Insights

34% average occupancy. Would you open a padel facility based off that number? Since mid-March, a two outdoor court facility

COURTS ARE EASY. CLUBS ARE HARD.I went to the opening of a new padel facility last weekend. Music was up,

Why will a tennis player spend 20 minutes trying to find three people they know to play with, while a

Well done LIVING TENNIS LTD.I took this photo at Bisham Abbey National Sports & Conferencing Centre in the UK this

10 padel facts that might surprise even people in the industry: The interesting story about padel isn’t simply how quickly

How about this: the next padel club does not need to be a padel club.I came across a story this

The best padel coach may not be the one who gives the most lessons. After decades studying/working in tennis (and

BBC News recently asked a simple question: “Padel is getting bigger and BIGGER… so why is it so expensive?”Padel isn’t

“The answer is all three. Now what’s the question?”I wrote this last week after reading Scott Mculloch’s excellent article on

EVERYONE KEEPS ASKING WHAT THE HEALTHIEST SPORT IS.I think that’s the wrong question.We’re obsessed with calories burned, heart rates and

Buying a tennis ball machine has become a gamble. It shouldn’t be. Every year, another company claims it have built

Wimbledon Is the Biggest Marketing Campaign Tennis Never Pays For. I was vividly reminded of this as I queued at

Some sporting events entertain us. Others become part of who we are. Every July, as Wimbledon begins, millions of people

We’re not there yet, but the first generation of true Padel Performance Academies will signal that padel has evolved from

“Wimbledon is the easiest Grand Slam to win.”I didn’t say it.Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash did. On the “Tennis With

The loudest sports aren’t necessarily the most meaningful ones.I sometimes wonder whether we confuse investment attention with cultural relevance. A

The most valuable thing about the recently published Playtomic Global Padel Report 2026 isn’t what it tells us about padel….it’s

Thanking yourself sounds arrogant… until you understand what Mirra Andreeva was actually thanking herself for. When we first heard Mirra

Children don’t need sport nearly as much as adults do.I know that’s not what we’re supposed to say. We spend enormous

A sport doesn’t become global by hiding indoors.Every truly global participation sport is played outdoors….Football. Tennis. Cricket. Basketball. Running. Cycling.

Most parents dramatically overestimate the importance of their child becoming a professional athlete… and underestimate the value of simply staying

The most interesting thing about racket sports right now is not so much which of them is growing fastest but

Could Padel Tourism become one of the most commercially important shifts the racket sports industry has seen in decades? For

The 2026 Tennis Resorts Online rankings just dropped and, every year, I find myself scrolling through them with two completely

Many in the tennis industry view pickleball and padel as threats. That’s a lost opportunity. If you’re smarter, you’ll be

The racket sports industry still prices courts as if every booking-hour carries the same value. It doesn’t and therefore it

Same player, same frequency. What if the biggest barrier to tennis isn’t skill—but cost? Why does tennis cost thousands more

Corporate tennis never really worked. Different result in pickleball and padel? I’ve seen it too many times: you get 12

Tennis built its business on coaching. Padel and pickleball are trying to scale without it. Why? You dont have to

Rackets facilities talk endlessly about participation growth, retention and accessibility. Then many still fail to provide the simplest, most basic

If you’re judging a sport purely by how many calories it burns, you’re already asking the wrong question. I saw

The most dangerous assumption in racket sports right now is that staff-less facilities are a real business. Over the past

$328,561 for a Director of Racquets. At first glance, it feels outrageously excessive. But then you think about it a

It’s hard to think of a more irrational use of land than the Monte Carlo Country Club. Monaco is some

Most padel clubs are not profitable. They just don’t know it yet. I don’t say that lightly because the market

Meet Joshua Warrilow. He’s a pest.But he’s also the most valuable employee you could have in a racket facility. Not

Padel + Bowling + 5-a-side Football + Urban Cricket … all under one roof?! Does it make sense? I was

Padel’s growth is no longer a niche story confined to southern Europe and a few wealthy city clusters. According to

“Community is what turns people into committed players.” I can’t remember where I recently read this, but it made me

5 reasons why Pickleball won’t take off outside of the US …Can’t think of any. It’s cheap, it’s cheerful, it’s

Padel keeps inching closer to the Olympics… but I have to ask: if the IOC had to choose today, would

Apparently, Padel wants to become a premium lifestyle sport, whilst pickleball is turning into the sport of the people. The

Founders & start-ups: you can stay. Everyone else, feel free to keep scrolling.I get sent a lot of pitch decks.

5 reasons why Padel may not take off in the US. 1. Racket Sport Fatigue:Tennis never went away. Pickleball exploded.

I’m starting to think a major threat to the racket sports boom isn’t competition between tennis, padel and pickleball. It’s