Hi everyone,

Welcome to the latest edition of PBM Monthly.

Padel Business Magazine is built for those driving the business side of padel, from club owners and investors to tech founders and innovators moving the sport forward.

Each month, we deliver the stories that matter most: in-depth reporting, expert perspectives, and original insights you won’t find elsewhere. It’s your clear view of where the sport is going and who’s leading the way.

In this issue, you’ll find four major news stories, along with two in-depth features exploring this month’s central theme: padel investment and M&A activity. Plus PBM Partner Insight from PlaySight on the impact of smart court technology.

We hope you enjoy the latest news and insights from Padel Business Magazine.

The PBM Team

PBM PARTNER INSIGHT

Fresh industry perspectives from our respected partners.

From court to content – how smart court technology is reshaping the economics of padel

PlaySight’s SmartCourt™ technology delivers AI-generated highlights using multi-angle cameras. Image credit: PlaySight.

As global padel court numbers surge towards 80,000 and competition intensifies across mature markets, the next battleground is no longer just physical infrastructure. In this PBM Partner Insight piece, we examine how smart court technology is evolving from a novelty into core digital infrastructure for clubs. From AI-generated highlights and automated content to new membership tiers and sponsor inventory, platforms such as PlaySight, with its SmartCourt^TM solutions, are helping operators treat their courts not just as bookable assets, but as scalable media and data engines capable of driving retention and recurring revenue.

Read the PBM Partner Insight here

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Net news

Diving into the major news stories shaping this month’s theme and beyond: curated reporting and global headlines driving the business of padel forward.

Specsavers partners with 15 London padel clubs

The link-up gives Specsavers branding opportunities across 69 different padel courts. Image credit: Specsavers.

A new six-month sponsorship campaign from the UK optician aims to raise awareness of the benefits of wearing contact lenses for sport.

Debut US National Padel League season attracts over 1,900 players

An extra feature of the NPL’s first season was the Delta Golden Ticket campaign, providing national champions with travel vouchers as awards. Image credit: NPL.

The new competition featured more than 160 teams representing 19 padel clubs, and took place in 37 cities across six regions during its inaugural season.

Playtomic padel court bookings in UK ‘more than doubled in 2025’

The number of active UK padel clubs on the Playtomic platform increased from 129 to 288 in 2025. Image credit: Playtomic.

The booking platform, used by an estimated 80% of UK padel clubs, says a sustained influx of first-time players indicates widening awareness of the sport beyond its early adopters.

Tournated links up with World Padel Rating to launch USPA digital platform 

The platform is designed to support the accelerating growth of padel in the US, where court numbers have reached 979 across 258 active facilities. Image credit: USPA.

A first US governing body partnership marks Tournated’s largest padel federation project to date, with fully automated rankings, and a scalable digital foundation designed to support the rapid national growth of padel.

The big hit

The latest exclusive and original in-depth features, interviews and analysis from Padel Business Magazine. Insight you will not find anywhere else.

PBM Insight Report: What next for padel’s investment drive amid wave of new capital?

Investor appeal: Padel competitions, teams, court operators, tech, apparel and equipment are all sparking interest from venture capital funds and private wealth alike.

Pro Padel League (PPL) teams New York Atlantics and Los Angeles Beat have attracted significant investment in recent months. Image credit: PPL.

Padel is attracting rapidly rising levels of investment in key growth markets such as the UK and US, as well as other emerging regions including the Middle East, following a significant shift in the landscape for the sport globally over the past year. But as the industry begins to mature and become more competitive, what will future investment in padel look like?

Read on to get exclusive insight on the latest developments.

PBM Insight Report by Laura Syrett and Paul Cochrane.

Opinion serving

A trusted perspective from inside the business of padel. Original opinion and on-theme insight from the leaders shaping the sport’s next chapter.

Patty Camps: Why the next phase of padel investment will be platform-led

Patty Camps, a consultant specialising in padel investment strategy and investor relations. Image credit: Patty Camps.

Digital play: As padel matures in key markets, the conversation is moving beyond building courts to creating connected communities.

Padel’s first wave of investment was easy to understand: find a growing market, build courts, fill them with players. But as the sport evolves, so do the questions investors are asking. What creates loyalty beyond location? How do clubs retain players? Where does long-term value really sit? Patty Camps, a consultant specialising in padel investment strategy and investor relations, explores why the future of padel investment lies in the platforms that connect players to clubs, clubs to data, and data to smarter decisions, turning isolated venues into thriving, interconnected ecosystems.

Padel’s first wave of investment was easy to understand: find a growing market, build courts, fill them with players. But as the sport evolves, so do the questions investors are asking. What creates loyalty beyond location? How do clubs retain players? Where does long-term value really sit? Patty Camps, a consultant specialising in padel investment strategy and investor relations, explores why the future of padel investment lies in the platforms that connect players to clubs, clubs to data, and data to smarter decisions, turning isolated venues into thriving, interconnected ecosystems.

Over the past decade, padel has evolved from a niche sport into a global business opportunity. What was once driven by enthusiasts and entrepreneurs is now firmly on the radar of institutional investors, private equity firms, and strategic operators. Courts are being built at pace, clubs are expanding across borders, and capital is flowing into the ecosystem at unprecedented levels. 

This first wave of investment has been both necessary and successful. Without courts, there is no game. Without clubs, there is no scale. But as padel enters its next stage of maturity, a key question is beginning to surface: where will long-term value in padel actually be created? 

If the first chapter of padel investment was about building physical infrastructure, the next one will be about building platforms and systems that connect players, clubs, data, content, and community into scalable, defensible businesses. 

Early padel investment followed a familiar and logical pattern. Capital flowed into what was easiest to understand and underwrite: courts, clubs, and real estate. For investors, this made sense. Physical assets feel tangible. Unit economics can be modelled. Revenue per court, utilisation rates, membership growth, and local market demand all provide measurable inputs. Many early deals mirrored strategies seen in gyms, boutique fitness studios, or leisure real estate: acquire or build venues, standardise operations, and expand through replication.

Patty Camps, a consultant specialising in padel investment strategy and investor relations. Image credit: Patty Camps.

This infrastructure-led approach helped professionalise the sport. It accelerated geographic expansion, improved playing standards, and brought operational discipline to what had previously been a fragmented market. In Europe especially, club networks scaled rapidly, creating national and regional footprints that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. In short, this first wave laid the foundations. It gave padel a physical presence, commercial credibility, and a baseline business model. 

Limitations of a purely infrastructure-driven strategy 

However, as more capital enters the space, the limitations of a purely infrastructure-driven strategy are becoming clearer. Clubs are capital intensive businesses. They require significant upfront investment, ongoing maintenance, local staffing, and constant operational attention. Margins are often thin, especially in competitive urban markets. Growth can be fast, but it is rarely light. 

There is also a structural challenge: padel is inherently local, but investment capital seeks scale. A court in Madrid does not automatically make a court in Miami or Dubai more valuable. Each venue operates within its own cultural, regulatory, and commercial context. 

This is not to say that club roll-ups or venue consolidation are flawed strategies. They can be highly effective when well executed. But on their own, they struggle to create the kind of defensible, global businesses that attract long-term premium valuations. Scale without differentiation risks becoming scale without loyalty.

As more capital enters the padel space, the limitations of a purely infrastructure-driven strategy are becoming clearer. Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Turning isolated courts into networks 

This is where the second phase of padel investment begins. In simple terms, a platform is everything that sits on top of the court: the technology, systems, and experiences that connect players to the sport beyond a single venue. Platforms turn isolated courts into networks, and networks into ecosystems. 

For non-investors, this can sound abstract, so it helps to think practically. Platforms in padel include booking systems, membership structures, coaching marketplaces, competition formats, data analytics, content, media, and community engagement. They are the tools that shape how players discover padel, how often they play, who they play with, and how long they stay engaged with the sport. 

From an investment perspective, platforms matter because they scale differently. A new court requires new capital. A new user on a platform does not. Once built, platforms can grow across cities and countries with relatively low incremental cost, while generating valuable data and recurring relationships. This is where long-term value begins to compound. The court is the entry point, but the platform is where lifetime value is created.

Platforms turn isolated courts into networks, and networks into ecosystems. Image credit: Playtomic.

Four key advantages of a platform-led approach

Platform-led models unlock several advantages that physical infrastructure alone cannot. First, they centralise the relationship with the player. Instead of engagement ending when someone leaves the club, platforms allow operators to stay connected across venues, cities, and even countries. This creates continuity in a sport that is otherwise fragmented. 

Second, they generate insight. Data on playing frequency, peak demand, pricing sensitivity, and user behaviour informs smarter decisions, from court pricing to expansion strategy. Over time, this data becomes a strategic asset in its own right. 

Third, platforms open new revenue layers. Memberships, digital services, content, sponsorship, and partnerships can all exist alongside court fees, diversifying income and reducing reliance on pure utilisation. 

Finally, platforms reshape M&A dynamics. Businesses that control technology, data, or community often become acquirers rather than targets, or command higher valuations when consolidation accelerates. 

US padel market stands apart 

Globally, padel markets are developing at different speeds. Europe is entering a more competitive and mature phase, where growth continues but operational efficiency and differentiation matter more. The Middle East has embraced padel as part of a broader lifestyle and wellness narrative, supported by capital and rapid execution. Latin America shows strong organic adoption but remains undercapitalised relative to its potential. 

The United States, however, stands apart. The US is still early in its padel journey, but it is likely to become the market where the platform thesis is tested most clearly. It is capital-intensive, geographically vast, and highly brand driven. Players are accustomed to digital experiences, subscriptions, and integrated ecosystems. In this context, standalone clubs may struggle to achieve national relevance on their own. Platform-led strategies – those that connect venues, standardise experiences, and build recognisable brands – are more likely to succeed.

For global investors, the US is not just another expansion market. It is a signal of how padel’s business model may ultimately evolve. The implication is straightforward: look beyond the court count. Physical assets matter, but they are only one layer of value. The more important question is who owns the relationship with the player, and how that relationship scales. 

The US is likely to become the market where the platform thesis is tested most clearly. Image credit: United States Padel Association (USPA).

More negotiating power and more exit options 

For operators, platforms are no longer optional. They are not simply operational tools, but strategic leverage. In a consolidating market, the businesses that control data, brand, and community will have more negotiating power and more exit options. The most attractive future acquisitions may not be the largest club networks, but the ecosystems that connect them. 

Padel is still in an exciting phase of growth, but the investment narrative is shifting. The sport is moving from a land grab mentality to an ecosystem mindset. The next generation of value will not be defined by how many courts a business owns, but by how well it understands, serves, and retains its players across locations, formats, and experiences. 

In that sense, padel’s future will be built as much in software, data, and community as it is in glass, steel, and turf. For investors looking ahead, that is where the most compelling opportunities are likely to emerge. 

• Patty Camps is a consultant specialising in padel investment strategy and investor relations.. She can be contacted via email at info@venturepadelist.com Instagram: @venturepadelist @pattycamps LinkedIn: Patty Camps

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Padel is attracting rapidly rising levels of investment in key growth markets such as the UK and US, as well as other emerging regions including the Middle East, following a significant shift in the landscape for the sport globally over the past year. But as the industry begins to mature and become more competitive, what will future investment in padel look like? PBM Insight Report by Laura Syrett and Paul Cochrane.

The last 12 months has witnessed a wave of investment capital entering padel, with a series of major moves in the UK and the US in particular – including sports clubs investing in facilities and sponsors funding infrastructure, players and merchandise.

Driven by its rapid expansion globally, and its attraction as an emerging sport, money from dedicated investment vehicles such as venture capital funds and private wealth from entrepreneurs is now being channelled into all levels of the game, from leagues to clubs to booking apps. 

Venture capital, both local and international, has helped oil this fresh investment, especially in the US. 

Last September, Virginia-based operator and investor Epic Padel closed an oversubscribed $10 million seed funding round led by NowaisWorld, the sports investment arm of Abu Dhabi-based fund Nowais Inc, and Dubai-based digital investment platform Stryde Ventures, with participation from other venture capital investors and professional athletes, such as retired Egyptian triathlete Omar Nour, former American footballer Tre Boston, and Swedish ice hockey player Nicklas Bäckström. 

Epic Padel said it planned to use the capital to launch four to six new US-based clubs across Virginia, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Utah, transforming underused spaces into community sports hubs. 

In October 2025, the Pro Padel League (PPL), North America’s professional padel circuit founded in 2022 and launched in 2023 as a series of franchises where clubs pay to join the league, capitalised on a successful second season by securing seed funding in its New York Atlantics club franchise, valuing the club at more than $10 million.  

The funding came from a consortium of investors including New York-based investment firms Left Lane Capital and Kactus Capital Management, US businessman Gary Vaynerchuk, and US tennis star Frances Tiafoe.

Last September, Epic Padel closed an oversubscribed $10 million seed funding round led by NowaisWorld. Image credit: Epic Padel.

Investors eye opportunities in a fast-growing sport

Arjun Kapur, vice president at Left Lane Capital, tells Padel Business Magazine that investors are eyeing opportunities in padel as it is an emerging, fast-growing sport with global appeal. 

“Building on Left Lane’s track record of backing high-growth sports properties – including Kings League [seven-a-side football/soccer], League One Volleyball, The Snow League [winter sports] and Real American Freestyle [wrestling] – our investment in the Pro Padel League reflects our conviction in emerging sports leagues with global potential,” he says. 

“Padel’s explosive growth, combined with significant white space in North America, positions the league to scale meaningfully and build a passionate community around the sport. The sport blends athletic intensity, remarkable shot-making and a strong social component – all of which give it real staying power,” he adds.

Since its launch in 2023, the PPL has expanded its franchise model across North America, and it now comprises 10 teams in nine cities and one state: Toronto, San Diego, New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Cancun, Los Angeles, Houston, Orlando and Arkansas.

Over recent months, new external investors have bought into different franchises, giving the teams and the league a significant capital boost. 

The PPL New York Atlantics deal was followed in November 2025 when the PPL reported that its Los Angeles Beat franchise had been acquired by a US family investment office run by New Jersey-based logistics magnate David Eisen and his son Corey Eisen for $10 million, the largest single-owner investment in a PPL team since its launch in 2023.

