Padel Takes Hold in the UK—But Can the Boom Last?

According to fresh data from Playtomic, the leading booking platform for racket sports, Britain has emerged as the fifth-largest padel market in the world by number of games played. Even more striking: six of the world’s top 10 revenue-generating clubs are based in the UK.

It’s a remarkable rise for a country that only had a handful of courts five years ago. Today, there are close to 900 courts across more than 300 venues nationwide (LTA, May 2025), marking a staggering 300% year-on-year growth in infrastructure.

“The UK has arrived on the global padel stage,” says Pablo Carro, co-founder of Playtomic, which supports over 6,000 clubs in 60 countries. “The numbers show not just scale, but sustainability—new players, open matches, monthly actives. This is just the beginning.”

And the UK isn't just playing a lot—it’s playing together. The country leads the world in "open matches," where users book games with players of similar levels. That community-first dynamic, according to Playtomic, is driving growth beyond elite players and into the mainstream.

Monthly active users on Playtomic’s UK platform have soared from 35,000 to 156,000 in the past year. Meanwhile, new player signups average 40,000 each month—a jump from 25,000 in January alone.

But not everything is rosy beneath the surface of this racket sport renaissance.

As one of the wealthiest nations involved in padel’s expansion, the UK is attracting aggressive investment. Courts are popping up fast, club memberships are swelling, and premium price tags are becoming the norm. There is growing concern that investors, hungry for quick returns, may be inflating the sport’s cost base too early—potentially alienating grassroots players and slowing long-term organic growth.

“Investor enthusiasm is both a blessing and a warning sign,” says one industry insider. “Padel is thriving, yes, but if pricing out the average player becomes the norm, we risk building a sport for the few, not the many.”

Still, the data is clear: Britain isn’t just testing padel—it’s embracing it. Whether that growth matures into a stable, inclusive ecosystem or turns into a fast-burn investment bubble will depend on the decisions made now.

For the moment, though, the UK is smashing it.