The rise of padel content creators
• 3 minutes read
When the likes of Pippa Middleton, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, Lando Norris, Stormzy and Shakira publicly proclaim their love of padel, you can be sure that interest in this curious glass-walled phenomenon soon multiplies.
There's no doubt that padel's astounding growth owes much to the sport's visibility on people's social media timelines. Celebrity endorsement has made padel cool - and people inevitably want a slice of the action.
Now, a new breed of content creators has emerged, targeting Britain's one million players who've been bitten by the padel bug and are eager to improve their game, discover new clubs, meet new players and engage in the sport's communities. Here, we outline some of the best...
The Padel School
Founded in 2019 by British brothers Sandy and Tom Farquharson, The Padel School has become one of the world's most popular and respected platforms for padel coaching content.
Sandy and Tom use their vast experience as international players and globally renowned coaches to instruct and advise in all aspects of the game for all levels of player, both on socials and The Padel School app.
All content is well produced, highly accessible and tailored to the user's own level, so there's essential content for the many thousands of beginners as well as those wanting to perfect their viboras.
Emily Kilner
If you've ever watched a padel event in person or on a screen, chances are you'd have heard the expert commentary of Emily Kilner.
Emily is omnipresent on the British and international padel scene as a trusted stadium announcer, courtside reporter and TV presenter, as well as an advocate of the sport on her social channels.
Speaking fluent English and Spanish, Emily is an ideal choice as presenter of Premier Padel coverage, as well as LTA British Tour Grade 1 competitions or celebrity, corporate or community events like the Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic and Pro Am Padel Tour.
Recently, Emily has also started to grace the BBC airwaves as a reporter on Radio 5 Live, having beeon one of only two winners in the BBC Sport New Voices competition out of over 1,100 entrants.
Behind The Glass
British international Nikhil Mohindra is the brains behind this slickly-produced channel, which borrows from James Corden's Carpool Karaoke format and combines it with A-list action on the padel court.
Episode one features Nico, well-known content creator and star of The Traitors, and there's an impressive spread of stardust among upcoming guests, including Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta, rapper Aitch, ex-Chelsea captain John Terry, Spanish great Paquito Navarro and UFC champion Islam Makhachev.
Nikhil firstly picks up a celebrity in his car for a drive and chat, before stopping at a padel club for a hit, often accompanied by one of his fellow GB players. The series raises awareness of The Padel Foundation, which raises funds to give under-privileged children in the UK the opportunity to play padel.
Watch Nikhil Mohindra's YouTube channel
Big Smash Padel
Former England rugby union star Joe Marler, who shot to nationwide fame in Celebrity Traitors, teams up with ex-Soccer AM stooge Tubes for larky antics on court.
Big Smash Padel's videos often feature celeb guests and pro players performing stunts which expose Marler and Tubes' comparatave lack of ability: for example, GB international Frankie Langan beat them playing solo with a frying pan and a plastic cricket bat.
Marler, who discovered padel at England's hotel during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, is now totally hooked post-retirement. He admits he's always chasing "that perfect rally." When he or Tubes hits an elusive clean winner, their feeling of giddy euphoria is highly relatable.
Raya Padel
A young, chic, urbane community has developed around London's padel clubs and Raya's channel is our window into it, as well as being a great source of amusingly self-deprecating and useful material for the aspiring player.
Raya's weekly 'What Went Wrong Wednesday' series - where she posts a video of her making a mistake during a rally and invites followers to advise her what she should've done differently - is so enjoyable because it's relatable to Britain's many thousands of fellow novices.
Other posts offer reviews of outfits, equipment and clubs - and Raya has even branched out into organising women's padel events called Play & Connect. Not a bad side-hustle for a full-time investment banker!
Everything Padel
Ewan Ramsden founded his own online padel store as a teenager as well as landing a coaching job in his native Essex. He's since turned those twin roles into award-winning social media content.
Ramsden is ranked in the top 60 of the Open male LTA Padel Rankings, so his content is naturally aimed at intermediate and advanced players.
There's racket reviews, coaching (tactics, technique, drills etc), matches, club visits and training sessions with pros. Ewan even has his own podcast, hosts his own touraments and has regular prize giveaways.
This smorgasbord of activity has earned him not only over 100,000 subscribers across all platforms, but also the 'Best Social Media Content Creator' at May's inaugural British Padel Awards.
The Padel Coach
Tom Shipton, Head Coach at The Padel Hub in North London, is the man behind this fun coaching channel, aiming principally at players getting to grips with the game's many nuances.
Tom's videos tackle common foibles in novice players' games, tactical tips, technique adjustments, rules quizzes, useful drills and much more - all highly snackable content that whizzes round many padel Whatsapp groups.
Tom is particularly passionate about introducing newcomers to the game and creating an accessible, welcoming community at his club. This ethos comes across strongly in his content, which is perfectly pitched at Britain's growing legion of knowledge-hungry beginner to intermediate-level players.
