Padel is a smash hit with investors as soaring interest creates a sporting ‘gold rush’

Wimbledon gets into full swing this week but it is tennis’s smaller cousin that is rapidly becoming the racquet sport of choice for investors.

Players of padel – a game that blends squash and tennis on a compact court – rose by 125% in 2025, while the number of clubs across the UK soared from around 130 to nearly 300.

Padel racquet brands in the UK rose by 148% to 270 in the year to 31 March 2025, a surge from 109 the previous year, according to research by intellectual property law firm Mathys & Squire. In the same period, only 23 new brands related to tennis were registered.

Investors describe a “gold rush” of new padel ventures, encompassing padel clubs, racquet manufacturers, clothing brands and a dedicated professional championship: Premier Padel P1.

The padel boom has increased interest in all racquet sports, and has won the endorsement of Britain’s governing body for tennis, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). “They realise that it’s actually a gateway drug [into tennis],” says Magnus Macintyre, chairman of Endeavour Ventures and investor at The Padel Club since 2022.

Launching the club, which aims to open 10 new clubs nationally each year, required little marketing given the hype around the sport, he said. “It’s all socials and spreads like wildfire.”

Tennis stars are backing padel in growing numbers. Andy Murray, his brother Jamie and Annabel Croft have invested in Game4Padel, valued at £27m, while Rafa Nadal’s academy has launched a padel programme and he is a founding investor in the Playtomic app, where players can book courts and find clubs.

Serena Williams has fronted Heineken’s 0% beer padel campaign, surprising players on court in a viral marketing push. Stormzy has backed London-based Padel Social Club, which raised £5.5m to fund a 17-court expansion, while Tom Holland has woven padel into the promotional strategy for his $100m non-alcoholic beer brand Bero, hosting invite-only amateur tournaments.

The appeal to entrepreneurs is unsurprising – it is claimed the sport was invented in 1969 by business owner and tennis enthusiast Enrique Corcuera in his backyard in Acapulco, Mexico, which could not accommodate a full tennis court. Padel grew in the UK from a niche early 2000s sport to a post-pandemic commercial boom for social and professional clubs. David Lloyd Leisure currently holds the UK title of largest padel operator, with more than 150 courts across its clubs.

Investors now caution that the influx of clubs and surge of investment needs to be sustainable in the long-term. Michael Gradon, chief executive of Game4Padel – owner of 27 UK venues – says that the “wild, unbridled gold rush of speculative capital is helpfully over, and that is exactly what the UK padel market needs. We are seeing fewer investors now, but those coming to the table are far more shrewd and analytical, building community-driven venues in sensible locations that stand the test of time.”

Demand will nonetheless outpace supply, investors say, given the need to navigate strict planning hurdles that slow down club construction. “It means the curve in padel is going to be a bit longer than in other countries,” adds Macintyre. “There is so much demand and so few courts. And that’s going to carry on being the case for at least another six to eight years.”

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