The UK Padel Boom 2027: Participation, Clubs and Marketing Trends

There’s a sound you now hear all over Britain. In converted car parks, on rooftops, beside golf clubs and behind the local leisure centre. It’s the pop of a padel ball coming off a glass wall, usually followed by laughter.

Seven years ago almost nobody here had heard of padel. In 2019 just 15,000 people in Britain played it. By October 2026 that number had reached 1.5 million, playing on 2,445 courts at 682 venues [1]. That is a hundred times more players in seven years.

We love this story because it’s about people getting outside, moving and having fun with their friends. It’s also one of the biggest opportunities in UK sport right now for clubs, brands and event organisers. So we’ve pulled together the numbers, looked at who is playing and where the money is going, and set out the marketing trends we think will matter most in 2027.

The UK padel boom in numbers

Padel’s growth in Britain is steep by any measure. The LTA, which governs the sport here, has tracked it from the start [1][2][3].

Player numbers more than doubled in a single year, from 400,000 at the end of 2024 to 860,000 at the end of 2025 [2]. They then passed one million in May 2026 [3] and 1.5 million by World Padel Day in October [1].

The courts are racing to keep up. Britain had just 69 padel courts when the LTA took on the sport in 2020 [2]. By the end of 2024 there were 870. Less than two years later there are 2,445, almost three times as many [1].

A few more numbers show how much room there still is to grow:

• 57% of British adults now know what padel is, around 31 million people. That is up from 38% a year earlier [2].
• More than 10 million people say they want to try it [2].
• Around £7 per person is the average cost of an hour off peak, based on four players sharing a £27 court [2].
• About 600 players for every court. That is our own sum from the LTA’s latest figures [1], and it explains why peak slots sell out so quickly.
• 107 Google searches per court. One study compared monthly searches for courts with the number of courts available. Spain, the home of padel, sits at under 6 [4].

Demand is running well ahead of supply. For anyone marketing a club, that is a lovely problem to have. It also won’t last forever, which we’ll come back to.

Who is playing padel?

Padel is easy to love. The court is small, the serve is underarm and the walls keep the ball in play, so beginners can enjoy a proper rally in their first hour. It’s always doubles, which means it’s social by design. You book with three friends and you tend to stay for a drink afterwards.

That mix is why property firm Savills lists competitive socialising and the wellness trend among the main forces behind padel’s rise, alongside booking technology, investor appetite and cultural relevance [9].

A few things stand out about the people on court:

• It’s a city sport that is spreading out. More than half of Britain’s courts are in cities and about a quarter are in rural areas [11]. London and the big regional cities led the way, and smaller towns are now following.
• Women are under represented. Fewer than a third of UK padel players are women [5]. The LTA is working on this through its She Rallies programme and women and girls only sessions [2]. For clubs, this is the single biggest growth opportunity on the table.
• Juniors are next. The inaugural LTA Junior Padel National Championships have now been held in Derby, and new youth coaching resources for secondary school age players are rolling out [2].
• Community matters. Over 81% of venues that answered the LTA’s survey run outreach such as school partnerships and reduced price sessions [2].

If you’ve read our pieces on the UK running boom and UK golf trends, this will sound familiar. People want sport that gets them outdoors, fits around a busy week and comes with a ready made group of friends.

Clubs and operators: the race to build

Where players go, money follows. A Bloomberg investigation in October 2026 found that UK padel has attracted at least $300 million of investment in just a few years [6].

Here is who is building:

• David Lloyd is the country’s largest operator with close to 300 courts. It is putting £111 million into padel and adding 46 courts in 2026 [6].
• The Padel Club, founded in Cheshire in 2020, raised £3 million to open eight new sites. Its flagship at TraffordCity has 11 purpose built courts [7].
• Smash Padel secured £1.25 million to grow from five sites to 20, with a focus on underserved communities [8].
• Game4Padel counts Andy Murray among its backers, and Stormzy has invested in London’s Padel Social Club [6].
• The LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation have invested more than £7.5 million in court construction, helping to deliver 112 courts at 57 venues [2].
• The UK Government has committed £3 million in 2026/27 for covered padel and tennis facilities [3].

It isn’t all smooth. The first operator failures arrived in 2026, including Social Sports Society, which ran five sites before going into administration [6]. Some new courts in London have also met pushback from local residents who want community space protected [11].

The lesson for 2027 is simple. Building courts is no longer enough. As more clubs open, the ones that thrive will be those that people feel they belong to.

Brands, sponsorship and media

The professional game arrived in Britain in 2026. The London Premier Padel P1 ran at Olympia from 4 to 9 August, the first time the sport’s elite tour had played on British soil. Every match was shown live on TNT Sports and HBO Max [10].

That matters for marketers. A sport with a broadcast home, star players and a marquee London event is far easier for brands to buy into.

Big names are already in. LTA Padel’s official partners include CUPRA, Dunlop, Haier, Heineken 0.0, Powerade and SEGRO [2]. That is a car maker, an equipment brand, an appliance brand, two drinks brands and a property company. Padel’s audience is broad enough to suit all of them.

