Padel Tennis – The straightforward new sport taking Britain by storm

Deemed “the fastest-growing sport in the world” by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the emerging racquet sport padel has seen an exponential rise in popularity across Britain since the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Last year alone, over 400,000 individuals across the country opted to play, marking a staggering rise of more than 210% compared to 2023.

In 2025, participation has shown no signs of slowing, as public awareness of the sport continues to accelerate and new padel courts appear each week in efforts to meet rising demand. This summer, the milestone of 1000 courts nationwide was reached, with 325 venues now boasting padel facilities.

Padel has been frequently stressed as a complement to the more intensive and physically beneficial sport of tennis

Departing from tennis and its modern accessible rival pickleball, these padel courts can be easily identified by their surrounding cage, offering a unique feature in that players are able to hit their shot into, or allow their opponent’s shot to rebound off, the back glass wall.

Otherwise lacking the technical and tactical complexity of tennis, the growth of padel proves largely unsurprising. Given that the sport involves a more forgiving racquet, slower ball, smaller court, and forbids the dreaded overarm serve, padel proves a particularly fun and inclusive activity. Among friends or family, the sports’ relative simplicity acts as a leveller, bringing people with various levels of sporting ability together. 

In light of its widespread appeal, padel has been frequently stressed as a complement to the more intensive and physically beneficial sport of tennis, rather than a strict alternative. Optimistic that padel will not draw players away from his beloved sport, three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray instead believes that padel “can only be a good thing for tennis”, by providing an accessible route into racquet sports. In light of concerns among the tennis community, he reassures that the new sport has already “started to attract new people that had never played tennis before”.

Warwick Sport have highlighted their long-term mission of delivering on-campus Padel courts

Key to drawing these beginner players in, exclusive padel centres have emerged, such as the Padel Studios in Coventry. Often indoor centres, these facilities predominantly make their courts bookable to the public via the Playtomic app. Critical to the sustainability of the sport, the Playtomic app also offers several additional features, including optional training programmes and competitions.

Elsewhere locally, Kenilworth Tennis, Squash, and Croquet Club has become one of many sporting venues to invest in padel courts to complement their existing facilities, providing an additional or optional benefit within their membership packages. Currently the most accessible venue for keen students, they offer exclusive padel memberships, or a ‘Pay and Play’ option for non-members.

In the years to come, Padel is likely to become more accessible to students. Notably, Warwick Sport have highlighted their long-term mission of delivering on-campus Padel courts in light of its surging popularity. In a recent statement to Boar Sport, they explained: “We have been actively exploring the exciting possibility of locating padel courts on campus but given the financial commitment involved and the range of options to consider it is not possible to provide any more detail at this stage.”

While ease of physical access is slowly being improved, the prices of court hire remain a greater cause for concern

Keen to encourage this development, the University of Warwick Tennis Club, which arranged off-campus padel sessions last academic year, add that they “remain hopeful that padel tennis will soon become a permanent offering at Warwick”.

In the meantime, the planning process for padel courts alongside the existing tennis courts in local War Memorial Park could see brand new courts available as early as next Autumn. If approved, this would add a second padel facility (in addition to the KTSCC) that campus-based students can easily access by bus.

While ease of physical access is slowly being improved, the prices of court hire remain a greater cause for concern. Currently, research shows the average price of an off-peak court to be a staggering £30. Often an unexpected additional cost, many facilities also charge players an hourly fee for racquet hire. At this price point, the superb physical, social, and mental benefits padel offers cannot be enjoyed by millions of Brits.

Hopes that padel tennis can provide a truly inclusive and accessible sport in years to come will therefore depend on whether the increased supply of courts drives down the price of court hire.