Pro Padel League (PPL) teams New York Atlantics and Los Angeles Beat have attracted significant investment in recent months. Image credit: PPL.

Hybrid investment funds and community ownership models

Another signal of growing investor appetite for padel in the US has come from operators setting up their own hybrid investment funds and community ownership models.

Conquer Padel Club, which owns a flagship facility in Tempe, Arizona, and has plans to open more clubs across the US, has established the Conquer Capital Fund, which aims to sell $15 million in equity to interested shareholders. 

Membership interests are priced at $1,000 per ‘interest’, and minimum equity investments start at $50,000, with debt investments also available.

According to Conquer, the planned investment term is expected to span five to seven years, “with a focus on generating consistent returns through a combination of steady membership growth, increasing participation in lessons, clinics, leagues and a robust calendar of tournaments”.

Conquer Padel Club has established the Conquer Capital Fund, which aims to sell $15 million in equity to interested shareholders. Image credit: Conquer Padel Club.

UK padel market attracts fresh investment

Padel investment is also growing in the UK as the market continues to expand rapidly. This is benefiting companies such as London-headquartered sports, media and entertainment investor R3 Sport, which is focused on emerging sports such as padel and pickleball.

Sam Kemp, managing director of operations, tournaments and events at R3 Sport, says padel’s rapid rise from a low base has caught the eyes of investors. 

“There is huge first-mover advantage within this early-stage market,” he tells Padel Business Magazine. “With a shortage of quality facilities, tournaments and experiences, coupled with a significant latent demand, padel represents one of the most compelling growth-stage investment opportunities in sports today.”

In terms of returns, Kemp says these can vary widely and are highly dependent on execution, location and cost management, cautioning that “[investor] success isn’t guaranteed”.

He observes: “The padel hype and celebrity involvement has attracted speculative entrants in some areas and inflated the cost of some services which can negatively affect pricing and extend payback periods.”

However, with “the right delivery model,” Kemp says “quality clubs can be a very attractive proposition,” adding that the expanding player base and growing number of courts also supports demand for racquets, balls, apparel and other branded clothing and equipment.

UK No.1 Christian Medina Murphy is among the British padel players backed by R3 Sport. Image credit: R3 Sport.

Kemp notes that padel investment from venture capital is being augmented by money from high-net-worth individuals and celebrities, who are injecting both capital and publicity into events, teams, brands and players. 

R3 Sport was itself acquired in November 2025 by padel and pickleball-focused sports and entertainment vehicle VVV Sports, a company listed on the UK’s Aquis Exchange for growing companies. VVV says it has a clear focus on expanding padel’s appeal. 

Celebrity former professional athletes have also been boosting UK padel investment. Edinburgh-based operator Game4Padel, for instance, is backed by former male tennis world number one Sir Andy Murray and his brother and professional male tennis doubles player Jamie Murray, among other former professional tennis players as well as English footballers, including Tammy Abraham and Callum Wilson. It is now one of the largest operators in the UK with more than 70 courts across 28 venues. 

Playtomic funding round highlights investor interest in padel tech

As well as fresh capital going into competitions, teams and court operators, the growing popularity of padel in markets such as the US and UK has also helped drive significant levels of investment into padel-focused technology businesses. 

In March 2025, booking platform Playtomic announced the closure of a major new investment round for $70 million (€65 million), including $65 million (€55 million) in equity funding from backers such as London-based global, independent investment bank GP Bullhound, which first invested in the company in 2018, and €10 million ($12 million) in debt financing from Spanish bank Santander. 

The funding is intended to help Playtomic expand globally, including in the US, UK and Germany, and valued the funded platform at around €250 million.  

On announcing its participation in Playtomic’s fundraising, GP Bullhound cited padel’s rapid US expansion as helping make the sport and its physical/digital infrastructure attractive to investors. 

Playtomic has since raised further capital through a crowdfunding campaign launched via Crowdcube in November 2025, through which anyone aged over 18 can become a shareholder, with stakes starting at €114. 

According to Playtomic’s own promotional investment video supporting its crowdfunding drive, the company has raised €110 million ($130 million) from professional investors and the pitch to crowdfunders is targeting rapid growth in this capital. As of February 27 2026 Playtomic had raised over €5.2 million via Crowdcube. 

According to details released by Playtomic in September 2025, the company had handled more than €346 million in transactions, up 51% on the previous year, and received €29 million in net revenue, an increase of 38% year-on-year. It connected more than 4.7 million players across 66 countries.

Playtomic co-founders (left to right): chief strategy officer (CSO) Pedro Claveria, CEO Félix Ruiz, and chief commercial officer (CCO) Pablo Carro. Image credit: Playtomic.

Padel tournament organisation and financing expands in the Gulf 

Another padel market generating growing interest from investors is the Middle East. Investment is flowing into the sport in the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Padel's expanding popularity has been bolstered by new clubs and tournaments catering to local as well as international players. The sport has been given a further boost by state-backed ventures financing tournaments. 

“Padel is booming across the Middle East,” observes Gary Davidson, group chief operating officer at 54, a UK-based global sports and entertainment agency, which received investment from Sanabil Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), in 2021. 

The company behind the creation of LIV Golf, 54 is an investor and partner in the new global padel team circuit Hexagon World Series launched late last year.

Davidson notes that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the world’s fastest growing padel markets, and that given the GCC has a way to catch up more mature markets such as Spain and Argentina, “for these Gulf nations to be recognised globally shows how much demand there is, and expected to be”.

According to the FIP World Padel Report 2025, Saudi Arabia, which has the GCC’s largest economy and population, at 34.9 million, has an estimated 400,000 padel players and over 1,100 courts, while the UAE, with a population of around 11.5 million, has around 450,000 padel players and 950 courts.

The end of 2025 saw a flurry of tournament-related investment in the GCC, with Qatari government-backed investment fund Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), which founded Premier Padel with the International Padel Federation (FIP) and the Professional Padel Association in 2022, performing a key role.

In December, Premier Padel, in conjunction with Qatar Airways, hosted a week of open-door padel matches attended by Formula 1 stars and global athlete padel enthusiasts in the capital, Doha ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. 

Amid rising global interest in the sport, QSI continues to support the Premier Padel tour’s expansion. In 2026, there will be 26 tournaments across 18 countries, with nearly 75% indoors. In 2025 there were 24 tournaments across 16 countries.

Premier Padel, in conjunction with Qatar Airways, hosted a week of open-door padel matches attended by Formula 1 stars and global athlete padel enthusiasts in Doha, in December 2025 ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. Image credit: Premier Padel.

Saudi Arabian public and private financing of padel on the up

While Qatar has been the first mover in tournaments and state-backing of padel, Saudi Arabian public and private financing has expanded in the past year. In September 2025, the BSF Padel League was launched by the Saudi Padel Committee, hosting a tournament in 2026 with a prize pool of SAR1 million ($266,666) through a three-year partnership with Banque Saudi Fransi. 

And in December 2025, PIF’s 54 teamed up with the Hexagon Cup and FIP to create the Hexagon World Series, the new global professional circuit governed by FIP and designed to complement Premier Padel and the Cupra FIP Tour. 

“It is integrated into the professional calendar with players receiving ranking points,” says Davidson. “It sets us at the top of the pyramid, which is great, but doing something a bit different, having fewer players, one show court, and built around teams of men and women. It can be a really complimentary product with what QSI and Qatar are doing with Premier Padel.” 

The involvement of PIF, Saudi Arabia’s $1.15 trillion sovereign wealth fund, in padel through 54 and Hexagon events, should drive more interest and investment, adds Davidson.

“Whether private wealth, sovereign wealth, or equity, there is a breadth of interest and capital, and that is needed to be sustainable,” he says. “If it’s only one category of investment really focused on padel, it’s potentially a bit of a risk, whether in the professional game, events, infrastructure, courts or manufacturing.”

He adds: “We are speaking to a lot of investors about the growth of the Hexagon World Series. Investment in sports as an asset class is not exclusively reserved to Middle Eastern money or investment. It is global.”

 (Left to right) Gary Davidson, group chief operating officer at 54, Enrique Buenaventura, founder of the Hexagon Cup, and Luigi Carraro, president of FIP, at the launch of the Hexagon World Series in London. Image credit: FIP.

Operator Padel In expands across Middle East

Private investment is also playing a role in padel’s expansion in the Gulf. Padel In, a Qatar-based padel franchise with indoor facilities, was set up by two Qatari brothers, Mohammed Saadon Al-Kuwari and Khalid Saadon Al-Kuwari, who have played padel professionally and were keen to grow the sport in the GCC. 

Johan Madarasz, general manager of Padel In, stresses that the operator now has clubs across the emirate, and has expanded its network in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, implementing semi-professional tournaments.  

He says financing the competitions comes from sponsorship and registration fees. “We’ve created our own kind of tour, with a season of 10 to 11 tournaments. We have sponsors join us for one year, or more, as sponsoring for one tournament doesn’t bring much value compared to one year of exposure.”  

The more players, the more return for sponsors. “The vision is for everybody to compete. We have four, sometimes five categories, from the A level to E. People love to compete,” says Madarasz.

He stresses that prize money ranges from Qatari Riyal QAR54,600 ($15,000) to QAR91,000 ($25,000), varying by category, from national professional players from the GCC, as well as international players. Padel In works with sponsors for branding at clubs, hosting events for VIP customers of the sponsors, and networking events. 

Padel In, a Qatar-based padel franchise with indoor facilities, was set up by two Qatari brothers who have played padel professionally. Image credit: Padel In.

Rising levels of prize money in Saudi Arabia

Ibrahim Akeel, CEO of Flex League, a Saudi-based sports-tech startup platform that enables players to join flexible competitions, book courts and track performance, notes that two major regional tournaments were held in the country last year.

“One of the events, the Brew92 Cup, had prize money of Saudi Riyals SAR100,000 ($26,666). Two months later the prize money was SAR200,000, both sponsored by local brands such as Brew92. It shows [there is] more sponsorship of big tournaments,” he says. 

Saudi car rental company Theeb also organised its ‘Theeb Elite Padel Cup’, with total cash prizes of SAR130,000 ($34,666) plus a car. 

The Saudi Padel Committee, which became an official federation last year, is also increasing funding for the sport in the country, with more tournaments and events, as it seeks to popularise the sport. 

“The main focus of the federation is to increase the exposure of players, through big tournaments,” observes Akeel. “But they also want to have a new direction, to promote smaller scale tournaments [attracting] amateur players”, who can compete with people of similar skillsets.

“So while before everyone could join tournaments, now it will be more than three categories,” making games more competitive, he adds. 

But while state funding for Saudi padel has increased, there has not been investment so far in public courts, which Akeel hopes will be the next step to heighten padel’s uptake in the kingdom. 

Expectation that padel could become an Olympic sport in 2032, staged in Brisbane, could drive further investment in the sport in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and beyond given Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022, and Saudi Arabia hosting more major sports events and potentially bidding to host the 2036 Olympics.

Davidson says: “This could be massive from a funding point of view, and how padel is integrated into national curriculums, if Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar put it in among their Olympic programmes.”

Funding is increasing for padel in Saudi Arabia, with more tournaments and events. Image credit: International Padel Federation (FIP).

Major sponsors turn their attention to padel

Organisers are also keen to attract sponsorship from global brands that have not traditionally considered padel as part of their global portfolios. “This is changing. Qatar Airways and Heineken are sponsors of the [UEFA football] Champions League, and are now big sponsors in padel,” observes Davidson.

He also points to padel world number one Arturo Coello signing a partnership with Rolex in January 2026, which Davidson says “is huge, as its sports portfolio was golf and tennis focused”. 

He argues that bolstering media coverage of padel events requires a shift, however, with TV and media broadcasting having been almost exclusively reported in Spanish due to 85% of the top 100 players being from Spain and Argentina.

“This makes sense in who is following and the fan base, but as padel evolves, that will change,” he points out. “We saw similar things in women’s golf with the influx of Japanese and Korean talent into the LPGA Tour, whilst it continues to be reported in English, attracting global brands and transcending cultural and geographic barriers. That is the next phase, for sponsors to invest in the sport and follow the fan base.” 

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As competition intensifies and margins tighten, forward-thinking padel operators are treating digital infrastructure such as PlaySight’s SmartCourt^TM technology not as a luxury add-on, but as a core asset capable of driving retention, sponsorship, and recurring revenue.

When padel’s global growth narrative is recounted, the first chapter invariably opens with numbers about court builds, player growth, and new markets.

According to the latest FIP World Padel Report, there are now estimated to be over 35 million padel players worldwide, with 2025 delivering a 16.1% increase in clubs, 15.2% rise in courts, and 42% growth in members registered with national federations compared to the previous year.

The report states that in 2025 the number of padel clubs globally rose by 4,775, surpassing 24,600, with 14,355 new courts bringing the total to 77,300, spread across 150 nations and 20 dependent territories, up 26 on the previous year.

This expansion has driven remarkable opportunities for developers, operators, and investors. Yet beneath the surface of facility buildouts lies a more subtle, and commercially significant, shift: the emergence of digital infrastructure as a core driver of value in padel clubs.

Smart court technology, once a novelty confined to high-performance sport, is now positioning itself as a standard business tool for clubs seeking differentiation, deeper engagement and diversified revenue streams. As padel moves from rapid expansion into a more competitive maturity phase, this shift could redefine how venues compete and monetise their assets.

Amid padel’s rapid global expansion, digital infrastructure has emerged as a core driver of value for operators. Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Beyond the ‘tick-the-box’ installation

Padel courts have historically been a physical asset: you build it, you fill peak hours, you generate predictable booking revenue. But that model is under pressure. Rising operating costs, intensifying competition, and elevated player expectations mean that simply having courts is not enough. As highlighted in recent Padel Business Magazine reporting on club facilities and revenue diversification, operators are thinking less like landlords and more like experience providers, as they look to generate value beyond the court. 

Enter smart court technology. These systems integrate video capture, AI-driven analytics, remote streaming and automatic content generation directly into the court experience. What was once the preserve of elite training or broadcast environments is becoming accessible to clubs across the ecosystem of padel, along with several other sports.

This evolution is being driven by platforms such as PlaySight, with its SmartCourt™ technology.

