The Growth of Padel in the UK
Eight years ago, a small padel club opened in Maldon, Essex. Few people in Britain had heard of the sport. Courts were scarce. Finding a fourth player often meant a WhatsApp message and a hope.
That club; now PDL Padel United UK – Maldon Padel Club — became the starting point for Go Padel and, after a majority sale to Padel United, a UK operation spanning 16 venues and more than 50 courts. In the same stretch of time, padel in Britain has gone from a niche racket sport to a mainstream one, with more than one million players nationwide.
Here, Managing Director Richard Hall Smith writes about the first investment, the partners who believed early, the building of a talented and passionate management team, the talent the club helped nurture, and why he still thinks the story is only getting started...
A Message From Rich – Founder & MD | PDL UK
Eight years ago, I made my first investment into padel and brought my first club to life in Maldon, alongside some brilliant partners who believed in my vision from day one.
Back then, growing the sport meant WhatsApping local people: “Need 2 players for a game tonight!”
I remember sitting courtside after coaching at 8am, sometimes waiting until 5pm for my next session.
It’s incredible to think how far the sport has come since then.
Maldon Padel Club will always be a very special place to me personally, and an important part of our company’s story. It has probably nurtured more UK padel talent than almost any other club in the country and, most importantly, showed us what could be achieved.
Fast-forward eight years and, following our groundbreaking majority sale to Padel United, that original vision has grown into a business operating across 16 venues and 50+ courts — with plenty more still to come.
Just as importantly, we have built a management, marketing and coaching team that cares as much about the sport as it does about the business. Making affordable padel open to all.
To now see padel surpass 1 million players in the UK and become a truly mainstream sport is something I’m incredibly proud to have played a part in.
That growth is testament not only to what we’ve built at Go Padel / Padel United, but also to other early pioneers such as Michael Gradon and Game4Padel, and Javi Fernandez and Stratford Padel Club, and others, who have helped accelerate the sport from its early stages while keeping padel accessible and affordable.
From WhatsApping around to find two players for a game, to more than a million people playing across the UK.
What a journey — and it still feels like we’re only getting started.
Game on! Long may the growth continue.
Maldon was the template: a local club, a patient start, and a simple idea that padel should be easy to find and affordable to play. Eight years on, that idea is a national sport — and the next courts, the next juniors and the next late-night fours are still ahead.
Want to be part of the next chapter? Book a court at your nearest Padel United UK venue, or get in touch if you have land, a leisure site or a club looking to add padel.
