1,000,000 padel players in Britain

Padel is one of the fastest growing sports in Britain, with new figures released today by the LTA showing that at there are now 1,000,000 adults and juniors playing padel across the country at 1825 courts across 551 venues. 

Our data shows that by the end of 2025, 860,000 adults and juniors had played padel at least once in the previous year, more than doubling participation compared to 2024. This growth has continued through 2026 and the number of individual participants has now hit seven figures.

This growth builds on a sharp upward trend, with participation increasing from 400,000 players at the end of 2024, 129,000 in 2023, and just 15,000 in 2019. Together, these figures underline padel’s extraordinary growth trajectory in Britain.

Padel’s rapid growth has meant that it is now entering a more mature phase of its development. There are demands for high-quality qualified coaches and activators, a strong competition framework, and a strong culture of safeguarding and inclusion.

Example of a luxury padel court.

Reaching the milestone of one million people now playing padel in Britain marks a defining moment in the sport’s growth and clearly demonstrates that padel’s momentum is here to stay.

Tom Murray, LTA Head of Padel

This explosive growth in the number of UK padel players means that courts are in high demand and low supply. Many courts are fully booked in advance during the evening hours. This presents a great opportunity for you to install one or more padel courts to service your area and could see a return on investment very soon.