PlaySight’s SmartCourt™ technology delivers AI-generated highlights using multi-angle cameras. Image credit: PlaySight.

With solutions for over 30 sports including tennis, padel and pickleball, PlaySight has led many aspects of the smart court market since the company was founded in 2014. Its video technology is also used in sports such as basketball, baseball, American football and soccer.

PlaySight’s SmartCourt™ platform uses advanced AI to deliver highlights, statistics and insights for teams and players to improve their performance, featuring 60FPS zero-distortion cameras with a wide field of view, multi-angle capture as well as remote broadcast production.

Instant replays can even be viewed – for example in padel to see if the ball was in or out – by using PlaySight’s VAR option, with some clubs connecting PlaySight’s TagMe solution to their TV screens to review immediately.

PlaySight’s VAR solution allows instant replays to be viewed, for example to see if the ball was in or out. Image credit: PlaySight.

The technology, which comes with dedicated customer support, can be integrated with booking apps and is designed for easy sharing and scalability across venues, further helping democratise the possibilities of smart court platforms.

Ultimately, it means that PlaySight’s solutions – which have a proven reliability among professional sports organisations, including several NBA teams – are now open to players of any ability when they step on to a court with smart technology.

PlaySight’s SmartCourt™ platform generates statistics and insights for teams and players to improve their performance, Image credit: PlaySight.

Experience matters, and players expect more

The business opportunity driven by the likes of PlaySight isn’t just technological, though, it’s cultural. Smart courts are changing how players interact with the sport, how clubs tell their stories, and how value is captured and monetised.

Today’s padel players are digital natives, club loyalists and content creators all at once. Their engagement is not confined to the 90 minutes on court. Instead, it extends to the digital moments before, during and after play.

Smart courts amplify this. With the integrated multi-angle cameras, automated replays, AI-generated highlights and performance analytics offered by the likes of PlaySight, every match becomes a moment of content and insight, not just a booking on a calendar. Whether players are reviewing a tactical decision, reliving winning rallies, or sharing highlight clips on social media channels, the game extends beyond the court boundaries into digital ecosystems.

At P3 Padel Club in Hamburg, Germany, for example, players share highlight shots and amusing moments captured by the PlaySight platform on social channels, with a select few featured on the club’s Instagram account, including a ‘Fail of the Month’ highlighting a shot which didn’t quite work out.

The commercial logic is straightforward. When players can access recordings, highlights and performance data immediately after play, the club relationship does not end when they walk off court. Digital touchpoints extend engagement beyond the physical session, reinforcing loyalty and increasing the likelihood of repeat bookings. While formalised retention data in padel is still emerging, adjacent racquet sports markets have already demonstrated that integrated video and analytics deepen player engagement and social sharing behaviour.

By making content automatic, immediate and shareable, clubs turn players into advocates, and courts into always-on media assets, accelerating community building without the overhead of dedicated media teams.

The PlaySight app helps padel clubs boost engagement with their players. Image credit: PlaySight.

Commercial levers: monetising the digital layer

Because smart courts transform every session into a data and content event, they unlock meaningful commercial levers that were previously difficult to scale in padel:

1. New membership and premium tiers: Clubs can offer tiered access to analytics packages, advanced match breakdowns or highlight archives, which strengthen recurring revenue profiles and member stickiness.

2. Sponsorship and brand visibility: Automated overlays, studio-grade live streaming and sharable content create new sponsor inventory. Brands now have measurable digital exposure, not just logo boards. This makes clubs more attractive commercial partners.

3. Social media and community: Clubs without smart courts must buy content. Clubs with smart courts generate it continuously. This organic content engine cuts marketing costs and increases reach as members share their own moments.

4. Coaching and performance services: Video analytics and tagging tools transform coaching from intuition-based to data-informed, allowing clubs to package coaching pathways as premium value-adds.

These levers matter in a landscape where players are more digital, more interconnected, and less loyal to single venues than ever before. With padel’s global player base continuing to grow rapidly, operators that exploit the digital touchpoints around play will have a structural advantage.

(Left) PlaySight co-founder Chen Shachar and (right) global sales manager Gaston Muszkat with Sammy Arora, founder of UK operator Pure Padel, which uses the company’s SmartCourt™ technology. Image credit: PlaySight. 

Operational simplicity, strategic integration

A persistent barrier to technology adoption across sports has been complexity. Systems that require manual activation, specialised operators, or complex workflows are difficult to scale across multiple venues.

The next wave of smart court platforms is designed to mitigate this friction. Integration with booking systems, automatic match activation, cloud storage, and remote analytics mean minimal human intervention is needed to capture full value. Clubs don’t just install cameras. They embed a connected digital ecosystem that works seamlessly with daily operations.

This operational simplicity matters for owners and investors who want scalable, low-touch solutions that compound value over time, especially across larger portfolios.

The potential of this evolution has already been signalled by padel operators using PlaySight’s technology, such as Padel Haus in the US.

Through an expansion of their partnership announced last August, PlaySight’s SmartCourt™ platform is to be installed at each court across five new Padel Haus locations – Atlanta, Nashville, Denver, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg, building on the existing installation at the operator’s flagship Dumbo venue.

The expansion includes over 30 newly equipped courts and 35 AI-powered cameras, bringing the network total to over 35 courts and more than 40 cameras.

A padel club can be turned into a permanent SmartCourt™ venue with PlaySight’s connected Pro platform fixed solution. Image credit: PlaySight.

Players at each Padel Haus location will be able to access the PlaySight TagMe platform, featuring multi-angle video capture, automated highlights, advanced AI analytics, and detailed match statistics.

Padel Haus will also deploy PlaySight’s GoMobile portable system across each city to enhance flexibility in content creation, remote event production, and portable broadcasting.

PlaySight’s GoMobile portable system allows padel clubs to record video, live stream and capture matches and tournaments without the need for cabling or network infrastructure.
Image credit: PlaySight.

What this means for investors, operators and developers

The playbook for padel facilities is now evolving rapidly. Whereas early adopters could differentiate with design or court numbers alone, the bar for competitive advantage is rising. Venues that integrate technology deeply into the player journey will see stronger retention, higher engagement metrics, richer data capture, and more diversified revenue streams.

For example, a six-court club running four matches per court per day (24 matches / 96 players daily) could simply incorporate a €1 SmartCourt™ fee into the court booking price, generating close to €29,000 annually in incremental revenue – before sponsorships, premium analytics, or event streaming.

For investors, operators and developers, this digital layer also signals sophistication, future-readiness and a higher ceiling for monetisation – all factors that can materially influence valuations and long-term ROI.

Generative AI enhancing personalised insights

And as the technology develops, the shift towards smart court platforms is only likely to accelerate, ushering in a new era of data-driven sports intelligence – as indicated by the strategic collaboration between PlaySight and Microsoft unveiled last September.

Through this partnership, PlaySight is integrating Generative AI into its platform to further enhance the personalised insights for elite athletes and everyday players alike.

Built on Microsoft Azure, the platform delivers automated video production, multi-angle replay, and real-time insights designed to help players enhance their skills and achieve their full potential.  

The aim is to move beyond traditional statistics, with the technology empowering players and coaches to improve performance, outplay opponents, select the optimal racquet, and understand their true rating.

Smart courts beyond novelty

The shift toward smart court adoption is not a fad. It reflects broader trends across sports where digital experience is entwined with physical participation. From broadcast-quality live streams to AI-generated highlights and performance insights, technology is no longer an add-on, it is infrastructure.

Padel’s continued growth, and its movement into new markets with rising consumer expectations and more sophisticated competitors, means the competitive advantage lies as much in digital strategy as in location, surface, or build quality.

Smart court technology is not replacing the court, it is redefining what the court means in a digital, connected age.

• For more insight about PlaySight and its technology, read Padel Business Magazine’s interview with the company’s co-founder Chen Shachar published in March 2025. 

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Sports management software giant Tournated has partnered with World Padel Rating (WPR) to launch a new white-label digital platform for the United States Padel Association (USPA).

The initiative marks Tournated’s first governing body partnership in the US and its largest padel federation deployment to date as it looks to set a new standard for how padel is organised, managed, and scaled in advanced markets.

Founded in August 2024 by former professional racquet sport athlete Nikita Ribakovs, Tournated operates in more than 50 countries, working with national and international federations across over 15 sports and serving more than 70,000 competitive athletes worldwide.

USPA says it now operates a unified web and mobile platform that centralises all USPA-sanctioned tournaments, replacing legacy Excel-based workflows with fully automated rankings, and provides a scalable digital foundation to support the rapid national growth of padel.

The association adds that it has a long-term vision to bring clubs, leagues, and tournament organisers under one national ecosystem, enabling any type of event – from grassroots competitions to elite tournaments – while driving licensed player growth and increasing federation revenues.

Through the new platform, USPA says it gains full visibility and control over its competitive structure, while clubs and organisers benefit from a flexible, federation-approved system designed to support high event volumes.

The platform is centred around a deep, native integration with WPR and the USPA membership system, with WPR ID serving as the single login and access point for players.

The platform is designed to support the accelerating growth of padel across the US, where court numbers have reached 979 across 258 active facilities, Image credit: USPA.

Adoption of the platform is already underway, with more than 250 USPA-sanctioned tournaments scheduled for 2026.

Throughout the year, the USPA will continue working closely with Tournated and WPR to expand platform functionality, and onboard more clubs and tournament organisers.

The association says the move supports the accelerating growth of padel across the US, where court numbers have reached 979 across 258 active facilities, according to Misitrano Consulting.

“This is a major milestone for padel in the United States,” said Ribakovs. “Padel is at a historic inflection point, because what happens in the US over the next few years will shape the sport globally.

“Launching our first governing body platform in North America – together with World Padel Rating and USPA – is a strong validation of our vision to give federations full control over their brand, traffic, data, and revenue, while providing infrastructure that can scale as fast as the sport itself.”

Scott Colebourne, CEO of the USPA, added: “Our objective has always been to grow padel in the US in a structured, professional, and scalable way.

“With this platform, we now have the digital infrastructure to unite the entire padel community – clubs, organisers, and players – under one system that supports both growth and governance.

“Furthermore, under this partnership, Tournated now automatically calculates our rankings, which is a significant upgrade for our entire competitive structure. This partnership marks a step forwards in the development and maturity of American padel.”

Charles Meson, CEO of WPR, commented: “Making WPR ID the backbone of the US padel ecosystem ensures consistency and transparency, at all levels of competition and organised play.

“This integration delivers a seamless experience for players while giving USPA and event organisers the operational strength needed to scale padel nationally.”

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Booking app Playtomic has revealed fresh data showing that the number of players booking padel courts via the app in the UK more than doubled last year.

According to the figures, the number of players booking courts on Playtomic’s platform in the UK rose from 76,695 in January 2025 to 172,564 by December, representing growth of approximately 125% across the calendar year.

New player acquisition also accelerated sharply during the year. The number of first-time players booking through the platform rose from 17,196 in January to 37,411 in December, an increase of approximately 117%.

Playtomic – whose platform is currently used by an estimated 80% of UK padel clubs – says this sustained influx of first-time players indicates widening awareness of the sport beyond its early adopters.

The rise in participation was mirrored by rapid expansion in infrastructure. The number of active padel clubs on the Playtomic platform increased from 129 to 288 during the same period, while the total number of courts more than doubled from 529 to 1,130 as operators responded to sustained demand.

According to the data, monthly bookings also surged. Court bookings increased from around 140,000 per month at the start of the year to more than 360,000 by December, growth of more than 2.5 times across the year.

The number of active UK padel clubs on the Playtomic platform increased from 129 to 288 in 2025. Image credit: Playtomic.

Crucially, average player frequency remained broadly stable at around four sessions per month throughout the year.

Playtomic notes that even as tens of thousands of new players entered the sport, engagement levels held steady, suggesting it has moved beyond novelty and into regular sporting habits.

The data also highlights padel’s growing social dimension. Open Matches bookings, a Playtomic feature that allows players to join organised games across clubs and connect with people they had not previously met, doubled to around 90,000 per month by the end of 2025.

Based on the proportion of Open Matches relative to total bookings, the UK now ranks as the most social padel nation worldwide on the Playtomic platform.

Regionally, London remains the UK’s largest padel market by bookings and players, followed by Manchester, Bristol, Leeds and Derby, demonstrating strong growth across multiple urban centres.

Alan Douglas, UK spokesperson for Playtomic, said: “The pace of growth in the UK over the past 12 months has been exceptional. What stands out is not just the rise in player numbers, but the consistency of engagement. 

“Players are not simply trying padel once, they are building it into their weekly routines. That consistency is a strong signal that the sport is firmly entering the mainstream.”

Pablo Carro, co-founder and CCO of Playtomic, added: “The UK is now one of the most dynamic padel markets globally. When participation, infrastructure and player behaviour all accelerate together, it points to a market with real scale and long-term potential. The UK’s trajectory over the past year places it among the most exciting padel ecosystems worldwide.”

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Organisers of the US National Padel League (NPL) claim it has set a new benchmark for the sport ahead of the National Finals after proving strong demand for a structured, merit-based competitive pathway across the country.

Following a record-breaking inaugural season, as it became the largest structured amateur team padel platform in the US, the NPL will host the National Finals for Season 1 of its USA National Team League from March 13-15 at Reserve Sole Mia in North Miami.

Backed by the US Padel Association (USPA), the league activated 37 cities across six major regions during its debut season, with over 1,900 registered players and more than 160 teams representing 19 padel clubs.

The National Finals will represent the championship event for the Fall 2025 season of the USA National Team League and will feature 380 qualified players.

All finalists will receive a three-day pass to RacquetX, the league’s official experiential partner.

An extra feature of the NPL’s first season was the Delta Golden Ticket campaign, providing national champions with travel vouchers as awards. Image credit: NPL.

The NPL says the Finals mark the culmination of a season in which it became the premier amateur padel team competition in the US, marking a move beyond standalone tournaments to create a comprehensive national ecosystem.

The league claims it has established a proven pathway, with a rigorous City Stage followed by a Regional Championship and National Finals, delivering a structure which ensured only the most deserving teams advanced.

Organisers also point to a broad appeal and inclusive reach, with participants ranging in age from 14 to 71.

