In the United Kingdom Padel is federated by Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) that is the Official Tennis Federation in the UK. LTA has published a new Padel strategy for the years 2024-2029. The purpose of this article to make the Official UK Padel strategy easily accessible for every Padel investor and enthusiasts globally. This article is written summary of LTA strategy paper.
UK Padel Mission is to to grow Padel by making it accessible, welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring. UK Padel Vision: Padel Opened Up.
History of Padel at LTA – The Journey Continues
Since the LTA became the official home of padel in Great Britain in 2020, we’ve been busy laying down some serious groundwork for the sport! From funding multi-million-pound projects to popping up padel courts all over the country, we’ve even teamed up with Local Authorities to give them a hand with their padel planning.
But we didn’t stop there! We’ve rolled out a shiny new coaching course packed with resources for fresh faces and seasoned pros alike, plus a competition pathway that’s as structured as a top-tier padel rally. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or chasing international glory, we’ve got competitions for every age and skill level. And let’s not forget the performance infrastructure we’ve built to back Britain’s finest players as they smash their way to the top!
Having checked off everything in our 2021-2023 Padel Development Plan (mission accomplished!), we’re ready to take things up a notch. Our new approach? Make padel more accessible, fun, and welcoming than ever, while ensuring the sport grows sustainably for future generations.
In the coming years, we’ll keep our eye on the ball by expanding padel infrastructure, growing a diverse army of top-notch coaches, and fine-tuning a performance pathway that supports today’s stars while nurturing tomorrow’s champions. Oh, and did we mention we’re going all out to make padel more visible? Yep, we’re exploring pro Padel events right here in Great Britain!
The future’s looking bright (and pretty exciting) for Padel as it reaches new heights. We’re thrilled to be part of the action and ready to back all the organisations and Padel enthusiasts who are helping the sport thrive!
Tom Murray – LTA Head of Padel
Background of Padel in the United Kingdom
In the last decade, 25 tennis federations cracked the code: Padel is the perfect way to pull in fresh faces, break down those pesky barriers to entry, and boost participation in both tennis and Padel. And since 2021, we’ve been on a roll!
£6M Investment
The LTA has dropped £6 million to ramp up Padel infrastructure.
350 Courts
We’ve gone from 50 to 350 courts across Great Britain – that’s a whopping 600% jump!
129,000 Players
In 2023, 75% of venues reported a serious spike in players, taking annual participation to an all-time high. Padel fever, anyone?
And we’re not stopping there! Building on these wins, the LTA is now laying out its roadmap for the sport’s future with the 2024-2029 Padel Strategy. The Padel Development Plan sets a step-by-step guide to integrating, building, accelerating, and scaling padel all across Britain.
Curious to see how far we’ve come? Check out the LTA’s 2023 Padel recap here.
UK Padel Mission and Objectives
Mission
We’re here to grow Padel by making it accessible, welcoming, enjoyable—and above all—totally inspiring!
Objectives
Here’s the game plan for 2024 to 2026:
- Visibility Match Point
We want everyone to know about padel! Our goal is to boost awareness from 20% to 40% of the population and double the interest in playing from 7.5% to 15%. More fans, more players! - Pump Up the Players
We’re aiming to increase the number of annual padel players from 129,000 to 400,000, and monthly players from 65,000 to 200,000. Let’s get those courts buzzing! - Court Takeover
It’s time to build! We’re planning to grow the number of padel courts from 350 to 1,000. More courts = more fun. - Coach Squad Goals
We’re expanding the padel coaching crew from 40 to 700. That’s a serious boost for the future of the sport! - Top Player Power
Our goal? Help 10 players break into the world’s top 200 and get 2 players into the top 100. We’re bringing British padel to the global stage!
Forecasted Growth
350 courts in 2023. 500 courts in 2024. 700 courts in 2025. 1,000 courts in 2026. We’re just getting started!
Note: The targets above are set for 2024-2026, and we’ll be reviewing and updating them for 2027-2029.
Six Strategic Pillars of the UK Padel Strategy
To hit our mission and smash those objectives, we’ve pinpointed six key strategic pillars that will guide our work in the years ahead. These six pillars are the foundation of our game plan:
INVEST
Put our money where our racket is — boosting Padel’s visibility and building top-notch infrastructure.
GROW
Grow a fan base and player community that’s as strong as our volleys!
ENGAGE
Inspire, grow, and supercharge the awesome Padel workforce.
DIVERSIFY
Find fresh ways to expand the appeal of padel and make it everyone’s favorite new sport.
PERFORM
Create pathways that help players shine and hit their full potential.
LEAD
Lead the charge for a safe, inclusive, and sustainable future for Padel in Britain!
For each of these pillars, we’ve crafted a playbook of specific tactics to help us hit our goals. Over the next few pages, we’ll walk you through these tactics and show how they’ll bring us closer to making Padel more accessible, welcoming, enjoyable, and inspiring.
Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it highlights some of the key areas we’ll be focusing on to help grow the sport and take Padel to the next level.
UK Padel Tactics to deliver the Strategy 2024-2026
ACCESSIBLE
We’re on a mission to make padel more accessible to everyone, and we’re teaming up with the entire Padel community to make it happen. This means upping our game in how we support and engage with local authorities, Member Organisations, venues, and operators across Britain. Plus, we’re putting plans into action to develop new facilities nationwide—so no one’s left out of the fun!
For players, we’ll be expanding our competition offerings, focusing on local, county, and regional levels. That way, players at any skill level can jump in and start competing where they feel comfortable. And for the future pros, we’re launching a junior program to scout and support the most promising young talent as they climb their way to the top.
WELCOMING
Padel is already a sport with open arms, but we’re determined to make it even more welcoming and diverse. We’ve got plans to grow the sport’s appeal among women, young people, and individuals with disabilities.
We’re rolling out special programs for these groups and shaking things up with new competition formats designed to attract fresh faces. And because great players deserve great coaches, we’ll keep investing in our coaching workforce to ensure everyone has access to top-tier training.
On top of all that, we’re turning up the spotlight on Padel with a range of content, communications, and partnerships to boost the sport’s visibility and get even more people hooked!
ENJOYABLE
We’re all about making padel as fun as possible for everyone! To do this, we need a rockstar workforce on the ground. That means we’re going all out to attract, grow, and diversify our padel coaches and competition crew, creating even more opportunities for everyone to play and compete.
We’re also rolling out a new padel activator squad to get more people playing across Britain. We’ll work closely with our Member Organisations and padel venues to ensure they’re creating an inclusive environment and sticking to the highest standards of safeguarding, governance, and regulation.
INSPIRING
We want to bring padel to the masses and support our top British players to inspire a whole new generation. That’s why we’re committed to backing our GB teams with top-notch support. We’ll set up performance training hubs across the country and make the most of our existing facilities at the National Tennis Centre and Nottingham Tennis Centre to provide the best training environments around.
We’re also planning to jazz up our international and national competitions and explore the possibility of hosting major events in Britain. These moves are key to player development and expanding the sport’s appeal.
More information you can find by contacting us at [email protected] or by booking discovery call with us.
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Alternatively you can find more information from LTA – Lawn Tennis Association and their website. LTA Padel Strategy is available for download from here below.
