On’s Signing of Arturo Coello Signals a Major Inflection Point for Padel’s Commercial Future

More than a high-profile athlete signing, the move represents a strategic expansion by one of the most influential modern sportswear brands – and a clear signal that padel has arrived as a serious global business opportunity.

For a sport that has spent much of its commercial life dominated by specialist and heritage padel brands, On’s entry marks a shift in scale, ambition and credibility.

A Tier-One Global Brand Commits to Padel

Founded in Zurich and best known for its disruptive running footwear and rapid growth across tennis and outdoor sports, On’s decision to invest in padel is highly significant. The brand has built its reputation on Swiss-engineered innovation, premium positioning and strong athlete-led product development. Its roster already includes major tennis stars and global ambassadors – and now, padel’s most dominant player joins that ecosystem.

By signing Arturo Coello, On is not “testing the waters.” It is committing to padel with intent.

This partnership places padel alongside running and tennis within On’s expanding racket sports portfolio. For the sport itself, this is another step towards mainstream global recognition, especially in markets where padel is still emerging and where brand credibility plays a crucial role in consumer adoption.

Why Arturo Coello Matters Beyond Performance

At just 21 years old, Arturo Coello is already one of the most recognisable and marketable athletes in padel history. The youngest-ever World No.1, Coello represents padel’s new generation: powerful, athletic, media-savvy and globally relevant.

Alongside his partner Agustín Tapia, Coello has achieved a record-breaking 47-match winning streak and amassed over 37 major titles across professional tours. For brands, this level of sustained dominance offers something rare: performance credibility combined with long-term commercial runway.

Importantly for On, Coello is not positioned merely as a marketing asset. The partnership has been framed from the outset as a product innovation collaboration, with Coello working directly with On’s development teams in Switzerland to shape padel-specific footwear.

This mirrors On’s successful playbook in other sports – using elite athletes not just to endorse products, but to help engineer them.

Product Innovation: A New Standard for Padel Footwear?

One of the clearest implications of this announcement is its impact on the padel equipment landscape.

On has confirmed that its first padel-specific footwear line, developed in collaboration with Coello, is scheduled for consumer release in Summer 2027. While that timeline suggests a long-term approach, it also signals a high level of R&D investment and technical ambition.

Padel places unique demands on footwear – rapid lateral movement, frequent changes of direction, varied court surfaces and high-intensity rally patterns. Until now, innovation in padel shoes has largely been driven by padel-native brands or adapted tennis models.

On’s entry could raise expectations around biomechanics, cushioning systems, stability and durability – particularly as the brand applies its proprietary technologies to a new court environment.

For retailers, clubs and consumers alike, this may accelerate premiumisation within padel footwear, shifting purchasing behaviour towards performance-led, innovation-focused products.

What This Means for the Wider Padel Business

From a business perspective, On’s move is another strong indicator of padel’s commercial maturation.

Global sportswear giants typically enter emerging sports only when several conditions are met: sustained participation growth, professional tour visibility, lifestyle appeal and scalable global demand. Padel increasingly ticks all of those boxes.

The involvement of a brand like On helps to:

• Legitimize padel further in non-traditional markets

• Attract additional global sponsors and investors

• Elevate product standards and consumer expectations

• Strengthen padel’s position alongside tennis and other established racket sports

It also places competitive pressure on both traditional padel brands and multinational sportswear companies yet to commit fully to the sport.

A Strategic Partnership, Not a Short-Term Play

On has been clear that this is “far more than a simple endorsement.” The collaboration with Coello is designed to be long-term, technical and deeply integrated into the brand’s innovation pipeline.

As Feliciano Robayna, Head of Athlete Management for Tennis at On, noted, Coello’s journey mirrors On’s own trajectory: fast growth, disruption of established norms and a focus on performance-driven design.

For padel, this alignment is powerful. It shows that the sport is no longer just growing in participation numbers, but in strategic importance to the world’s most forward-thinking sports brands.

Conclusion: A Milestone Moment for Padel

On signing Arturo Coello is not just a headline-grabbing athlete announcement. It is a statement of intent – from both the brand and the sport.

As padel continues its rapid global expansion, partnerships like this underline a simple truth: padel is no longer on the periphery of the sports industry. It is firmly on the radar of major global players, and its business ecosystem is evolving accordingly.

For everyone involved in padel – from manufacturers and retailers to clubs, federations and investors – this moment may well be remembered as one of the points where padel truly stepped onto the global commercial stage.