An additional feature of the season was the Delta Golden Ticket campaign, providing national champions with travel vouchers as awards.

The NPL says the partnership highlights its ability to integrate commercial value into the amateur experience, providing players with a professional-grade atmosphere and rewards.

“This season wasn’t just about playing padel; it was about building a legitimate, merit-based infrastructure for the sport in the US,” said National Padel League Director, Luis Fernando Ramirez Aristeguieta.

“By connecting local clubs to a national stage, we have created a validated platform where players can truly represent their cities and compete for a national title. The scale we’ve achieved in Season 1 is just the beginning.”

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UK optician Specsavers has announced a six-month sponsorship agreement with 15 padel clubs across London as it looks to tap into the rapid expansion of the sport in the capital.

The campaign, involving operators such as Rocket Padel and Powerleague, will aim to raise awareness of the benefits of wearing contact lenses for sport.

Specsavers says that as well as providing a financial boost for the clubs, the link-up will give the optician access to a 200,000-strong padel club member database, branding across 69 different courts, social content opportunities, PR and marketing collaborations, and a padel special offer for Specsavers contact lens subscribers.

All 15 clubs are within three miles of a Specsavers store, and as part of the partnership, Specsavers will offer a free game of padel for up to four people to anyone who signs up to a new contact lens subscription at participating stores. 

The link-up gives Specsavers branding opportunities across 69 different padel courts. Image credit: Specsavers.

The participating clubs are: Rocket Padel Beckton (E6), Stratford Padel Club (E15), Powerleague Romford (RM7), Powerleague Shoreditch (E1), The Bexley Padel Club (DA5), S3 Wembley (HA9), S3 Sutton (SM2), Rocks Lane Barnes (SW13), Rocks Lane Chiswick (W4), Padel People Wimbledon (SW17), Purley Sports Club (CR8), Instant Padel (Canada Water, SE16), The 108 Club (NW2), Georgians Padel (N8), and Bromley Sports Club (BR1).

Fleur Rhodes, head of contact lens trading at Specsavers, said: “Padel is continuing to flourish in London right now and a huge number of people are trying it for the first time. There’s a natural link to wearing contact lenses, allowing players to enjoy the sport comfortably and confidently. 

“That’s why we’re championing padel in London by backing grassroots clubs across the capital over the next six months. There’s a real commercial opportunity, and the chance to support an exciting sport at a key moment in its development.”

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Hi everyone,

Welcome to the first PBM Monthly issue of 2026.

Padel Business Magazine exists for the people building the business of padel, from club owners and investors to tech builders and innovators pushing the sport forward.

Each month, we bring you the stories that matter most: sharp reporting, expert opinion, and original insights you won’t find anywhere else. It’s the clearest view yet of where the sport is heading, and who’s shaping it.

Inside this issue: four major news stories, and two big reads that dive deep into this month’s defining theme of padel tourism.

We hope you enjoy the latest news and insight from PBM.

The PBM Team

Net news

Diving into the major news stories shaping this month’s theme and beyond: curated reporting and global headlines driving the business of padel forward.

USPA membership rises by 53.5% to almost 3,000

US national teams at the 2025 Padel America Absolute Championships in Chile. Image credit: USPA.

The latest figures from the United States Padel Association show a huge jump in playing numbers and tournament expansion as padel’s growth in the US accelerates.

Sportswear label On signs padel world no.1 Arturo Coello

On’s first padel-specific footwear products, developed in collaboration with Coello, are expected to be on sale from summer 2027. Image credit: On.

Spanish padel star Arturo Coello is to help the Swiss brand On develop new footwear specifically designed for the “unique demands” of the padel court.

AO Ventures invests in US operator Padel Haus

The Padel Haus club in Atlanta. Image credit: Padel Haus.

The investment arm of the Australian Open and Tennis Australia is backing US premium padel operator Padel Haus and says it is bullish about the growth of the sport globally.

Premier Padel expands to London and Pretoria for 2026

The Premier Padel tour is expanding to 26 tournaments across 18 countries in 2026. Image credit: Premier Padel.

The new destinations also include Valencia as the Premier Padel tour calendar grows to 26 tournaments across 18 countries.

The big hit

The latest exclusive and original in-depth features, interviews and analysis from Padel Business Magazine. Insight you will not find anywhere else.

PBM Insight Report: Padel tourism reaches new markets amid rise of specialist operators

Global appeal: Padel holidays are increasing in popularity, paving the way for a growing number of companies targeting tourism opportunities for the sport.

Padel courts at Datai Langkawi, a luxury resort in Malaysia. Image credit: Datai Langkawi.

In line with the sport’s rapid growth across the world, padel tourism is experiencing strong expansion, with padel clubs and specialist operators alike aiming to cash in.

While Spain remains the default destination in Europe, Italy and Portugal are attracting rising numbers of padel tourists, and elsewhere the concept is emerging in the US and across different parts of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

But those seeking to tap into the rise of padel tourism need to have a clear strategy to be competitive. 

Read on to get exclusive insight on the latest developments.

PBM Insight Report by Laura Syrett in London, Brenda Dionisi in Milan, Andreia Nogueira in Lisbon, and Paul Cochrane.

Opinion serving

A trusted perspective from inside the business of padel. Original opinion and on-theme insight from the leaders shaping the sport’s next chapter.

Alessandro Corti: Strategies for unlocking growth through padel tourism 

Alessandro Corti, co-founder and CEO of Padel Consulting. Image credit: Padel Consulting.

Amid its rise in popularity across the world, padel is well-placed to capitalise on major shifts in hospitality and global tourism.

Alessandro Corti, co-founder and CEO of London-based Padel Consulting, examines the latest developments, looks at what they mean for padel operators globally, and recommends strategies for delivering growth across the increasingly diverse forms of padel tourism – from beach resorts to the French Alps.

In line with the sport’s rapid growth across the world, padel tourism is experiencing strong expansion, with padel clubs and specialist operators alike aiming to cash in. While Spain remains the default destination in Europe, Italy and Portugal are attracting rising numbers of padel tourists, and elsewhere the concept is emerging in the US and across different parts of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. But those seeking to tap into the rise of padel tourism need to have a clear strategy to be competitive. PBM Insight Report by Laura Syrett in London, Brenda Dionisi in Milan, Andreia Nogueira in Lisbon, and Paul Cochrane.

As participation numbers increase and padel courts appear in increasingly attractive destinations and venues, padel is emerging as a major player in the active holidays industry – including international travel packages. 

The main source markets for padel tourists are, unsurprisingly, northern European countries where padel is popular but which have colder, damper climates. These include the UK, but also Ireland, Scandinavia, Benelux and Germany.

“[These are] driving a lot of outbound padel travel, often to escape winter and get guaranteed outdoor play,” observes Miguel Coelho, who has been involved in padel globally since 2001 and is today founding partner of padel court designer and supplier APMX based in Scottsdale, Arizona in the US. 

Coelho, who witnessed the explosion of padel in his native Portugal before migrating to the US, notes there is also increasing movement within southern Europe, as players from France or Italy travel to Spain for intensive weeks of padel playing.

“Spain is still the default destination, because it combines a high volume of courts, quality coaching, and reliable weather,” he tells Padel Business Magazine, adding that other southern European destinations like Italy and Portugal are growing quickly as alternatives.  

Asia and Latin America are also emerging as both source and destination markets for padel playing worldwide. “We are starting to see long-haul ‘experiential’ offers in places like Bali, Mexico and the Maldives, where padel is packaged with wellness and high-end hospitality,” Coelho points out.

Spain dominates the padel tourism market. Image credit: Spanish Tourism.

Padel tourism in the Gulf  

In the Middle East, padel is growing in popularity as a sport in the Arabian Gulf, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.

The small Emirate of Qatar hosts several clubs and is looking to push padel tourism as part of the country’s overall strategy to boost sports tourism.

Alex Ponseti, a partner in La Pelota Padel Academy in Qatar, and managing director of the Padel World Summit, says the appeal of local padel attracts sports-oriented tourists, such as those visiting to watch the Formula 1 World Championship, which has been held since 2021, and to capitalise on the success of the FIFA World Cup in 2022. 

“Padel is a way to have more international exposure for Qatar,” he explains. “It's not moving as fast as in the UAE, but it is growing. They are looking at premium tourism, and focusing on Formula 1, as also premium.”  

Indicative of such tie-ups to promote the sport and tourism, Premier Padel, in conjunction with Qatar Airways, hosted a week of open-door padel matches attended by Formula 1 stars and global athlete padel enthusiasts in Doha, in December 2025 ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. 

“The Middle East is becoming a powerhouse for the sport with Premier Padel and the World Padel Championships taking place in both Dubai and Doha, which are increasing in popularity for padel holidays,” says Ponseti.  

Doha can capitalise on its 5-star hotels and outdoor venues to attract padel players, which make the city “a perfect location”, he observes.

However, with courts only outdoor, the appeal is limited to the winter months when temperatures are more favourable. “It doesn’t make sense to do it in any other season as it’s too hot,” Ponseti explains.

“Gulf countries have a huge opportunity, as do travel agencies, to promote padel tourism during Europe’s cold months. Qatar and the UAE have the padel clubs, good weather, good hotels, and the airports, so it is the time to start.”

Premier Padel, in conjunction with Qatar Airways, hosted a week of open-door padel matches attended by Formula 1 stars and global athlete padel enthusiasts in Doha, in December 2025 ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. Image credit: Premier Padel.

The rise of specialist padel tourism operators

Across many of the established and emerging padel tourism regions, there are growing opportunities for companies specialising in this aspect of the industry.

As well as general active-travel companies adding padel weeks to their packages, and a growing number of resorts and hotels that now present padel as a signature amenity, there is now a small but visible group of specialist operators whose entire business is built around padel trips. 

These include UK-based Padel Travel X, combining elite padel coaching with travel experiences to destinations including Spain, the Canary Islands and the Maldives; Italy-based Weebora, which offers padel holidays to locations including Bali, Monaco, Argentina and Egypt; and Padel Travel, a Spanish travel agency specialising in curating unique journeys for padel enthusiasts in Madrid and Malaga. 

Of those offering long-haul padel tourism far from established padel markets, Malaysia is one destination looking to capture padel playing tourists from colder climates.

Louise Ward, director of spa and wellness at Datai Langkawi, a luxury resort in Malaysia, says its padel and tennis experience is proving popular with UK and European visitors, particularly during the northern hemisphere winter. 

For resorts like this located in fairly secluded settings, it is important to offer guests a wide variety of activities on resort – and padel fits the bill. “Padel is relatively new, but as a combination of tennis and squash on a shorter court it can be more user-friendly for our guests and is available for all age groups,” Ward tells Padel Business Magazine.  

Padel courts at Datai Langkawi, a luxury resort in Malaysia. Image credit: Datai Langkawi.

US emerges as source and destination market for padel tourists

In the US, Las Vegas-based club P1 Padel advertises padel holidays in the city, with three-day structured padel programmes in “the entertainment capital of the world”, with the added attraction of concerts, high-end dining, luxury shopping and casinos. 

A Weebora note stresses that fellow US city Miami is also becoming a popular padel holiday destination, as its “padel scene is growing fast, with state-of-the-art courts and a community that embraces both locals and international players”. 

The US is now an important source market for padel tourists as padel brands and clubs encourage their players to travel for the sport and even operate as de facto travel agents. 

“We're seeing more and more of this tourism thing … putting together groups and going to different locations and kind of doing more of the tourism, but also padel together,” says Julian Wortelboer, who along with Cesc Caceres is a co-founder of Padel Smash Academy, a padel gear supplier in the US which also operates a padel club in Connecticut.

“I've been doing this for over four years now, at least once a year [where] we take people from the US into Europe to play padel,” he adds. 

Wortelboer explains that such brand/club-organised trips usually last a week and involve playing up to three hours of padel per day, usually in the morning, followed by local sightseeing and then social events such as dinner and drinks in the evenings. 

Popular destinations for US padel tourists include Spain and Portugal in Europe, but also Argentina. Wortelboer singles out Madrid for its particularly strong padel ecosystem, where padel tourists can play at multiple venues and even organise ad hoc games and tournaments between different clubs. 

“There’s so much padel everywhere in Madrid,” he observes. “They have so many different padel clubs and usually we jump three different clubs. We play with other clubs – it's super, super fun.” 

Alessandro Di Stefano, CEO and founder of Padel Travel, says Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia are “still the go-to [cities] for intensive courses”, adding that a “great padel holiday is built on coaching, [professional] service, and flexibility” around what individual guests want to achieve and do on their trips.

Las Vegas-based club P1 Padel offers padel holidays in the city. Image credit: P1 Padel.

Coaching a key element of padel trips

Coaching is central to most structured padel trips. “For many travelling players, the promise is not just ‘sun and courts’ but ‘come back home noticeably better’,” Coelho explains. “From a business perspective, coaching also helps operators differentiate and justify price.” 

He stresses that coaching-intensive camps are emerging as one of the most popular models for padel tourism. These are generally three-to-seven-day trips built around daily coaching blocks, video analysis, and structured match play, often with a clear level band such as ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ club players. 

Coelho notes that other package types growing in popularity include social and lifestyle retreats, which combine a mix of padel, beach, food and city or nature experiences; tournament or event-based trips where travel is linked to amateur tournaments, exhibition events or pro tours; and resort-based ‘padel plus’ stays offered by upscale hotels where padel is a key, though not core, add-on.

Miguel Coelho, founding partner of padel court designer and supplier AMPX. Image credit: AMPX.

According to Patricia Frost, CEO of Padel Travel X, the unique community aspect of padel as a sport and fitness pastime makes it ideally marketable as a holiday activity.

“Padel is ... more about connection, culture and lifestyle than competition,” she tells Padel Business Magazine. “Travel accelerates all of that. When players travel together, they play more, learn faster and build stronger bonds and come home more engaged with the sport.” 

Frost agrees with Coelho that Spain is still the standout destination for padel tourists, thanks to the quality of its clubs, coaches and facilities and also because it hosts popular competitions such as Hexagon Cup and the finals of Premier Padel.  

Frost points out that the UK, primarily a source market for padel tourists, has also spotted the opportunity to capitalise on portable elements of padel tourism’s pull factors to help it become a padel tourist destination.

