The State of UK Padel in 2026: Boom, Bubble or Just Getting Started?

UK padel has gone from 15,000 players in 2019 to more than one million in 2026, and the short answer to "has it peaked?" is no, but the easy-growth phase is ending.

As a coach in Southport, I get asked the same question every week, usually between games: is padel a fad? Are there too many courts going up? Will the new clubs still be here in five years? It's a fair question. Every few weeks another warehouse, retail unit or tennis club turns into a padel venue, and headlines about Sweden's padel crash have made people nervous.

So I've looked at the numbers: where Britain stands, how we compare with Spain, Italy and Sweden, what those countries got right and wrong, and whether we've hit saturation point.

Where UK padel is right now

In May 2026 the LTA announced that one million people now play padel in Britain, across 1,825 courts at 551 venues (LTA). For context, there were roughly 15,000 players in 2019, 129,000 in 2023, 400,000 at the end of 2024 and 860,000 at the end of 2025 (LTA). When the LTA took over the sport in 2020, Britain had just 69 courts.

"Padel's momentum is here to stay." — Tom Murray, LTA Head of Padel

A few other numbers tell you how deep the boom runs:

Awareness: 57% of British adults, about 31 million people, had heard of padel by the end of 2025, and over 10 million said they want to try it.
Price: an average off-peak court costs about £27 an hour, or roughly £7 each for a game of doubles.
Tennis crossover: around two-thirds of padel players also play tennis, so padel is adding to racket sport, not just stealing from it.
Demand at peak times: the Playtomic and PwC Global Padel Report 2026 found British clubs average 85% occupancy at peak hours, and half of players say they struggle to get a prime-time court.
Competition: the LTA sanctioned 643 grassroots competitions in 2025, up from 409 the year before, and the Premier Padel P1 came to London in August 2026.

The business side is changing fast too. Savills reports that UK courts grew at a compound rate of 43% a year between 2016 and 2024, and that the top 10 operators already run 37% of UK courts. Big names such as Slazenger Padel Clubs, backed by Frasers Group, plan 11 venues in 2026, and Powerleague expects to have padel at 16 clubs with 67 courts by the end of the year. Padel in the UK is no longer a few enthusiasts with a couple of courts; it is a proper industry.

UK padel vs Europe: how Britain compares

Despite the boom, Britain still has far fewer padel courts per person than Europe's leading padel nations. Spain has around 17,300 courts and more than 6 million players, according to the International Padel Federation's World Padel Report.

Country	Padel courts	Courts per 100,000 people
Sweden	4,220	39.8
Spain	17,300	35.2
Netherlands	3,570	19.8
Belgium	2,150	18.1
Italy	10,220	17.4
France	4,000	5.8
Great Britain	1,825	2.7

Courts: FIP World Padel Report 2025; Great Britain: LTA, May 2026. Populations approximate.

Worldwide, the Playtomic and PwC Global Padel Report 2026 counts 58,334 courts and about 19.4 million players, with France adding the most new courts in 2025. The same report names the UK and Germany as the hottest markets in the world right now, while Spain, Italy and Argentina have matured, with Spanish court numbers growing only around 2% a year.

In plain terms: Spain is a mature market, Italy is consolidating, Sweden overbuilt and corrected, and the UK is still early in its story.

What UK padel can learn from other countries

The countries ahead of us show that padel itself doesn't fail; badly planned clubs do.

Sweden: the boom that went bust

Between 2019 and 2022, Sweden went from a few hundred courts to over 4,200 in about 36 months. By the end of 2024, more than 100 facilities had closed, around 90 padel companies had gone bankrupt, and one big operator, We Are Padel, had shut 50 of its 63 Swedish clubs (European Business Magazine). Industry estimates put the money lost at close to €500 million.

Yet people didn't stop playing. More than 600,000 Swedes were still playing in early 2024. The problem was supply, not demand: identical warehouse clubs clustered together, cheap pandemic-era finance, and electricity prices that jumped to roughly five times their pre-2020 level.

The clubs that survived had three things in common: they were close to where people live, they ran proper coaching academies and leagues, and they gave players somewhere to socialise. As European Business Magazine put it, investors should "underwrite location, community and programming."

"People won't travel to play padel – that lesson is important." — Niclas Rodin, CEO of Slazenger AB, Sweden (The Padel Paper)

Chile: a second warning

Chile followed a similar path. The Global Padel Report 2026 records 80 club closures there in 2024 and a 27% fall in monthly bookings, after a period when players waited two to three weeks for a court.

Spain: the community model

Spain has slowed to about 2% court growth a year, but its clubs keep thriving because padel is woven into everyday life. Courts sit inside residential developments, hotels and multi-site chains, and the focus has moved from building more to getting more out of each court.

Italy, the Netherlands and Germany: growing through existing clubs

Italy is consolidating after its boom. The Netherlands built padel into its tennis clubs, and Germany is converting tennis clubs into indoor padel venues. This route uses existing members, coaches and facilities rather than starting from scratch.

The big lesson: full courts beat more courts

The Global Padel Report 2026 found the best clubs earn up to five times more per court each month than the weakest: about €3,500 against €736. Court bookings make up 68% of average revenue, but academies, internal tournaments and leagues are what separate the winners. Nine in ten high-performing clubs offer extras such as recovery areas, physio, yoga or a café.

