The British padel scene “has exploded” over the past five years, but the professional game in the U.K. “is very much in its infancy,” according to Molly McElwee of the London TIMES. In 2021, there “were a mere 150″ padel courts in the U.K. and “most people had never even heard of the sport.” Now there are “upwards of 1,500 courts.” Although padel “was mainly limited to Latin America and Spain” for decades after its invention in Mexico in 1969, it “has spread globally in recent years.” The U.K. was “late to the party,” but there has “been a boom since the pandemic.” The “drastic increase in demand has caused court fees to rocket, averaging between” about $41 and $68 an hour, but reaching up to $135 at some London clubs. As London hosted its first Premier Padel event last week, the city’s Olympia venue “was transformed” into a state-of-the-art padel stadium, with tickets “sold out from Thursday through to Sunday” and spectators “packing out the 4,000-seater Centre Court.” The event was also “streamed live on TNT Sports.” Fifty-two of the 96 men who started the tournament on Tuesday “were from Spain.” On the women’s side, the Spanish dominance “is even starker: 42 of 56 competitors” (London TIMES, 8/9).