While it cannot import Spain’s weather, it can attract tournaments, and the UK is to host a Premier Padel tournament for the first time in 2026 in London during August.  

Meanwhile, Hexagon Cup announced the launch of the Hexagon World Series at an event in London in December. The tournament will travel to different international locations, which are expected to include the UK.

Spain attracts padel tourists in part because it hosts competitions such as Hexagon Cup. Image credit: Hexagon Cup.

How to offer padel travel variety

Padel tourism operators are also looking to adapt to players looking for diverse kinds of travel experiences.  

“Padel is played across all age demographics,” says Frost. “We see older people engaging with padel trips which also offer relaxation, corporates who want to embrace wellness, and a younger demographic who want to both engage with academies and party in Ibiza or Majorca.” 

Padel Travel X offers tailored holidays for clients, offering everything from ‘Padel and Wellness’ in Bali, to ‘Padel and Party’ in Ibiza as well as trips to world-class academies such as the Paquito Navarro Academy in Madrid, under the directorship of renowned coach Ramiro Choya.  

“We also have thriving club partnerships where we offer clubs a full logistical and operational service creating bespoke packages for their members at exclusive rates,” says Frost, noting that Padel Travel X offers partners “a generous profit share” from the experiences it organises.

Patricia Frost, CEO of Padel Travel X. Image credit: Padel Travel X.

Focus on more joined-up product design

While it is growing, Coelho observes that padel tourism is still a small slice of what remains a predominantly local, community-based sport.

And while it “can make a real difference to shoulder-season occupancy in countries with a strong tourism vocation and a mature padel industry ... it is still a long way from the scale of golf tourism, for example,” he explains.  

Coelho suggests the padel industry should focus on more joined-up product design, where padel resorts and clubs work more deliberately with specialist operators to create repeatable offerings such as annual padel weeks, women’s retreats, or corporate clinics, plus trips designed specifically for beginners. 

He also says padel could learn from the golf industry’s efforts to create famous destinations, such as Scotland and the Algarve, rather than just promoting individual courses, as well as tiered products for different price ranges and travel bundles, including transfers, rentals and insurance. 

Frost adds that padel has some key advantages attuned to modern habits and lifestyles that make it poised for rapid growth. “Padel is definitely the new golf, which may be just a reflection of our times in that it’s quicker,” she says. “People don’t really have the time or inclination to spend hours on a golf course, whereas a very energetic game of padel can be played in 60/90 minutes.”

Padel is increasingly rivalling golf. Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Inviting friends to play padel overseas

Luis Teixeira da Silva, co-founder of the Nottingham, UK-based firm Padeltrips4u, which has organised padel trips in Portugal and Spain for over two years, says: “There are definite indicators that this touristic movement between countries will be motivated in part and increasingly by sport, and padel will play a big role in that.”  

He tells Padel Business Magazine that padel tourism is growing exponentially, considering the increasing number of spectators from multiple countries attending professional circuit matches and the growing trend of people inviting their friends to play padel in different countries, with around 15% of the padel community estimated to own second homes overseas.  

Padeltrips4u is trying to formalise and consolidate this demand by selecting clubs for organised trips that offer extra services, like meals; employing high-quality coaches; organising tournaments against local players; and offering cost-effective packages from £400 ($537), including accommodation.

Furthermore, by betting on major outbound markets, such as the UK and Ireland, Padeltrips4u offers easy and close access to destinations with direct flights and with clubs no further than an hour from airports and that also have covered indoor courts for rainy and hot days.  

Silva emphasises the importance of having a community to support investment. As a padel ambassador for LTA Padel (Lawn Tennis Association – Padel, the sport’s governing body in Great Britain), he has helped to create a regional travel padel community in the UK Midlands, encouraging players to visit clubs.

“Our first trip was with about 25 people all from our local community. They had a fantastic time because there were already people that knew each other and they were playing padel in a different destination,” he recalls.  

As for international travel, he says the market is boosted by padel players being converts from other racquet sports, who are often over 40 years old, with more disposable income and potentially a flexible schedule to travel. 

Around 15% of the padel community are estimated to own second homes overseas. Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Padel tourism emerging in Portugal

Padeltrips4u has been generating padel hosting clients in Portugal’s tourism region the Algarve, for instance working with the founders of the club Padel Blu Albufeira before it was opened, testing the venue. “The hotel is now finally open,” he says.  

Silva believes padel tourism can learn from golf tourism in Portugal because people often want a hybrid experience, in which different members of a family can do separate activities while staying together.  

“Hotels are already learning that padel could be a very good additional revenue stream,” he notes, adding that some are replacing other sporting infrastructure, including tennis courts, with padel facilities.  

He cites a Praia da Luz hotel, in Algarve, moving away from tennis: “Whereas they had hardly any paid revenue for the tennis court, the padel court was always full.”

Padel Blu Albufeira in Portugal’s tourism region the Algarve. Image credit: Padel Blu Albufeira.

Per-Ole Borderhaug, CEO at Ferragudo-based firm Tennis & Padel Algarve, tells Padel Business Magazine: “We have been a DMC [destination management company] with focus on golf travel at the Algarve for the last 10 years [with the company Golf Algarve], and the padel concept was just released last year. We see a very positive outlook for 2026 with several pre-reservations received”.  

He sees padel in Portugal as a nascent travel market, with “very few clubs/resorts with sufficient courts to take care of groups and so far, not many tour operators having the knowledge and contacts”. He adds that most of them are based abroad or working with local partners.  

Borderhaug finds it essential to be there to find indoor courts when it rains, since there is a shortage of them.  

His company offers packages with accommodation, padel court times, training sessions and tournaments. “We focus on a combo of padel and discovering the Algarve and custom-fit the packages to the guest's preference,” he says, adding that his clients are people who play for fun mainly aged from the 30s to the 60s.

Padel helping drive sports tourism boom in Italy

In Italy, the popularity of padel is one reason the country is currently experiencing a sports tourism boom, both to padel locations within and outside the country.

Growth in player participation, new courts and facilities, major tournaments, and related spending is encouraging both domestic and international travel for individual development, sports competitions and leisure. This growth has contributed to the emergence of travel packages and agencies dedicated specifically to padel players, offering experiences both in Italy and abroad.  

One of these is Weebora, the Milan-based travel agency which is a partner of the International Padel Federation (FIP) offering full-service padel travel packages and group trips that combine training, clinics, tournaments, accommodation and logistics with cultural and other touristic experiences.

Fabio Zecchini, founder of the Milan-based padel travel agency Weebora. Image credit: Weebora.

“Our strategy is to create packages that offer a mix of top-tier padel training and cultural experiences,” founder and CEO Fabio Zecchini tells Padel Business Magazine.

He observes that the reason padel tourism is having such a huge growth moment is because players seek the athletic part of the game as much as the socialisation part.

“Our travel packages are designed to reinforce a sense of community both while playing on the court but also during the ‘fourth set’, a padel expression inspired by rugby,” where players often enjoy a ‘third half’ of socialising after a game, he explains.  

Weebora group packages may include group dinners, cooking classes, museum visits and social activities, while also offering clinics at top academies.

Zecchini says popular travel packages are the clinics offered in Spain (in Madrid, Barcelona, Palma di Mallorca and Malaga) where players can train with elite coaches.

“Today, anyone can go and play with the coach of the world’s number one ranked padel player, and this is something you can’t do in any other sport; both Italian and foreign padel travellers like this idea a lot,” he says.   

Zecchini points to rising global interest in international travel packages to attend major padel tournaments, as well as demand for seaside and countryside resort-based padel holidays.

He also cites increasing interest from padel clubs across Europe who want to organise trips for members in Italy and abroad, as well as corporate clients interested in booking padel trips as a team building activity for employees.  

Similarly, Gopadel is a Modena (Emilia Romagna)-based travel agency founded by tennis and padel coach Filippo Montanari, who recently expanded from tennis into padel tourism. Gopadel offers year-round weekend and weekly packages in Italy’s most renowned tourist destinations.

Montanari tells Padel Business Magazine that clients are affluent, in their 40s and 50s, and willing to splurge on a three-day holiday playing padel in four- or five-star resorts.

He adds that popular Gopadel locations include Tuscany’s Maremma and Versilia regions and Elba island off the Tuscan coast, as well as the Riviera Romagnola, along the Adriatic coast.  

Amid its rise in popularity across the world, padel is well-placed to capitalise on major shifts in hospitality and global tourism. Alessandro Corti, co-founder and CEO of London-based Padel Consulting, examines the latest developments, looks at what they mean for padel operators globally, and recommends strategies for delivering growth across the increasingly diverse forms of padel tourism – from beach resorts to the French Alps.

The global sports landscape is witnessing a paradigm shift. The synergy between premium sports facilities and luxury travel is no longer a trend – it is a cornerstone of modern destination development and a magnet for high-net-worth travellers.

In this context, padel – once a regional pastime in Spain and Latin America – has transcended its ‘emerging sport’ status to become a high-value strategic asset for the hospitality and tourism industries.

Padel tourism: A new frontier in the $2 trillion sports travel market

With the global sports tourism market projected to hit the $2 trillion mark by 2032, padel is uniquely positioned to capture a significant share of this growth. Boasting over 35 million players worldwide, the sport has become a primary driver for travel decisions.

From the coastal enclaves of Portugal to the ultra-luxury retreats in the Maldives, padel tourism is redefining the itinerary of the modern traveller. Today’s tourists are increasingly prioritising wellness and social connectivity over passive leisure. For these ‘active travellers’, a destination’s value is often measured by the quality of its courts and the vibrancy of its local padel community.

Alessandro Corti, co-founder and CEO of Padel Consulting. Image credit: Padel Consulting.

Transforming padel clubs into high-yield lifestyle hubs

The evolution of the padel club mirrors the trajectory of the elite country club, but with a more inclusive, dynamic ethos. In key markets like the UK, Italy, Indonesia and the UAE, successful club owners are pivoting from ‘pay-to-play’ models to lifestyle destinations.

By integrating premium F&B (food & beverage) services, wellness clinics, high-end pro shops, and coworking spaces, clubs are maximising dwell time and diversifying revenue. This ‘resort-style’ approach ensures the facility remains a social epicentre long after the match concludes, creating a resilient business model that appeals to both local members and international visitors.

Hospitality integration: Why hotels are racing to install courts

For hotel operators, padel represents the ultimate ‘must-have’ amenity. Unlike golf courses, which require massive land use and high maintenance CapEx (capital expenditure), padel courts offer a high ROI (return on investment) with a relatively small footprint.

“At its core, padel is easy to learn, low-impact, and inherently social – three reasons it’s resonating with a generation of travellers increasingly drawn to movement, community, and connection,” Jon Krieger, co-founder of Padel United Sports Club, which is based in Cresskill, New Jersey in the US and provides spa and wellness facilities as well as padel courts, told cntraveler.com

Case study: The Club Med & Babolat partnership

A prime example of strategic integration is Club Med. By partnering with Babolat, the brand has scaled its padel offering across dozens of global properties. As of late 2023, just six of their resorts accounted for 20 courts, with aggressive expansion plans for 10 more locations. This move directly targets the lucrative demographic of European and Middle Eastern travellers who view padel as a non-negotiable part of their vacation experience.

Club Med has scaled its padel offering through its partnership with Babolat. Image credit: Babolat.

Case study: The Hamptons’ luxury ‘pop-up’ blueprint

A benchmark for seasonal high-end integration was set at the Montauk Yacht Club in New York. In a strategic move during the 2025 season, this iconic venue redefined Hamptons luxury by debuting the region’s first-ever waterfront padel experience in collaboration with Privé Padel.

This ‘pop-up’ partnership successfully introduced the sport to one of the world's most exclusive summer enclaves, proving that seasonal sport installations can serve as a powerful magnet for the elite demographic. By fusing world-class maritime hospitality with the vibrant social culture of padel, the project created a new blueprint for how historic resorts can modernise their amenity offerings to drive engagement and capture the ‘active luxury’ market.

New York’s Montauk Yacht Club has installed padel courts in collaboration with Privé Padel. Image credit: Privé Padel.

Sponsor engagement: Bridging venues, brands and travel campaigns

Where there are passionate participants and travellers, sponsors will follow. Padel’s rise at the nexus of hospitality and tourism presents sponsors with novel ways to engage both on-site at venues and through broader campaigns. Unlike traditional sports sponsorships that might focus solely on branding in arenas or player endorsements, padel’s tourism link enables sponsors to become part of a travel experience or destination appeal.

Consider the example of Qatar Airways. The airline saw clear alignment between padel’s global tour and its own mission to connect travellers. In 2024 it became the title sponsor and official airline of the Premier Padel tour, a sponsorship that went beyond logos on court walls. As a partner, Qatar Airways is collaborating with the tour to design custom travel packages for players and fans attending tournaments, enhancing their overall journey.

Tournaments as destination drivers

Just as major golf or tennis events boost tourism, padel tournaments are becoming destination events. The professional padel calendar (including the World Padel Tour and Premier Padel circuit) now features stops in iconic tourist locales, from beach cities to world capitals, intentionally blending competition with travel appeal. In 2025, the Premier Padel tour scheduled 24 tournaments across 16 countries, adding new stops like Miami and Cancun to tap into those travel markets.

By adding new venues like Miami and Cancun the Premier Padel tour is tapping into key travel markets. Image credit: Premier Padel.

Emerging models: From Lake Como and luxury cruises to the top of the Alps

The industry is seeing the birth of the ‘dedicated padel resort’. A landmark project currently under development at Lake Como, Italy illustrates this shift: a destination designed specifically for intensive padel training, high-level competition, and luxury hospitality.

Furthermore, the ‘padel-as-a-service’ model is expanding into:

●   Luxury yacht charters: Itineraries featuring private court bookings at Mediterranean ports.

●   Cruise lines: On-board courts as a core entertainment feature.

●   Active travel packages: Curated ‘stay & play’ experiences in padel hotspots like Marbella, Dubai, and Rome.

Ten of the best worldwide hotels and resorts offering padel experiences for guests

1. Gleneagles Hotel (UK)

Website: gleneagles.com
Description: Scotland. An iconic countryside estate that combines historic charm with cutting-edge sports facilities, including newly added padel courts nestled in the Scottish greenery. (For more information read Padel Business Magazine’s interview with Gleneagles director of leisure Colin Farndon).

