For its first appearance in the United Kingdom, Premier Padel attracted over 20,000 spectators to London's Olympia. An undeniable success in terms of events. But with packed stands, a rapidly growing recreational game, and still modest results for local players, what does this first edition really tell us about the development of padel in Britain?

Olympia packed: the first bet is won

Premier Padel It could hardly have hoped for a better showcase. More than 20,000 spectators attended the tournament throughout the week, and the weekend was a sell-out. On the court, the finals also offered the best of the circuit, with Coello–Tapia defeating Galán–Chingotto and Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo both winning titles. Martina Calvo, at 18, became the youngest champion in the history of the tournament. Premier Padel.

In terms of events, the official report of Premier Padel is therefore difficult to dispute. Setting up four tracks in an iconic location, attracting the best pairs in the world and bringing together more than 20,000 people from the very first edition constitutes a real success.

But this figure doesn't answer all the questions. It represents cumulative attendance over the week, and not necessarily 20,000 different people. Most importantly, no publicly available data yet allows us to know precisely the profile of the audience: regular players, Spanish or South American expatriates, racquet sports enthusiasts, or simply curious onlookers who came to discover a new show.

The event was designed to go beyond the strict confines of competition, featuring an interactive wall, a virtual reality experience, and a dedicated children's area. London P1 aimed to appeal to both passionate padel enthusiasts and introduce padel to a new audience.

Only one Briton has won a match

The results of local players allow us to measure the distance that still separates the popular British dynamic from the very highest international level.

Twelve British players had initially received wild cards to participate in the qualifying rounds or the main draw. Of the local players ultimately entered, only one won a match: Christian Medina Murphy.

The British number one, partnered with Spaniard Alberto García Jiménez, dominated Agustín Gutiérrez and Santino Giuliani Lombardo 6-2, 6-2 before losing by the same score to Juan Tello and Maximiliano Arce. This victory will remain the first ever achieved by a British player in a tournament Premier Padel organised in the United Kingdom.

Behind him, the other wild cards were eliminated in their opening matches. Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose, however, put up a good fight against Alix Collombon and Ksenia Sharifova. After losing the first set 6-1, the two British players pushed their opponents to a tiebreak in the second.

Louie Harris, Chris Salisbury, Alfonso Patacho, Tia Norton, as well as the young players involved in the qualifiers, also discovered the gap that remains with players already accustomed to the international circuit.

The observation is clear: the United Kingdom now has an audience, but not yet a pool deep enough to compete with the main padel nations.

A popular presence that is already very real

Reducing British padel to the results of the London P1 would be misleading, however. While the local elite is still developing, recreational padel is experiencing spectacular growth.

According to data published by the LTA in May 2026, the UK reached one million adult and junior players, spread across 1,825 tracks in 551 facilities. This figure was only 15,000 in 2019, then 129,000 in 2023 and 400,000 in 2024.

This million figure should nevertheless be interpreted with caution: it includes people who have played padel, not just regular players or those involved in competitions. But the proliferation of courts, clubs, and operators shows that the phenomenon is no longer simply a passing fad.

The British presence is therefore already established in economic and recreational terms. What is still lacking is the transformation of this mass of occasional players into regular players, and then into competitors capable of permanently integrating into the FIP circuit.

A training program now exists

The UK is not starting from scratch when it comes to training either. The LTA has created a genuine performance pathway, with support for the under-14 and under-18 categories, followed by three levels of support for professional players.

A national calendar is also in place. In 2026, British players have 35 weeks of national or international competitions, including five FIP tournaments, seven British Grade 1 events, 21 Grade 2 events and three FIP Promises for young players.

The industry is therefore structured, but it remains recent. Great Britain can already count on Aimee Gibson and Catherine Rose, who have entered the FIP top 100, while Christian Medina Murphy was around 170th in the world at the time of the London P1.

The country has thus begun to build the intermediate levels between recreational play and the professional circuit. However, it will take several years to determine whether this system is capable of producing locally trained players who can establish themselves in the top 100 and then aim for the later stages of major tournaments.

The real test will begin after the tournament

The 20,000 spectators at Olympia prove that London can host and sell a major padel tournament. However, they are not yet enough to demonstrate that the UK has become a major nation in this sport.

Success will now have to be measured differently: Will the London P1 return to the calendar permanently? Will the public still turn out once the novelty wears off? Will clubs see more bookings? Will the number of young competitors increase? And above all, will the British wild cards be able to win several matches in future editions?

This first edition is therefore neither a simple communication exercise nor definitive proof of a successful establishment. Rather, it reveals a market that is already very solid in its recreational practice, capable of attracting a large audience, but whose sporting progress remains behind its commercial growth.

The London P1 tournament successfully filled the stands. The next challenge for British padel will be to gradually fill the draws.

Antoine Tricolet

I discovered the Padel I stumbled into Spain at a campsite. I was instantly hooked; passionate about padel, I follow international and regional news with the same excitement as the sport itself.

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