The grassroots calendar is filling up too. The LTA sanctioned 643 local and regional competitions in 2025, up from 409 the year before [2]. Each one is a chance for a local sponsor, a content day or a community story. If you’re planning one, our guide to promoting and capturing your sports event is a good place to start.

Padel marketing trends for 2027

These are the six shifts we expect to shape padel marketing over the next year. They are our view, based on the numbers above and what we see working across sport.

1. Community beats court count

When courts were scarce, opening the doors was enough. With 682 venues and rising [1], players now have a choice. Clubs that run leagues, socials, beginner nights and mixers give people a reason to stay. Show that on camera. Film the Friday night social as well as the perfect smash. Our piece on storytelling in sport explains why this works.

2. Short form video does the heavy lifting

Padel is made for vertical video. Rallies are fast, the glass walls create drama and every point has a reaction. A steady flow of short clips will do more for a new club than a single glossy launch film. The best plan uses both, as we cover in short form vs long form video in sports marketing.

3. Women and girls are the growth story

Fewer than a third of players are women [5]. Clubs that fix this will grow faster than those that don’t. That means women’s sessions at good times, female coaches up front and photography that reflects who you want on court. Check your website and social feeds. If every photo is four men, you’re telling half your market it isn’t for them.

4. Local search decides who gets the booking

People are searching for courts far faster than courts are being built [4]. When someone types “padel near me”, the club with a strong Google Business Profile, fresh photos, good reviews and a fast booking page wins. New clubs should have local SEO and Google and Meta ads in place before opening day, not after.

5. Brands move from logos to experiences

Padel is social and corporate friendly, which makes it ideal for brand days, client events and staff tournaments. Expect more brands to host their own events in 2027 instead of only putting a logo on the glass. Every one of those events needs capturing well, with sports photography and video the brand can use for months afterwards.

6. The pro game gives everyone a hook

With elite padel now on TNT Sports [10], clubs and brands have moments to build around. Watch parties, clinics with ranked British players and content tied to big tournaments all become easier to plan. For more on where sport content is heading, see our sports marketing trends for 2027.

What to do next

If you run a padel club, sponsor one or are planning an event, here is where we’d start:

1. Build a content library early. One well planned shoot day can give you months of photos and video for your website, ads and social channels.
2. Sort your local search. Claim your Google Business Profile, add real photos and make booking easy on a phone.
3. Put people first. Lead with faces, friendships and first timers. The courts all look the same. Your community doesn’t.
4. Plan around the calendar. Pick three or four moments in 2027, such as a club tournament, a charity day or a big pro event, and build content around each.
5. Measure what matters. Track bookings, memberships and repeat visits, not just likes.

Padel has gone from a curiosity to a national habit in seven years, and it’s getting more people outside and active with their friends. We think that’s worth celebrating, and worth telling well.

At Floom Creative we help sport brands, clubs and events do exactly that. Take a look at our sports marketing and sports video production pages, or get in touch and tell us what you’re building.

References

1. LTA Padel (October 2026). LTA marks World Padel Day with record 1.5 million people playing padel in Britain. https://ltapadel.org.uk/news/2026/october/lta-marks-world-padel-day-with-record-1.5-million-people-playing-padel-in-britain
2. LTA Padel (March 2026). 860,000 players: LTA unveils latest figures on growth of padel in Britain. https://www.ltapadel.org.uk/news/2026/march/860000-players-lta-unveils-latest-figures-on-growth-of-padel-in-britain/
3. LTA Padel (May 2026). 1,000,000 padel players in Britain. https://www.ltapadel.org.uk/news/2026/may/1000000-padel-players-in-britain/
4. PDH Sports (2026). Padel: The UK’s Fastest Rising Racket Sport and the Grassroots Gap. https://pdhsports.com/en-gr/blogs/padel/padel-and-the-grassroots-gap-report
5. Express and Star / PA (March 2026). LTA vows to boost numbers of women and girls playing padel as popularity grows. https://www.expressandstar.com/uk-sports/2026/03/08/lta-vows-to-boost-numbers-of-women-and-girls-playing-padel-as-popularity-grows
6. Padel Speak (October 2026), reporting a Bloomberg investigation. Padel in the UK: $300 Million Invested and the First Bankruptcies. https://padelspeak.com/en/?p=57736
7. British Business Bank (2026). The Padel Club accelerates UK expansion following NPIF II funding. https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/news-and-events/news/padel-club-accelerates-uk-expansion-following-npif-ii-funding
8. Business News Wales (June 2026). Padel Firm Secures Investment for Expansion. https://businessnewswales.com/padel-firm-secures-investment-for-expansion/
9. Savills (2026). Spotlight: UK Leisure Market, The UK padel market. https://www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/166219/388810-0
10. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (July 2026). Premier Padel secures live coverage on TNT Sports and HBO Max for the London Premier Padel P1. https://media.wbdsports.com/post/premier-padel-secures-live-coverage-on-tnt-sports-and-hbo-max-fo
11. AFP via Kuwait Times (October 2026). Padel boom in Britain sparks enthusiasm and pushback. https://kuwaittimes.com/article/51825/lifestyle/padel-boom-in-britain-sparks-enthusiasm-and-pushback/