The LTA is committed to making padel accessible to a broader and more diverse audience, particularly individuals from underserved communities across Britain, so more people can enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of staying active.

This commitment is supported by the padel venue landscape with over 81% of all venues, responding to the LTA’s survey, involved in community outreach initiatives, ranging from school partnerships, reduced cost for certain sessions and complimentary coaching for underserved groups.

Awareness

New figures at the end of 2025 show the awareness of padel among adults reached 57% of the British population (approximately 31 million individuals), representing a significant increase from 38% (20 million) by late 2024. Interest in playing padel across Britain continues to increase, with over 10 million Britons expressing a desire to try padel, a rise of 3 million since the end of 2024, reflecting its accessible, social nature and appeal to all age groups.

Women and girls

As the national governing body, the LTA is committed to opening up padel and creating meaningful opportunities for women and girls to play and thrive. Through the She Rallies initiative, the LTA works with venues to promote inclusive environments, including women and girls-only sessions. From grassroots programmes to national junior girls’ camps and visible role models, the aim is to inspire long-term participation and clear pathways in the sport.

Coaching

The LTA has developed new LTA Youth Padel coaching resources, set to launch later this year. The current resources focus on secondary school aged young people, creating opportunities to increase youth engagement and encourage more players to try padel through its fun and social appeal. By supporting operators to introduce engaging junior programmes, the LTA aims to expand opportunities for young people to play and help venues grow participation.

The LTA is creating a structured padel coaching qualification pathway aligned with tennis, progressing through levels from Assistant to Director. Each level supports career progression and formally qualifies coaches for specific industry roles. The course has been developed with leading international padel experts, players, and coaches, including Icíar Montes, the LTA’s International Performance Coach, ensuring high-quality, globally relevant coach education, and will be rolled out this year. To date, 1,676 coaches have completed the Intro to Padel Coaching CPD since its launch, 427 coaches have completed the Padel Instructor Core Training.

The LTA has redeveloped Activator training for both tennis and padel, giving venues access to relevant online and face-to-face courses for the first time. The padel activator programme has been  developed in response to requests from operators. Activators support participation growth by delivering fun, engaging facilitated play. The course develops key skills including communication, group management, and adapting sessions to meet players’ needs.

Governance

The LTA works in close partnership with padel operators across Britain, recognising collaboration as central to the sport’s sustainable growth. Initiatives such as the National Padel Operator Forum, launched in 2024, provide a structured and strategic platform for operators and key delivery partners to engage directly with the LTA, share insight, and help shape the future direction of padel. Through ongoing dialogue and partnership, the LTA and operators are working collectively to sustainably grow the development of the sport nationwide.

Nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of those who play tennis and padel. As part of venues registering with the LTA, we offer tailored support to help operators keep their venues safe, including dedicated venue safeguarding support visits undertaken by our safeguarding team, supporting venues to understand areas of risk and develop best in class safeguarding policies and procedures.

Performance

The LTA also has a role to support and develop the professional game in Great Britain. In 2026, British players, including juniors, open, and seniors, will have 35 weeks of international and domestic playing opportunities to earn valuable prize money and ranking points. This includes five FIP Tour events (four silver and one bronze), seven LTA Padel British Tour Grade 1 events, 21 LTA British Padel Tour Grade 2 events, and three FIP Promises tournaments for aspiring juniors. The LTA Padel National Championships is set to return later this year.

The tournament highlights the best of today's British padel talent while showcasing emerging players, reflecting the sport's rapid growth and rising popularity. In 2025, the LTA sanctioned 643 Grade 3-5 competitions, a figure that was up from 409 in 2024.

In August, the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour will arrive in London, marking a pivotal moment in the international expansion of professional padel to Britain. The LTA, as the national governing body for padel, will collaborate with Sela, the tournament promoter, to support the event as part of our ongoing work to grow and develop padel in Britain. Staged as a P1 tournament, the second-highest tier on the Premier Padel circuit, just below the Majors, the London event will showcase world-class competition and further elevate the sport’s profile across the country.

As the national governing body for both tennis and padel, we are seeing both sports growing together and complementing each other and the choice of opportunity they provide to help more people enjoy the benefits of being physically active. Our goal at the LTA is to ensure padel and tennis complement one another by attracting new audiences, strengthening clubs and venues, and contributing to the overall health of racket sports across Great Britain.

Reflecting on these figures, Tom Murray, LTA Head of Padel said, “The LTA is proud to share the latest figures highlighting the continued growth of padel in Great Britain.

"With 860,000 people playing in 2025, over 10 million expressing interest in trying the sport, and around 1,600 courts now in place across hundreds of venues, padel’s momentum is undeniable.

"2026 also marks a major milestone as the Premier Padel P1 comes to London, a huge opportunity to showcase the sport at the highest level, inspire new audiences, and give fans the chance to experience world-class professional padel here in Britain.

"Increasing visibility and access remains central to our strategy, as we seek to grow the sport sustainably. With strong partnerships and new platforms, we’re making it easier than ever for people to discover and get involved in the sport.”