Padel has been gaining popularity in the United Kingdom over recent years.
The Lawn Tennis Association has been appointed the governing body of padel in the UK by Sport England, Sport Scotland, and Sport Wales.
Through this ruling, all three sports councils have recognized padel as being a discipline of tennis rather than being a stand-alone sport.
This recognition follows the integration of padel into the Lawn Tennis Association during May of 2019. It remains to be seen to what extent having the LTA as the governing body of padel will help the sport grow as quickly as it has in other countries where padel has its own governing bodies.
Worldwide Growth Of Padel vs Tennis
The sport of padel has been growing consistently at a rate of over 25% internationally over these past years. Within the UK that trajectory is no different.
Across continental Europe, padel attracts more players to racket sports than tennis does.
Because padel is such a fun and sociable game there is every indication that the same trend will apply to the UK as well.
The Primary Focus Of The Lawn Tennis Association
Part of the mission statement of the LTA is the goal to bring as many new players to the sport of tennis as possible.
Because padel in the UK is defined as a discipline of tennis it has been essentially classified as part of the feeder system of bringing more players into the sport of tennis.
The LTA Development Plan For Padel
At the time when the LTA took over as the governing body for padel in the UK, there were 60 padel courts.
According to the ambitious development plan that was drafted for padel the LTA intends to have 400 padel courts in place by 2023.
As of November 2020, only 23 new courts were added bringing the total to 83. By February 2021 this number has grown to 88 courts. This is still a fair way off the target of 400 courts.
Padel Is Hidden On The LTA Website
The layout of the LTA website points to the low level of importance afforded to the sport of padel. The home page of the LTA makes no mention of padel, it doesn’t even have a spot on the main menu. The same applies to most of the menu headings. None of these contain a mention of padel either: Coaching Officiating, About The LTA, Major Events, Find a court, find a coach, youth programs, competing.
It is only when you get down to the sub-menu of “getting started” that you will find a link through to a single page called padel.
This leads me to believe that padel is nothing more than a means to pull more players over to tennis.
Padel Helps The LTA Funding Model For Tennis
Having padel recognized as a division of tennis is beneficial to the LTA. It means UK padel players are tennis players by default and boosts the number of registered tennis players.
This additional membership qualifies the LTA for additional funding.
However, if a club wants to build padel courts, the LTA development plan for padel pledges support for the process of expanding padel, but no funding assistance in the building of the courts.
Where Can You Play Padel In The UK
The one resource that I did manage to find on the LTA website is the listing of all the padel courts in the UK. The good news is that the listing is kept right up to date as well.
So, if you are looking for somewhere to play padel in the UK, use this link to find a padel court near you.