Rowland launches big-money R3 Bullpadel Cup
Rowland launches R3 Bullpadel Cup
Padel investor Jonathan Rowland has revealed plans for the UK’s most lucrative padel tour yet, with £100,000 up for grabs in the R3 Bullpadel Cup.
The cup will comprise a maximum of six tournaments this year, with the first in April at an as-yet undisclosed padel venue and the final in December, when it’s expected the R3 Bullpadel Super League 2026 will be officially launched.
The first five rounds of the cup are expected to offer total prize money of £15,000 each split across men, women and junior categories, leaving a potential £25,000 for the December cup finals if six events are held. The overall winners are being guaranteed the ‘highest level of prize money ever paid out for a padel tournament in GB’.
Next level
“Padel tennis is surging in popularity but needs an event to take it to the next level, which the R3 Bullpadel Cup will do,” said Rowland, co-founder and chairman of R3 Sport. “All sports need role models for young players to aspire to be and the cup is designed to achieve that by providing players with the platform and finances to be the best they can be.”
Rowland – also the founder of Redwood Bank – launched R3 Sport almost a year ago with support from GB players Nikhil Mohindra and Sam Jones. At the time he described backing for the business running into ‘double digit millions’ and its plans encompassing being a sport agent, club operator, tournament organiser and padel equipment distributor. Its sponsored players include GB No 1 Christian Medina Murphy, Nikhil, Sam, GB No 2 Catherine Rose and juniors Jake Bewley and ‘padeltwinz’ Luke and Cam Gomes.
Fast forward a year and Rowland is looking to support British players cracking the world top 20 within five years and building a competitive GB squad for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, which many consider will debut padel.
LTA support
The cup – expected to visit London, Manchester and Bristol – will be delivered in conjunction with padel’s governing body in Britain, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), and the International Padel Federation (FIP). Each event will be LTA or FIP sanctioned with draw sizes/entry criteria following the regulations of each sanctioning body.
Tom Murray, Head of Padel at the LTA said: “Through more regular top-level domestic competition we want to give British players more chances to showcase their skills and, for those looking to pursue careers playing padel, more regular opportunities to compete against the country’s best on home soil. This stronger domestic tour offering, combined with a more developed junior competition structure, will help to boost not only our current crop of British performance padel players but also the next generation looking to follow in the footsteps of current British No 1s Aimee Gibson and Christian Medina Murphy.”
For Sam Kemp, R3 managing director, the cup’s focus on providing junior players with opportunities to compete is key: “We will be the first to offer regular, competitive opportunities for junior padel players in the UK – a vitally important step for the development of our future professional players and of the sport more broadly,” he said.
The cup is targeted at top professional players from the UK and overseas and is likely to be played Friday to Sunday (entry size dependant) with full access for the public, as an R3 spokesman explained: “We aim to provide a fantastic spectator experience, providing opportunities for fans to enjoy professional padel, entertainment and more. We want to introduce new audiences to the sport and, as such, not all of our events will be ticketed. There will be a fee to access some of our events but this will be set at a fee that is accessible and affordable for all.” 🎾
