading south
Padel Stars is doing its bit to introduce the sport – and the happiness factor – to new padel areas. PadelStars Bracknell, Southampton, Reading and St Albans are already open, with Basildon, Bournemouth, Chigwell and Folkestone to follow shortly, putting co-founders Andy Knee and Jamie Brooke at the helm of one of the UK’s larger padel operations. We spoke to Padel Stars’ COO Jeevan Gill for a ‘Day in the Life of’ feature – read it here.
The Kent and Sussex area is becoming increasingly well-served. Smash Padel plans for three canopied courts at Haywards Heath Rugby Club have been approved (it already has a similar set-up at Whitstable RFC). Sevenoaks Padel Club looks set to be the first to establish itself at a garden centre following the approval of three courts at Polhill Garden Centre. And two outdoor tennis courts at the town’s Hollybush Tennis Centre will become three padel courts following planning approval in September.
East Grinstead Sports Club is one of our favourite projects working its way to fruition. The club’s padel project – four canopied courts – is being spearheaded by club trustee (and Olympian) Richard Leman, a man with surely the best sporting pedigree of any UK padel founder. He was a member of the gold medal winning GB hockey squad in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and won Bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He captained GB and England from 1988 to 1990, ending his career with 228 caps. He is the driving force behind EGSC’s padel plans – it will be the first racket sport introduced to club famous for being one of the most successful in English hockey. But even Olympians can be challenged by process; it was hoped the courts would be open by the end of this year but, as with many padel builds, delays have pushed this back, with a first quarter 2025 opening now on the cards.
Over in Surrey plans are progressing for six courts covered by an air dome in Leatherhead. Team GB player Nikhil Mohindra, through his company Daminis, is spearheading the project which is planned to be the base for former GB player Sandy Farquharson’s The Padel School, an online coaching platform.
Hampshire is fast emerging as a great place to live if you love padel, with Worldham Golf Club, PadelStars, Somborne Padel Tennis Club, Seacourt on Hayling Island and The West Hants Club to name a few. Star Padel has recently opened in Bordon with two outdoor courts (and pickeball too) and Advantage Padel, as mentioned previously, is opening in Kingsley early next year.
The South West
After the flurry of openings in Bristol last year the South West has been a little quiet. However, we are delighted to see Exeter come online; if we could have opened a padel club anywhere it would have been this city simply because it’s the place we’ve had the most questions about; residents have been desperate for padel and City Padel Exeter has delivered, with a six court indoor club on the fabulously named Mushroom Road. Other operators are looking to move into the city and its environs but finding locations and overcoming planning issues are proving a challenge.
Varsity padel
The National University Padel League has hit a sweetspot and is going great guns. Surprising therefore that, as far as we know, only two universities have their own courts – Padel United at Plymouth Marjon University and The University of Cambridge Sports Centre, which has recently opened two padel courts in Cambridge West. It’s a welcome addition to the areas’s sporting provision but Cambridgeshire remains one of the many counties still woefully lacking in padel facilities.
Padel deprived
Despite fantastic growth this year, there are still many parts of the UK deprived of padel. Counties down the East coast and into Norfolk/Suffolk are particularly empty, as is Devon, Cornwall, much of Wales, Northern and Southern Scotland and Northern England (shout out to businessman Bill Dixon who is opening an indoor four-court club in Workington, Cumbria’s first padel facility). The elegantly named Vida Del Padel in Lincoln is a shining beacon of hope for Lincolnshire, equipped with three indoor courts and what is the best feature wall of any club we’ve seen (see below). The Cambridgeshire city of Peterborough looks set to get five padel courts (and three pickleball courts) thanks to Powerleague’s plans for land at Stanground College. The five-a-side football specialist wants to re-purpose four dilapidated tennis courts so definitely one to watch. And following Vida Del Padel’s naming strategy is Casa Del Padel in Milton Keynes, which we understand will be six courts, five canopied, when it opens next year.
Names to be revealed
So who’s to watch in 2025? Undoubtedly it’s the names we haven’t mentioned and their plans for what have been described as ‘seriously prestigious’ sites, including one operator with 12 locations in its portfolio. And could there be expansion news from Canary Wharf’s Padium, London’s flagship padel centre? Rocks Lane Padel in Chiswick, London, has expanded this year to 20 courts in London and four in Cornwall. It is also delivering internationally, with eight courts in Stockholm, Sweden, five in Seville, Spain, and plans to ‘build clubs and partnerships in major padel hubs across the globe’. It’s 2025 plans include adding up to 20 more courts to its portfolio, with 12 covered.
For our part we’re looking forward to finding out where Pure Padel and WPA are targeting for their next locations and hearing news that padel courts are being installed in South Lincolnshire (a personal request!). The game has made it to Stamford at private members club Woolfox, which scored a first-for-Rutland with the installation of its court.
As we head into Christmas and the new year, padel is showing no signs of letting up. Padel consultant Ian Colligon, of iPadel, is fielding growing numbers of enquiries and believes everything bar planning is in place for padel to fly high in 2025. He told us: “The interest is there (for building courts), the investment is there and the demand is there. The only negative is planning. If the sector, led by the LTA working with planning departments, can crack that then 2025 will be a break-through year for padel.” 🎾
* Which courts/operators have we missed? e-mail emma@thebandeja.com