Padel courts at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. Image credit: Gleneagles Hotel.

2. The Padel Resort (Italy)

Website: thepadelresort.it
Description: Como. A brand-new luxury resort born from an industrial reconversion, offering nine professional courts, a hi-tech gym, and a boutique hotel experience on Lake Como.

3. Puente Romano Beach Resort (Spain)

Website: puenteromano.com
Description: Marbella. Arguably the most famous padel club in the world, where Andalusian luxury meets the legacy of international tennis and padel.

4. Kuda Villingili Resort (Maldives)

Website: kudavillingili.com
Description: North Malé Atoll. One of the archipelago’s most exclusive resorts, offering padel courts with breathtaking views of the turquoise ocean.

5. The Ritz-Carlton, Bali (Indonesia)

Website: ritzcarlton.com/bali
Description: Bali. A tropical sanctuary that has integrated padel courts surrounded by exotic gardens, offering the perfect mix of sport and Balinese spirituality.

6. Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort (Morocco)

Website: mazaganresort.com
Description: El Jadida. A majestic resort on the Atlantic coast boasting world-class sports facilities, becoming the reference point for padel in North Africa.

Padel at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort in Morocco. Image credit: Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort.

7. One&Only Mandarina (Mexico)

Website: oneandonlyresorts.com/mandarina
Description: Riviera Nayarit. Set within the coastal jungle, this ultra-luxury resort features padel courts seamlessly integrated into the wild natural environment.

8. The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne (USA)

Website: ritzcarlton.com/keybiscayne
Description: Miami. A premier Florida destination home to one of the most prestigious tennis and padel centres in the US, frequented by professionals and the jet set.

9. Enjoy Punta del Este Resort & Casino (Uruguay)

Website: enjoy.cl/puntadeleste
Description: Punta del Este. The epicentre of sport and entertainment in South America, famous for hosting international padel tournaments in the region’s ‘Saint-Tropez’.

10. InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort (Australia)

Website: sanctuarycove.intercontinental.com
Description: Gold Coast. A colonial-style resort offering a complete sports experience with padel courts set in one of Queensland’s most prestigious locations. 

Chilling thrills: The global rise of ‘snow padel’

If you thought padel was strictly a summer sport, think again. The latest frontier in luxury travel is ‘snow padel’, a breathtaking trend where high-altitude aesthetics meet high-performance play.

Leading the charge is Livigno, Italy, known as ‘Little Tibet’, which hosts spectacular pop-up events where courts are carved into the alpine landscape, offering a high-octane alternative to the ski slopes.

Meanwhile, in the French Alps, Lacoste has elevated the ‘sport-chic’ lifestyle with its exclusive padel project in Courchevel 1850, blending high fashion with sub-zero sportsmanship.

Crossing the Atlantic, the trend has also reached the ‘Switzerland of the South’ in Bariloche, Argentina, where luxury resorts are leveraging South America's deep padel culture to offer matches surrounded by the snow-capped Andes.

‘Snow padel’ in the French Alps, with Lacoste’s project in Courchevel 1850. Image credit: Lacoste.

Technical insight for club owners: Transitioning to a winter environment requires strategic engineering. To maintain a premium experience, consider heated glass technology to prevent fogging and ice buildup, ensuring crystal-clear views for spectators. Your synthetic turf must be hyper-permeable to allow for rapid drainage and prevent ice from forming within the fibres. Finally, choose your model: utilise pressurised domes for consistent year-round play, or embrace the ‘extreme outdoor’ aesthetic as a high-impact marketing tool to attract tourists seeking the ultimate ‘Instagrammable’ sports moment.

Pioneering the digital frontier of padel tourism

A key player reshaping the industry is Weebora, a specialised platform dedicated to the ‘padel & travel’ ecosystem. By connecting enthusiasts with curated ‘stay & play’ packages, professional coaching clinics, and international tournaments, Weebora simplifies the logistics of sports travel for both individuals and corporate groups. Its data-driven approach allows hotels and clubs to tap into a global network of active travellers, turning underutilised court hours into high-yield tourism assets.

"The future of padel tourism lies in hyper-personalisation; travellers no longer want just a court, they want a seamless, 360-degree lifestyle experience. We are seeing a massive shift where the sport becomes the primary anchor for luxury travel decisions globally," says Fabio Zecchini, the Weebora founder and CEO.

Investment signals and the outlook for 2026

Looking ahead, the professionalisation of padel, fuelled by potential Olympic inclusion and global media coverage, will accelerate investment in mixed-use real estate.

We anticipate a surge in ‘padel residential communities’ where sport facilities are integrated into luxury housing developments as well as a surge in ‘padel luxury resorts’ around the world. For investors and developers, the window to secure ‘early-mover’ status in prime tourism locations is closing rapidly.

Early data from premium resorts in the Mediterranean suggests the strategic integration of padel can drive an average daily rate (ADR) uplift of 10% to 15% among active traveller segments, according to the Playtomic / Monitor Deloitte Global Padel Report.

And the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) underlines in its Sport & Wellness Tourism Reports that ‘active travellers’ (wellness/sport tourists) spend on average 130% more than the average tourist.

Furthermore, with the sport’s CAGR (compound annual growth rate) exceeding 15% in key expansion markets like the UK and the Middle East, the Global Padel Report emphasises that padel serves as a powerful ‘stickiness’ factor, increasing the average length of stay and boosting on-site F&B capture rates, thereby directly enhancing the total revenue per available room (TRevPAR).

Padel tourism is poised for strong sustained growth. Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Best practices for club owners: A blueprint for effective padel tourism strategies

To effectively capture the growing market of business and leisure travellers, padel club owners must move beyond standard court rentals. Here is a strategic checklist to maximise profitability and guest attraction:

●   Establish strategic hotel partnerships: If your club is in a hub like London, partner with 4-star and 5-star hotels within a three-mile radius. Position your club as the hotel’s ‘off-site sports centre’.

●   Yield management via off-peak booking: Create exclusive ‘tourist passes’ or ‘business traveller packages’ valid during off-peak hours (e.g. 10am – 4pm). This fills the courts when local members are working and provides the hotel with a valuable guest perk.

●   Seamless concierge integration: Allow hotel concierge desks to book courts directly through your API or a dedicated portal. The more frictionless the booking, the higher the conversion.

●   The ‘padel & pitch’ corporate offer: For business travellers, offer a package that includes a 90-minute padel session followed by access to a private meeting room or catered lunch. This targets the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) sector.

●   Logistical synergy: Facilitate the guest journey. Offer shuttle services or partner with ride-share apps to provide discounted ‘club-to-hotel’ codes.

●   Cross-promotion & internal marketing: Ensure your club’s branding is visible in hotel lobbies and digital guest directories. Conversely, promote your partner hotels within the club to your local members who may need event spaces or guest accommodation.

●   High-value coaching clinics: Travellers often seek to improve their game while away. Offer ‘express pro-clinics’, intensive 60-minute sessions with top-tier coaches tailored for visitors.

●      Resort-style amenities for suburban clubs: For clubs outside urban centres, consider ‘stay & play’ partnerships with local villas or even developing on-site ‘glamping’ or boutique lodge units to create a self-contained destination.

• Alessandro Corti is co-founder and CEO of Padel Consulting. He can be contacted at: ale@padelconsulting.co.uk

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The United States Padel Association (USPA) has revealed that its membership climbed by 53.5% to 2,915 in 2025, marking the latest indication of an acceleration in padel’s expansion across the country.

The jump in individual membership numbers, detailed in the USPA’s latest annual report, follows the increase of 10% seen in 2024 when the number rose to 1,917.

The USPA previously saw a huge jump from 394 members in 2022 to 1,742 in 2023. The new figure represents a 18x increase since 2020, when membership stood at just 163.

The USPA said the surge in 2025 marks the “second wave” of expansion in player participation. It added that following a consolidation period in 2024, the USPA saw “unprecedented growth metrics this past year”.

Alongside the rise in individual membership, which comprises players and coaches, the number of active USPA member clubs rose to 108 in 2025, up from 53 at the end of 2024.

The number of ‘premier’ clubs grew from 32 to 63 and the number of ‘official’ clubs increased from 13 to 36, while there are now nine registered clubs, up from eight in 2024.

Padel’s rapid expansion in the US in 2025 was also illustrated by the number of open tournaments sanctioned by the USPA, which more than doubled from 48 events hosted in 2024 to 104 in 2025.

The domestic calendar was headlined by the 2nd Annual US Open Padel Championships, held at Padel Haus Atlanta. The event featured a record 240 participants and a prize pool of over $35,000, more than double the previous year’s payout.

The number of active USPA member clubs rose to 108 in 2025, up from 53 at the end of 2024. Image credit: USPA.

The USPA report also reflected on 2025 as a “watershed year” for American national teams, “proving that US players are closing the gap with traditional powerhouses in Latin America and Europe”.

At the Pan American Senior Championships in Paraguay, the US national senior team finished third overall, winning five gold medals, while at the Padel America Absolute Championships in Chile, the US women’s team achieved a new high, finishing fifth.

At junior level, the US girls’ team secured a landmark victory over Ecuador at the FIP Junior World Cup qualifiers, marking the first time the US has defeated the South American nation in FIP competition.

The USPA said it “aggressively targeted youth development in 2025”, with junior initiatives a key focus.

These included the launch of the Junior Elite Padel Program in partnership with Padel X, designed to centralise resources and create a clear pathway for top-tier talent to reach the US national team.

Additionally, the Junior Grant Program was renewed to provide funding and equipment to clubs, and ensure cost is not a barrier for new young players.

US national teams at the 2025 Padel America Absolute Championships in Chile. Image credit: USPA.

Looking ahead to 2026, the USPA projects the US market is now shifting from an “initial phase” to a robust “growth phase”.

It said that USPA president Bill Ullman and the board of directors have laid out an “ambitious roadmap” for the future, with key initiatives for 2026 including:

• Digital transformation: Developing a new USPA app to improve connectivity across tournaments, rankings, leagues, and events.

• Olympic ambitions: Aligning closely with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee framework as the sport pushes for inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Games.

• FIP tournaments: USPA member clubs hosting International Padel Federation circuits, including Cupra FIP, Promises and Beyond tournaments.

The USPA said its 2025 Annual Report details a “historic year of expansion, competition, and international success”, adding: “from surging membership numbers to record-breaking tournament prize pools, the report paints a picture of a sport transitioning from a niche interest to a major competitive discipline nationwide”.

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On, the Swiss sportswear brand, has announced the signing of padel world no.1 Arturo Coello to its roster of athletes.

The move marks an expansion of its presence in racquet sports for On, which specialises in footwear, apparel and accessories for running, outdoor, training, all-day activities and tennis.

The Zurich-based brand says Coello – the youngest player ever to reach the top of the padel world ranking – joins the brand as an “integral” partner for padel-specific product innovation.

The Spanish powerhouse will in the coming months work directly with On’s product development team in Switzerland, providing ongoing, detailed insights to engineer footwear “specifically designed to the unique demands of the padel court”, the brand says.

On’s first padel-specific footwear products, developed in collaboration with Coello, are expected to be on sale from summer 2027.

Coello’s padel journey began at the age of seven, on the courts of his hometown of Mojados. Initially splitting between padel, tennis, and football, he fully committed to the sport at 16 and rose quickly through the youth ranks.

The Spaniard, now aged 23, made his professional debut in 2019 and at just 21 became the youngest player ever to reach the world no.1 ranking. In partnership with Argentine Agustín Tapia, he achieved a historic 47-match winning streak, and the duo have amassed more than 37 major titles across professional tours, breaking previous records.

On’s first padel-specific footwear products, developed in collaboration with Coello, are expected to be on sale from summer 2027. Image credit: On.

Coello said: “I’m incredibly proud to partner with On as their first padel player athlete. The brand is already pushing fresh ideas onto the court, and I am excited to work with its innovation team to help shape the next generation of performance shoes.

“By combining my experience with On’s technology, we can create products that elevate the sport and help athletes at every level perform at their best.”

Feliciano Robayna, head of athlete management for tennis at On, added: “Arturo Coello is not just the best padel player in the world, he also embodies the spirit of a new generation – powerful, dynamic, and fearless in challenging the established order.

“His journey to the top, achieved at such a young age, mirrors On’s own trajectory of rapid growth and disruptive innovation across sports. This partnership is far more than a simple endorsement; it marks the beginning of a deep collaboration.

“Arturo’s in-depth technical feedback has already proven invaluable, and we are excited to work with him to develop products that bring On’s unique mix of performance, cutting-edge innovation, and functional style to the demands of this fast-expanding sport.” 

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AO Ventures, the investment arm of the Australian Open and Tennis Australia, has announced it is making a “significant” investment in US padel operator Padel Haus.

Having opened its first facility in New York in July 2022, Padel Haus now operates four clubs across the US and seeks to combine premium facilities with community-driven programming, and a padel academy.

With two sites open in New York’s Brooklyn – in Williamsburg and Dumbo – as well as facilities in Nashville and Atlanta, Padel Haus plans to open clubs in Greenpoint, New York, and in Denver later this year.

AO Ventures’ backing of Padel Haus marks the latest investment from its US$40 million fund.

The group has also invested in Belgian firm Mindspring Padel, which offers fully financed and technology-enabled padel court infrastructure. The Loonbeek-based company aims to enable clubs to build padel courts without the upfront capital expenditure that often constrains the supply of new courts.

The Padel Haus club in Atlanta. Image credit: Padel Haus.

AO Ventures general partner Dr Machar Reid said it is bullish about the growth of padel globally and actively investing in the sport’s growth through a range of partnerships, domestically and abroad.

“As a business, we have observed the explosion of the sport internationally and there are now strong foundations for growth in Australia, with courts, clubs and competitions continuing to be established,” he said.

“We have closely followed Padel Haus for the past few years and been impressed with Santiago’s ability to repeatedly execute on building premium venues and experiences for padel players with attractive returns.”

Padel Haus founder and CEO, Santiago Gomez, added: “This opportunity represents more than an investment. In partnering with one of the most respected sports institutions in the world, the decision of AO Ventures to invest in Padel Haus is powerful validation of our long-term approach to building padel the right way.

