Padel news: Why padel’s biggest returns now hinge on the district, not the country
Sports News Blitz have teamed up with Saidja Drentje, partner at CAA Portas, to keep us updated on all the latest news from the world of padel.
Padel’s headline numbers are spectacular. The sport has grown from around 10,000 courts in 2016 to more than 77,000 today, expanding at roughly 21% a year. On current trajectory, it should pass 90,000 courts by 2027–28. But aggregate growth hides the more important truth: padel’s economics are not spreading evenly – they are concentrating.
Padel news: Padel 100 launches initiative to provide free padel courts for Irish schools
Ireland’s largest padel rollout company Padel 100 has announced its plans to offer Irish schools free padel courts. With over 20 schools already onboarded and 50 new courts set for installation nationwide in coming months, it is an initiative that is generating huge attention from schools all over the country.
The plan forms part of the rapidly growing Irish sports company’s mission to make sport more accessible, modern, and community-driven for the next generation.
2026 Playtomic Global Padel Report identifies U.S. as one of the sport’s biggest long-term growth markets
New report reveals padel’s expansion in the U.S. is being fuelled by premium lifestyle positioning, wellness culture, hospitality and real estate development
Today, Playtomic, the largest racquet sports community in the world, and PwC’s Business Strategy Consulting arm, Strategy&, released the Playtomic 2026 Global Padel Report, which is widely referred to as “the Bible of Padel.”
Canada's National Padel Governing Body Officially Recognizes the Canadian Universities Padel League
The Padel Association of Canada and the CUPL join forces to build a national collegiate pathway for the sport
The Padel Association of Canada (PAC), the national governing body for padel in Canada, has recognised the Canadian Universities Padel League (CUPL) as a leading collegiate padel movement in the country. This marks a pivotal moment in the growth of the sport at student level in Canada, as well as an important step toward building a pipeline of competitive Canadian talent on the global stage.
The District Padel & Pickleball Club Celebrates Grand Opening in Toronto, Signaling a New Chapter in Racquet Sports and Social Culture
Toronto’s fast-evolving sports and social landscape is entering a new phase with The District Padel & Pickleball Club, a 55,000-square-foot flagship facility located just minutes from downtown Toronto.
Following an initial opening and community preview on March 28, the club will officially celebrate its Grand Opening on May 15, marking its full arrival as a premium, design-forward destination for racquet sports and social connection.
As interest in racquet sports accelerates globally, recent data from Playtomic’s Global Padel Report shows that a new padel club is opening every 2.5 hours worldwide.
Padel news: VanEck becomes exclusive ETF partner of the Anglo American Padel Cup
VanEck has announced that it will be the exclusive ETF partner of the Anglo American Padel Cup, set to take place in South Florida in February 2027.
The partnership demonstrates the growing global importance of the sport of padel, which has a vibrant community of an estimated 35 million players worldwide, and the significance of the Anglo American Padel Cup, a unique competition bringing together the best padel players from two nations with a historic sporting rivalry.
AD/Vantage Padel Team brings the Hexagon spirit to Los Angeles at a star-studded BERO Padel Classic
The Hexagon Cup champion team in 2024 and 2026 acted as cohost of the BERO Padel Classic in Los Angeles, an event that brought together padel, entertainment and international projection.
Tom Holland, Steve Aoki, Stormzy, Jay Shetty and a prominent group of celebrities were among the main attractions of the event.
AD/Vantage Padel strengthened its international profile in the United States as a two-time Hexagon Cup champion, in an event that helped boost the global visibility of padel.
Padel enters the sport industry's biggest night - does this herald racquet sport's arrival at the main stage?
The sport that's taken Britain by storm has found its way onto one of international sport's most prestigious shortlists. Padel 22's finalist status in the Best Newcomer category at the 25th Sport Industry Awards feels like a broader signal of where the industry is heading.
Padel news: Manchester Padel Club taps into corporate events as padel boom reshapes networking
Manchester’s fast-growing padel scene is opening up new opportunities for corporate hospitality, with Manchester Padel Club positioning itself as a leading venue for business events in the North West.