"The winner is whoever fills their courts, not whoever has the most." — Padel Addict, summarising the Global Padel Report 2026

Has UK padel reached saturation point?

Nationally, no. Locally, some towns could get close, and the clubs most at risk are the ones that only sell court time.

One simple test is how many players there are for every court. If courts were outpacing players, this number would be falling. Instead it rose and has held steady at around 550:

Date	Players	Courts	Players per court
May 2026	1,000,000	1,825	about 548
End of 2025	860,000	1,553	about 554
End of 2024	400,000	870	about 460
End of 2023	129,000	350	about 369

Source: LTA figures. Players = people who played at least once that year.

Signs there's still room to grow

Peak-time demand: 85% average peak occupancy, and half of players struggle to book prime time.
A huge waiting audience: over 10 million Britons say they want to try padel, against one million who play.
The per-head gap: Britain has around 3 courts per 100,000 people. Even France, one of Europe's slower adopters, has about twice that.
New players keep arriving: an estimated 51,000 adults now play at least twice a month, double the year before.

Warning signs to watch

Speed of building: courts have more than doubled in 18 months, much of it funded by investors chasing quick returns, which is exactly what happened in Sweden.
Off-peak gaps: peak hours are full, but weekday daytimes are where clubs win or lose money.
Local clustering: several big venues opening in the same area can split the same pool of players.
Friction with tennis and neighbours: some community tennis clubs are being outbid for their courts, and the LTA now recommends noise surveys near homes.

My verdict: UK padel is moving from a gold rush to a proper, mature sport. That's healthy. The clubs, coaches and players who invest in quality, community and coaching will do well; the "warehouse with nets" model may not.

Padel in Southport, Merseyside and West Lancashire

Our corner of the North West came to padel a little later than London or Manchester, which means we can learn from everyone else's mistakes.

Southport: Birkdale Padel Club in Victoria Park is a five-court venue built on the site of six old tennis courts, run by Sefton Padel on a 15-year lease from Sefton Council, with a café kiosk, changing rooms and outdoor seating. It's where I do most of my padel coaching in Southport.
Sefton: the council has offered underused tennis courts at Victoria Park in Southport, Coronation Park in Crosby and Duke Street Park in Formby for padel, alongside refurbished tennis courts.
Liverpool: Ignite Padel has opened at Queens Drive, Ellesmere Port and Speke, with an 11-court indoor site at Hunts Cross, and aims for five North West venues by the end of 2026. Powerleague is adding four courts in Liverpool this November.
St Helens: Soul Padel opened four covered courts at Queens Park.

This is the Spanish community model in action: courts in public parks, close to where people live, replacing tennis courts that were rarely used. That is exactly the type of club that came through Sweden's crash.

For players in Southport, Formby, Ormskirk, Preston and across West Lancashire, more courts mean more choice. But the lesson from Europe is clear: a club full of improving, happy players will outlast one that only rents out courts. That's where good padel coaching comes in.

The future of padel in the UK

UK padel isn't a bubble about to burst. It's a young sport growing up fast. With one million players, around 3 courts per 100,000 people and peak-time courts still full, there is plenty of room left to grow. What will change is who succeeds: clubs and coaches that build community, run leagues and help players improve will thrive, while venues that simply rent out empty courts will struggle, just as they did in Sweden.

For players, that's good news. More courts, better facilities, more competitions and better coaching are all coming.

Want to get better at padel? I'm Trevor, a padel coach and personal trainer based in Southport. I coach beginners, improvers and competitive players of all ages across Southport, Formby, Merseyside and West Lancashire, with an improvers class on Wednesdays at 6pm and a beginners class on Fridays at 12 noon, plus private coaching. Get in touch to book a session. New to the sport? Read what padel is or why padel is perfect after 50.

Frequently asked questions about UK padel

How many people play padel in the UK?

About one million people played padel in Britain as of May 2026, on 1,825 courts at 551 venues, according to the LTA. That's up from 15,000 players in 2019.

Is padel still growing in the UK?

Yes. Player numbers rose from 400,000 at the end of 2024 to 860,000 at the end of 2025, then passed one million in May 2026. Over 10 million Britons say they want to try it.

Has UK padel reached saturation point?

Not nationally. Britain has around 3 courts per 100,000 people compared with about 35 in Spain, and peak-time courts average 85% full. Some towns could see local oversupply if too many similar venues open close together.

Which country has the most padel courts?

Spain, with around 17,300 courts and more than 6 million players. Italy is second with about 10,200.

What happened to padel in Sweden?

Sweden built over 4,200 courts in about three years. Too many similar clubs, heavy borrowing and high energy prices led to more than 100 closures and around 90 bankruptcies by the end of 2024, although hundreds of thousands of Swedes still play.

How much does it cost to play padel in the UK?

An average off-peak court costs about £27 an hour, or roughly £7 each for doubles, based on LTA research. Peak times and premium indoor clubs cost more.

Where can I play padel in Southport?

Birkdale Padel Club in Victoria Park, Southport, has five courts. Sefton Council has also put sites in Crosby and Formby forward for padel.

Do I need lessons to start padel?

No, but a few lessons early on help you learn the walls, the serve and positioning faster, which makes games more fun and helps prevent injury.

Sources

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