“Padel is still early in its global journey. Working with AO ventures and alongside Tennis Australia, which brings more than 120 years of experience building global sports platforms, creates a credible pathway for continued expansion.”

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The 2026 Premier Padel season will feature tournaments in the UK and South Africa for the first time as the professional padel tour further expands its global footprint.

The tour will come to Pretoria on July 27 to August 2 and London on August 3-9, while a new Spanish location, Valencia, will also feature this year, hosting a tournament on 8-14 June.

In all there will be 26 tournaments across 18 countries, with nearly 75% indoors. In 2025 there were 24 tournaments across 16 countries.

The announcement of the expansion followed the launch of the Hexagon World Series, developed through a partnership between the International Padel Federation (FIP), Hexagon Cup, and sport and entertainment agency 54.

Premier Padel is also a shareholder and major strategic partner in the new global team circuit, which is designed to complement FIP’s flagship professional tour for individual pairs.

The 2026 Premier Padel tour will start immediately after the Hexagon Cup, which takes place in Madrid on 28 January to 1 February.

The Premier Padel tour expands to 26 tournaments across 18 countries in 2026. Image credit: Premier Padel.

The Riyadh Season P1 on 9 February 2026 will be followed by Spain’s first tournament of the year in Gijón, before heading on its first trip to the Americas and the second editions of tournaments in Mexico (Cancun) and the US (Miami).

Following a return to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe – with tournaments in Qatar (Doha), Egypt (New Giza) and Belgium (Brussels) – the Premier Padel tour will make its South American return for tournaments in Argentina (Buenos Aires) and Paraguay (Asunción).

Europe takes centre stage between June and October, with a return to several recognised countries and locations including Italy (Rome, Milan), Spain (Malaga, Valladolid, Valencia, and Madrid), France (Bordeaux, Paris), the Netherlands (Rotterdam), and Germany (Dusseldorf).

The tour will then return to the Middle East for tournaments in Kuwait (Kuwait City) and UAE (Dubai), with the FIP World Cup being hosted in between Premier Padel events. 

Following the long-term renewals of three Major tournaments (Qatar, Italy and Paris) earlier this year, the world’s best players will once again return to Doha in April, Rome in June and Stade Roland-Garros in September, before closing the regular season with the Mexico Major at the end of November in Acapulco.

The Premier Padel Finals returns to Barcelona for its third edition from 7-13 December – where the top 16 ranked players in the FIP Race Ranking in both the men’s and women’s competitions will qualify to compete for the 2026 season title. 

The 2026 season will also see the implementation of the new ‘Star Point’ scoring system, which Premier Padel said was driven by the need to balance tradition with innovation, while improving player welfare, broadcast appeal, and fan engagement.

The 2026 Premier Padel season will feature the new ‘Star Point’ scoring system. Image credit: Premier Padel.

David Sugden, CEO of Premier Padel, said: “The 2026 calendar is a fantastic moment for professional padel, with the Tour entering three new cities and reaching a bigger audience than ever before.

“It not only reflects our long-term vision to expand padel’s global reach, but, with our first year in the UK and our second in the US, it also demonstrates how Premier Padel has driven padel into the world’s most competitive sports markets.

“We are confident 2026 will be the best season the sport has ever seen – with innovation in the scoring system, more indoor tournaments, new entertainment concepts, and an ever greater focus on the fan experience, all contributing to a fantastic year ahead for players, fans and all our partners.”   

Luigi Carraro, FIP president and vice chairman of Premier Padel, said: “Professional padel has never been stronger than it is today, and the 2026 calendar sets out how Premier Padel will develop the elite level of the sport even more.

“The entire pyramid is elevated by the further internationalisation of padel, reaching new and more diverse audiences, and supporting our collective Olympic ambitions.

“We are also delighted to see Premier Padel embracing feedback from across the ecosystem and adopting a FIP-backed innovative scoring system for 2026 – which will also be implemented in the Cupra FIP Tour.

“Designed to preserve padel tradition, whilst improving player welfare and broadcast predictability, this move also aligns with International Olympic Committee objectives around sport innovation and fan-driven adaptations – propelling our sport forwards across the board.”

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Hi everyone,

Welcome to the latest issue of Padel Business Magazine.

PBM exists for the people building the business of padel, from club owners and investors to tech builders and innovators pushing the sport forward.

Each month, we bring you the stories that matter most: sharp reporting, expert opinion, and original insights you won’t find anywhere else. It’s the clearest view yet of where the sport is heading, and who’s shaping it.

Inside this issue: four major news stories, and one big read that dives deep into this month’s defining theme.

Enjoy the latest news and insight from PBM. This will be our last issue of the year as we break for the festive period🎄 

Our next newsletter will arrive in your inbox in January 2026.

Thanks a lot for reading and we wish you all the very best for the new year✨

The PBM Team

Net news

Diving into the major news stories shaping this month’s theme and beyond: curated reporting and global headlines driving the business of padel forward.

Hexagon World Series launched by LIV Golf creator 54 and FIP

(Left to right) Gary Davidson, group chief operating officer at 54, Enrique Buenaventura, founder of Hexagon Cup, and Luigi Carraro, president of FIP, at the launch of Hexagon World Series in London. Image credit: FIP.

Hexagon Cup has partnered with FIP and 54, the sport and entertainment agency behind the creation of LIV Golf, to create padel’s first official team circuit.

Pádel Nuestro to open new Barcelona flagship store 

The new Barcelona store will complement Pádel Nuestro’s other outlets in Spain, including its Madrid flagship. Image credit: Pádel Nuestro.

Padel equipment chain is to replace electric vehicle giant Tesla in one of Barcelona’s prime retail hubs.

FIP report: Global padel courts exceed 77,000, up 15.2% in 2025 

There was a 42% growth in members registered with national padel federations in 2025 compared to last year, according to FIP. Image credit: FIP.

Padel’s rapid worldwide expansion continued this year, with the sport now played in 150 nations and 20 dependent territories, according to the FIP World Padel Report 2025.

The Padel Club to open five new UK sites 

The new openings will add more than 30 padel courts to The Padel Club network. Image credit: The Padel Club.

Major expansion plans have been unveiled by UK operator The Padel Club, with five new destinations to open across the country.

The big hit

The latest exclusive and original in-depth features, interviews and analysis from Padel Business Magazine. Insight you will not find anywhere else.

PBM Insight Report: Padel clubs tap multiple revenue sources in search of sustainable model 

Revenue drivers: Padel operators are developing a growing range of income generators as they look to deal with increasing competition and rising costs.

Marbella’s Los Naranjos Padel Club comprises 18 padel courts, two pickleball courts, a gym, restaurant, clubhouse, ‘pro shop’ and physiotherapy clinic. Image credit: Los Naranjos Padel Club.

As competition hots up among padel clubs amid the sport’s rapid growth in popularity, operators in the UK, US, Spain, Italy and elsewhere are looking to establish a growing range of revenue streams.

As well as coaching, tournaments, apparel and equipment, catering, wellness and leisure facilities, clubs are also increasingly looking to sponsorship, new booking technologies and dynamic fee models to help ensure revenues are predictable and sustainable.

Yet the challenge of operating sustainably is intensifying amid rising costs driven by inflation and a shift towards more expensive premium infrastructure.

Read on to get exclusive insight on the latest developments.

PBM Insight Report by Laura Syrett in London, and Brenda Dionisi in Milan.

As competition hots up among padel clubs amid the sport’s rapid growth in popularity, operators in the UK, US, Spain, Italy and elsewhere are looking to establish a growing range of revenue streams. As well as coaching, tournaments, apparel and equipment, catering, wellness and leisure facilities, clubs are also increasingly looking to sponsorship, new booking technologies and dynamic fee models to help ensure revenues are predictable and sustainable. Yet the challenge of operating sustainably is intensifying amid rising costs driven by inflation and a shift towards more expensive premium infrastructure. PBM Insight Report by Laura Syrett in London, and Brenda Dionisi in Milan.

Padel clubs in key emerging markets like the UK and US, as well as in more established countries like Spain and Italy, are increasingly looking to develop different ways of growing revenues beyond the basic court bookings model.

As a highly social sport that is rapidly increasing in popularity, padel provides club owners with a strong platform from which to offer multiple additional services to generate income. 

These include direct padel-related revenue streams such as club-based coaching, tournaments and sports apparel and equipment retailing, but also on-site catering, wellness and leisure facilities.  

Increasingly, clubs are also looking to sponsorship, new booking technologies and dynamic fee models to help ensure revenues are predictable and sustainable. 

The UK’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which has recognised padel within its remit since 2020, issued guidance in 2023 on how padel clubs can make sure they are financially sustainable. 

As well as emphasising the need for strong financial management, the LTA urges padel club operators to have a “realistic and clear understanding” of the income clubs are likely to generate.

It notes that income is likely to be more sustainable when derived from a variety of sources, including membership fees, sponsorship, fundraising, commercial activities and external funding, such as the LTA’s own grant scheme for clubs to invest in their facilities. 

The LTA recommends clubs match their amenities with the needs of their local communities and consider how club facilities, such as clubhouses, can be used to maximise revenue, rather than just relying on courts to bring in fees.

The UK’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) urges padel club operators to have a “realistic and clear understanding” of the income clubs are likely to generate. Image credit: LTA.

Rising costs pose challenges

One of the reasons padel clubs need to be mindful of shoring up their revenues is the issue of rising costs, due to inflation in the price of materials and labour and a shift towards more expensive premium infrastructure such as panoramic courts, covered facilities, technology-enhanced courts and improved lighting systems. 

“The strategic question is whether a premium court alone produces a sustainable return. In markets such as Spain, the answer is increasingly no,” Julián Romaguera, an independent executive adviser to sports clubs based in Marbella, Spain, tells Padel Business Magazine. 

“A premium court only makes economic sense if it allows you to charge significantly more, if it extends year-round usability or if it forms part of a hospitality model that increases ancillary revenue and customer lifetime value,” he adds. 

According to Romaguera, who advised on the concept and construction of Marbella’s Los Naranjos Padel Club, which comprises 18 padel courts, two pickleball courts, a gym, restaurant, clubhouse, ‘pro shop’ and physiotherapy clinic, padel clubs should regard themselves as providing a hospitality experience similar to spas and golf clubs to balance customer experience with business profitability.  

“A sustainable padel business begins by understanding the lifestyle, expectations and behaviour of the people you want to attract,” says Romaguera, adding: “Courts are the centrepiece, but the value is generated in everything that surrounds them ... to enable multiple revenue streams beyond court bookings.”

Marbella’s Los Naranjos Padel Club. Image credit: Los Naranjos Padel Club.

Staff training key to inclusive hospitality culture

Miguel Coelho, founding partner of padel court designer and supplier AMPX based in Scottsdale, Arizona, US, believes staff training is vital to creating an inclusive hospitality culture at clubs, which in turn helps maximise loyalty and income from players who would otherwise just pay to rent a court. 

“Coaches should operate as hosts and experience designers as much as on-court technicians. They are the ones who orchestrate pairings, set the tone, and build clear pathways from a first session to league play or team training,” Coelho tells Padel Business Magazine. 

“In my consulting work with racquet sports clubs, the most successful projects are always the ones that plan for that cultural layer from day one, not as something to add once the courts are already full,” he adds, suggesting the US could learn from examples set by mature, successful padel markets such as Spain, Portugal and Italy where clubs foster a sense of community. 

Padel clubs with a strong, welcoming culture also gain pricing power, Coelho explains, allowing them to justify higher rates for memberships and coaching. Such environments also encourage players to renew memberships and invite friends. 

“That lowers churn and increases lifetime value, which is far more efficient than constantly trying to refill the funnel with new trial users,” says Coelho, adding that, the more time people choose to pass in the club, the more money they will spend there. 

Miguel Coelho, founding partner of padel court designer and supplier AMPX. Image credit: AMPX.

Customer focus in revenue generation models

Romaguera cites some UK and US clubs as embracing the customer journey ethos in their revenue generation models.

In the UK, he singles out Padel Social Club, which has clubs in London (in Earls Court and at The O2), and plans to open a second in a Soho House-operated manor-based spa called Babington House, in Babington, Somerset. 

Padel Social Club offers saunas, bars, social spaces and shops alongside premium courts, “[placing] community and social interaction at the core of its identity,” says Romaguera. 

In the US, Romaguera highlights Padel Haus, which has clubs in the states of New York, Tennessee, Georgia and Colorado; and Reserve Padel, with clubs in Miami and New York, as foregrounding hospitality in a way that boosts the facilities’ revenue-earning potential and helping to offset investment in state of the art courts. 

He says that both Padel Haus’ Williamsburg, New York City club, which offers a steam room, fitness studio and lounge, and Reserve Padel’s Miami Seaplane Club, with multiple viewing and lounge areas and a pro shop in a spectacular waterfront location, “show that when padel is framed as a lifestyle experience, customers accept higher price points and stay longer”.

Reserve Padel’s Miami Seaplane Club. Image credit: Reserve Padel.

Innovative, value-driven approaches to fees

Although there are no reliable industry statistics, direct fees for court hire, memberships, tournaments and coaching are likely to be the most important source of income for most padel clubs, according to the LTA. 

David Cano Gutierrez, director general of the Beyond Padel Academy, a padel coaching business based at Marbella’s Los Naranjos Padel club, stresses that padel operators need to take innovative, value-driven approaches to fees to motivate customers to spend more. 

“Tiered plans with limited peak-hour priority for premium members and encouraging off-peak play with discounts and incentives” are among the ways clubs can price creatively, argues Gutierrez. 

Mac Barron, founder and principal consultant at New Hampshire, US-based Torchwood Consulting, a consultancy that partners with youth sports clubs to build stronger operational foundations, says that for padel’s important younger demographic, these players’ parents “[show] strong tolerance for smaller, recurring payments rather than lump-sum fees”.

According to Barron, clubs that adopt rolling monthly or quarterly memberships reduce churn by 15%-25%, noting that membership should include other benefits beyond court access, such as training, digital content and event discounts. 

Booking platforms help optimise operations

Innovative technologies designed to manage bookings and match players are also seen as a way for padel clubs to manage their fee models in ways that are responsive to their customer preferences, which in turn helps enhance revenues. 