The Heald Green–based club, which has invested over £1 million into its facilities and has partnerships with Monaco, Madrid, and Marbella padel clubs, is seeing increasing demand from companies looking for more engaging, social alternatives to traditional client entertainment and team-building activities.
National Padel League’s USA National Team League Announces Return for 2026 Season Following Breakout 2025 Campaign
Following a record-breaking 2025 season that solidified its position as the premier amateur padel team competition in the U.S., the National Padel League (NPL) today announced the launch of its 2026 USA National Team League season. Building on a year of unprecedented growth, the 2026 circuit will introduce a dual-season format (Spring and Fall), expanded women’s categories and a continued nationwide expansion across six major U.S. regions.
Second Anglo American Padel Cup Confirmed for South Florida in February 2027
The Anglo American Padel Cup is pleased to announce the venue and dates for its second edition, following the competition’s exhilarating London debut in October 2025, which saw Team USA secure a hard fought victory that came down to the last two matches on court.
Padel news: ‘The Olympics needs padel more than padel needs the Olympics’, says Gail Emms
Padel’s rapid rise in the UK is being driven by participation, visibility, and social appeal, with leading figures from sport and industry highlighting both the scale of its growth and the work still required to support its long-term prospects. That was the takeaway from the debut Padel 22 Media Sessions event in London.
Amidst growing discussion surrounding padel’s Olympic prospects for Brisbane 2032, it was former world badminton champion and Olympic silver medallist Gail Emms MBE who delivered one of the standout lines of the day, offering a measured take on the sport’s Olympic ambitions.
Padel Mentality Launches to Challenge the ‘wasteful traditions of the Fashion and Sportswear Industry’
Transformative new apparel company Padel Mentality has launched today to challenge the fashion and sportswear industry's culture of overproduction and waste.
Conquer Padel Introduces lululemon Apparel at Its Clubs
Conquer Padel now offers lululemon premium apparel at its clubs, marking lululemon’s most significant expansion into the U.S. padel market to date.
Padel news: Racquet 360 secures $9million funding round to accelerate US padel expansion
The United States’ premier integrated platform for the modern racket sports industry has announced the successful completion and deployment of a $9million funding round.
Finalised in Q4 2025, the funding round attracted a strategic mix of sports focused private equity funds, angel investors and family offices, including Sunrise Padel Capital (Miami, FL), Profluence Capital (St. Petersburg, FL) and Taktika Equity (San Diego, CA).
Unlike traditional funding announcements, Racquet 360’s raise was strategically timed to accelerate momentum for milestones already in motion.
R3 Bullpadel Cup Returns to Stratford as Elite Roster Strengthens for 2026
The R3 Bullpadel Cup returns to Stratford Padel Club this weekend as the opening event of the 2026 R3 Bullpadel Cup Leaderboard, bringing together one of the strongest LTA Grade 1 fields of the season.
ATHLFT launches online platform to tackle rising injury crisis in padel with elite-level fitness coaching
New performance training platform equips padel players with professional-level strength, conditioning and mobility programmes to enhance performance and prevent injuries as the sport booms across the UK.
Tournated Joins Forces with World Padel Rating to Launch White-Label Digital Platform for the United States Padel Association
First U.S. governing body partnership marks Tournated’s largest padel federation project to date and creates “first true home for America’s padel-playing community”
Padel news: UK padel participation more than doubled in 2025 as sport breaks into the mainstream
New UK data from Playtomic, the world’s largest racket-sports booking and community platform, reveals that participation in the sport more than doubled in 2025, underlining padel’s emergence as one of the UK’s fastest-scaling sports.
According to Playtomic’s UK platform data, the number of players booking courts rose from 76,695 in January 2025 to 172,564 by December, representing growth of approximately 125% across the calendar year.
VVV Sports launches first publicly listed platform focused on emerging sports
Padel and pickleball are among the fastest-growing sports globally, attracting millions of new participants and accelerating commercial interest.
Yet despite that growth, much of the industry remains fragmented, with athletes, events, venues, media and commercial partners developing in parallel rather than as part of a coordinated ecosystem.
Led by entrepreneur Jonathan Rowland, the founder of UK challenger bank Redwood Bank, VVV Sports today debuts as a publicly listed sports, media and entertainment platform designed to address that gap.