With over 400,000 active padel players in the UK, the racket sport has never been more popular. 

Despite being invented in 1969, the last five years has seen a huge rise in the number of clubs and participants.  

Manchester alone has 36 padel clubs with a total of 140 courts — 77 indoor and 44 outdoor. The largest venue is The Padel Club TraffordCity. 

 A recent BBC report found that the average cost for off-peak court hire in the UK is about £30 an hour while peak hour prices can reach £80 at some venues.

Hannah has recently taken up padel and says her prior experience of racket sports has been a real help:

“Coming from a badminton background I have found it fairly easy to pick up, I have only played a couple of times and found it really addictive.”

According to the 2025 global padel report, the sport boasts an exceptionally high retention rate for new players of 92%. 

Rachel is another recent sign up. She says for her the learning curve has been steeper. 

 “I have not come from any kind of racket sport background, but I just wanted to see what the popularity was all about. 

“The social aspect, playing with friends is what makes it the most fun for me.” 

Padel’s known to be easy to pick up and the ‘quick reward ‘factor has made it a popular alternative to squash and tennis. 

The millions of global Padel players has increased over the last few years. Stars within the sporting world such as Serena Williams and David Beckham have expressed their interest online.

Padel’s international scope has earned the sport a platform of interest. As it has now reached over 130 countries the competitiveness has grown and padel looms on having a olympic status.