Booking systems such as Playtomic allow players to book courts and find playing partners, while providing clubs with software solutions that help them optimise operations. 

“Modern platforms are no longer simple booking systems. They are revenue management tools, data engines and community builders,” observes Romaguera. 

“They increase occupancy through real-time availability, automated waiting lists and level-based matchmaking,” he adds. “They support dynamic pricing, integrate payments, manage coaching services, leagues and events and significantly increase average spend per customer.” 

Romaguera also notes that the most strategic impact of technology is its ability to identify a club’s most valuable customers – the ones who play and spend the most, bring friends and contribute to the club’s community.

“With that information, the club can design selective incentives [and] exclusive benefits,” he says. 

The advantages of smart booking systems go together with well-designed club programming, according to Coelho, as this allows clubs to monetise off-peak hours through leagues, coaching blocks, junior programmes and corporate events, so courts are productive beyond the classic weekday evening peaks. 

Booking systems such as Playtomic can help padel clubs optimise operations and enhance revenues. Image credit: Playtomic.

However, Coelho cautions against over-reliance on booking apps, and advocates “low-tech matchmaking” such as a few well-run level-based groups, an internal club league table (often called a ladder) and a small number of social sessions to help players integrate and find compatible partners. 

“Some platforms are very helpful for discovery and scheduling, but they can also pull the communication and the data relationship away from the club,” says Coelho.

“In saturated markets, we already see players who feel more loyalty to their app than to any specific venue. When that happens, the club loses control [and] becomes interchangeable in the eyes of the user,” he adds.

High-quality courts core to playing experience

While generating a variety of revenue streams in addition to the basic court bookings model is proving key to the sustainability of many padel clubs, Coelho observes that investing in courts is still proving essential for successful operators as players’ demands increase.

He argues that, while expensive courts are sunk costs that do not necessarily offer commensurate returns in what players are willing to pay to use them – pushing club operators to seek other revenue sources – high-quality courts are core to the padel playing experience, so are an indispensable basic building block of a financially successful padel club. 

“Because padel is relatively new in the US, you still see a lot of off-the-shelf courts with cheap turf, poor lighting, and very little thought given to the building around them,” says Coelho. 

Even where court design has not been prioritised, Coelho suggests clubs can mitigate this by thoroughly auditing club hardware basics, such as lighting consistency, ball quality, court maintenance, cleanliness and signage, to gauge how player experience can be improved.

“These are relatively low-cost, high-signal improvements that communicate professionalism and respect for players’ time,” he explains. 

High-quality courts are core to the padel playing experience. Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Investing in indoor facilities key to driving revenue in Italy

In Italy, padel clubs are facing growing demands as the sport evolves. Andrea Rossetti, business strategy manager at Padel Corporation, a multi-sport facility builder based in Jesi in the region of Marche which specialises in padel courts, notes that Italy now has a large base of committed players who prioritise top-quality playing conditions.

He stresses the importance of investing in quality facilities indoors rather than outdoors as a key driver of revenue in Italy.

“Italian padel players want state-of-the art courts that comply with international regulations and they want clubs that have courts replicating the professional feel and aesthetics of major events and international competitions,” he tells Padel Business Magazine.

Rossetti observes that indoor environments offer better playability, comfort and lower maintenance, while carefully selected court materials, such as premium turf and thick laminate glass offering safety and reduced noise, are factors that attract and retain players. 

Pro-level coaches, including those certified by the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP), are key to attracting players looking for quality and competence in Italy.

“Most expert players continuously train and practice playing with a pro, so if you have a well-known coach working for your club, this is a very important service, attracting players and increasing profits,” says Rossetti. 

Hype Club Centro Padel, which opened in the northern city of Trento in May 2025, demonstrates this approach with six indoor courts featuring professional-grade synthetic turf designed specifically for tournament-level padel sports by Italian sports flooring producer Mondo Group.

Seven months in, the club is now showing financial returns, says general manager Chiara Pasqualini. She explains that an extensive training programme launched in September, with clinics, group and individual lessons for all levels and ages led by FITP-certified, pro-level coaches, has attracted a growing number of players.

“Court occupancy has definitely improved since we began offering lessons and a targeted marketing campaign for university students is keeping courts rented in the mornings,” she says.

“We’ve started organising corporate events, such as team building activities, lessons and club tournaments, and these are effective at boosting revenue.” 

Pasqualini adds that membership packages have been more successful than pay-to-play options, with particularly popular membership options being a ‘Gold Plan’ (€150 value), offering discounted court rentals at set times and booking priority; discounts on training lessons as well as at a nearby spa; and an annual premium subscription to Playtomic.

Beyond Playtomic, the club does not plan to introduce additional technologies until profits increase, she adds.

Chiara Pasqualini, general manager of Hype Club Centro Padel, which opened in the northern Italian city of Trento in May 2025. Image credit: Hype Club Centro Padel.

Sponsorship growing in importance for padel clubs

Sponsorship is also emerging as an increasingly important source of income for padel clubs. 

Alessandro Corti, co-founder and CEO of London-based Padel Consulting, says that while player memberships and court bookings form the foundation of a club’s income, sponsorships are becoming one of the most powerful revenue streams for ambitious operators. 

He says that while padel clubs may naturally attract sponsorship from padel equipment and apparel brands, clubs that position themselves as community hubs and lifestyle destinations can attract not only sporting partners but also financial support from “non-endemic brands – from fashion and automotive to finance and wellness”. 

Among these sponsors, he cites examples such as Cupra, a car brand owned by German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen and produced by Spanish car-maker Seat. 

Since 2024, Cupra has been an official partner of the UK Pro Am Padel Tour, while individual Cupra dealerships sponsor local clubs, such as The Padel Club in Gloucester, which is sponsored by nearby Mon Motors Cupra, a city dealership. 

Corti explains that padel clubs provide multiple sponsorship opportunities, from corporate tournaments, leagues and open days, to team and player kit deals, to digital visibility inside booking apps. 

As well as providing income directly to clubs by paying them to display their brand in areas such as in courts and social spaces, sponsorship and brand partnerships can also indirectly boost revenue for clubs by making their products available to padel club customers. 

Rocket Padel, which operates four – soon to be five – clubs across London and Bristol, boasts a number of brand partners whose products are available to buy from the clubs.

These include luxury sportswear label EA7 Emporio Armani as its official apparel partner; food and drink partnerships with snack company Barebells; Spanish brewer Estrella Damm; and the premium wines and spirits division of luxury multinational company LVMH, Moët Hennessy. 

Rocket Padel also has a ‘location partner’ deal with UK estate agency Savills, which finds sites for new Rocket Padel clubs across the UK, with the operator promoting Savills via its website. 

Romaguera agrees with Corti that sponsorship opportunities are significant for clubs, adding social media content, naming rights and branded courts to the list of options.

“Sponsorship is an underdeveloped but extremely valuable revenue line,” says Romaguera. “[Padel] attracts a desirable demographic and offers excellent opportunities for activation.” 

He notes that in the US and UK, padel is becoming a corporate networking space like golf, while Spain’s padel industry is well advanced in its mission to persuade sponsors in tourism, finance, automotive and hospitality among others that the sport is a premium visibility platform. 

Rocket Padel has a brand partnership with luxury sportswear label EA7 Emporio Armani as its official apparel partner. Image credit: Rocket Padel.

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The second edition of the International Padel Federation (FIP)’s World Padel Report has underlined the continued global expansion of padel, with new figures pointing to strong growth rates in the number of courts, clubs and players in 2025.

According to the FIP World Padel Report 2025, there are now over 35 million padel players worldwide, with a 16.1% increase in clubs, 15.2% rise in courts, and 42% growth in members registered with national federations compared to last year.

The report states that the number of padel clubs globally rose by 4,775, surpassing 24,600, with 14,355 courts built in 2025, bringing the total to 77,300, spread across 150 nations and 20 dependent territories, up 26 on the previous year.

FIP notes that the development of padel spans all five continents, and pointed to an increase in the number of tournaments organised by the federation, from 182 in 2024 to 290 in 2025, involving over 11,000 athletes featured in its professional and junior rankings.

There was a 42% growth in members registered with national padel federations in 2025 compared to last year, according to FIP. Image credit: FIP.

The FIP World Padel Report 2025 was presented at the body’s 35th General Assembly, held in Acapulco, Mexico on 29 November.

At the meeting, FIP also announced the affiliation of 14 new national federations, with total membership reaching the milestone figure of 100.

The newly affiliated federations are Bolivia, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Latvia, Malaysia, Panama, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Rwanda, Serbia, Chinese Taipei, and Yemen.

During the Assembly, FIP president Luigi Carraro outlined padel’s continued push towards Olympic recognition, confirming that in 2026 the sport will feature in four IOC-recognised and sanctioned events:

• Asian Beach Games – Sanya, China
• FISU World University Padel Championships – Málaga, Spain
• Mediterranean Games – Taranto, Italy
• Asian Games – Aichi Prefecture – Nagoya, Japan

Further announcements are expected soon.

“This General Assembly shows how we are growing and improving year after year – and how our growth remains sustainable,” Carraro said.

“Starting from the base of the pyramid, at the grassroots level, and working side by side with our national federations, our movement is evolving in a controlled and structured way, ensuring the top of the pyramid – professional padel – can develop at the highest standards.

“Since 2019, the number of national federations within FIP has more than tripled. With today’s new member federations, we have reached 100 members. And we will not stop here: padel is played in more than 170 countries, across three quarters of the world’s population, and we want our community to keep expanding.”

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Hexagon Cup, the team-based padel tournament established in 2024, has announced a strategic alliance with 54 – the sport and entertainment agency behind the creation of LIV Golf – and the International Padel Federation (FIP).

Under the agreement, 54 will invest and partner with Hexagon Cup to expand the tournament into a new global team circuit named the Hexagon World Series.

The new competition – launched at an event in London on 17 December – will become the first team padel series to be delivered under the governance of FIP, which said the move positions Hexagon World Series as the sport’s official global team circuit.

It will feature multiple events each year in different cities worldwide, with the new series designed to complement Premier Padel, FIP’s flagship professional tour for individual pairs.

“Together, Premier Padel and the Hexagon World Series will form the global professional circuit for elite players: one tour for the world’s top pairs, and one groundbreaking team-based competition, both under the governance of FIP,” padel’s global governing body said.

Details of the new competition format, teams, calendar of events and host cities will be announced in 2026.

(Left to right) Gary Davidson, group chief operating officer at 54, Enrique Buenaventura, founder of Hexagon Cup, and Luigi Carraro, president of FIP, at the launch of Hexagon World Series in London. Image credit: FIP.

54’s investment also marks the closing of an international financing round for Hexagon Cup, with additional fresh backing coming from PadelPark India, UK operator Padel Hub, and US-based operator Epic Padel, as well as investment funds and platforms including Players Fund (UK) and LinkinFirm (Brazil), alongside other strategic partners from Mexico, Spain, the US and the Middle East.

The launch of the Hexagon World Series follows the announcement in February 2025 of a strategic partnership between Hexagon Cup, Premier Padel and FIP, under which Premier Padel is also a shareholder and major strategic partner in the new series.

Enrique Buenaventura, founder of Hexagon Cup, commented: “This partnership marks a new chapter in the history of padel. Together with 54, FIP and the support of, and fantastic relationship with, Premier Padel, we will build the first truly global team circuit, expanding the vision of the Hexagon Cup and creating something never seen before in our sport.

“Our mission is to help grow padel worldwide, unlock new commercial opportunities, and contribute decisively to its Olympic journey.”

Luigi Carraro, president of FIP, said: “FIP’s mission is to develop and grow padel at every level of the pyramid – from grassroots and amateur participation to elite professional – all around the world.

“The launch of Hexagon World Series – under the umbrella and governance of FIP and as part of our official international calendar, already including the Cupra FIP Tour and Premier Padel – further enhances, consolidates and stabilises our ecosystem with the most prestigious competitions in the sport.

“Together, we will ensure padel continues to grow with the professionalism, global visibility and collaborative structure – working with all recognised stakeholders within padel and world sport – driving padel’s long-term success on an international scale.”

Gary Davidson, group chief operating officer at 54, added: “Padel is one of the fastest growing sports globally, and we see an incredible opportunity to help accelerate its professionalisation and global reach.

“Teaming up with Hexagon Cup and FIP to create the Hexagon World Series is a natural extension of our commitment to building the world’s most exciting sporting properties, moulded through modern commercial structures and integrated into the existing ecosystem to deliver the best experiences for athletes and fans, and the best performance for partners and investors.”

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Spanish padel equipment chain Pádel Nuestro is to open a new flagship store in the commercial heart of Barcelona at premises previously occupied by electric vehicle giant Tesla.

As reported by Spanish property site idealista, the new outlet is located at 257 Rosselló Street, a few metres from the prestigious Paseo de Gracia, one of Barcelona’s most important shopping and business areas.

Tesla moved its operations last summer to a new space in the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, leaving this coveted premises in the heart of the city free.

Pádel Nuestro’s new store, which is due to open in 2026, marks a major step in its brand positioning strategy, and represents an unusual move for the sports sector in one of the highest-income areas of Barcelona's Eixample district.

Until now, Pádel Nuestro’s presence in the province of Barcelona was limited to two stores in Badalona and Sabadell.

The new Barcelona store will complement Pádel Nuestro’s other outlets in Spain, including its Madrid flagship. Image credit: Pádel Nuestro.

Behind the new commitment is 360 Padel Group, the Murcian business conglomerate that encompasses Pádel Nuestro and has established itself as the largest omnichannel distributor of padel equipment globally.

The group closed 2024 with a turnover of €58 million and plans to reach €80 million by 2025, which would represent an increase of 44%.

With more than 60 establishments in 20 countries on five continents, 360 Padel Group has expanded into a range of diverse markets over recent years.

Its presence now extends from Spain to destinations including Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Morocco and Andorra, where it has recently opened a new store.

In Madrid, Pádel Nuestro already has three establishments that highlight its diversified strategy: a flagship in Chamartín, near the Salamanca district; another venue near Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium in the area known as 'the rich Tetuán'; and a third point of sale in the district of Usera, which has more affordable rents.

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