Play Padel Sheffield!

There's seems to be a new sport in town and it's certainly flooding my feed.

It's on everyones stories, posts and I'm not gonna lie, it looks pretty fun.

It's not tennis. It's not squash. But seemingly somewhere in between.

We seem to be in the rising era of Padel and Sheffield recently had a new court open, Play Padel Sheffield. Friends and clients are raving about it, so we decided to get one of the owners, Alex Fleming, on the podcast to give us the low down.

Here's a brief run through...

Before the pod, I wanted to make sure I did my homework and I was staggered at some of the facts about it's recent growth...

Padel is the second fastest growing sport in the world

Over 70,000 Padel courts worldwide. 900 of those in the the UK across 300 venues.

The Padel industry in Europe is worth an estimated 6 billion

Over 30 million players world wide. 400,000 of those being in the UK. 

Considering it had only 3 million players when it originated back in 2010. This a rapidly growing sport which shows no sign of stopping.

Alex made it very clear that globally this hasn't been an overnight success. In fact it originated back in Mexico back in 1969. It quickly spread to Spain in the 1970's where it became hugely popular. Before increasing even further in popularity in other area's of South America, most notably Argentina.

Here's a brief timeline...

1969 – Mexico

Enrique Corcuera creates the first padel court at his home in Acapulco. It’s smaller than tennis, has walls for rebounds, and uses solid paddles.

1974 – Spain

Alfonso de Hohenlohe, a Spanish friend of Corcuera, visits, loves the game, and builds two courts at the Marbella Club. The sport catches on with Spanish high society.

Late 1970s – Argentina

Spanish visitors bring padel to Argentina, where it rapidly spreads, especially in urban areas.

1991 – First World Championships

Held in Madrid and Seville, marking the sport’s move toward organized global competition.

2005 – Professional Tour Begins

The Padel Pro Tour (later replaced by World Padel Tour) launches, bringing televised matches and big sponsorships.

2010s – Global Expansion

Courts start appearing in Italy, France, the UK, Middle East, and parts of Asia.

2020s – Explosive Growth

Padel becomes the fastest-growing sport in several countries, especially in Europe and the Middle East. New federations form worldwide.

It basically went Mexico → Spain → Argentina → the world in just over 50 years.

To have this sport on our own doorstep here in Sheffield is pretty exciting and it's clear from our conversation with Alex that when setting up here, he felt exactly the same as Alfonso de Hohenlohe when he took it over to Spain for the first time... nervous and unsure as to whether it would be accepted locally.

Alex talked us through his first Padel experience abroad where he instantly fell in love and didn't waste any time in searching for a place to play back here in the UK.

To his dismay, there wasn't anywhere local, with leeds and Manchester being the nearest. They've got some good facilities over there and the community is definitely growing, but not one court in South Yorkshire.

It was shortly after that game that he pitched the idea of a sheffield based Padel club to four of his friends who are now is co-investors in the club.

And he's got good company, with his fellow investors being the likes of Joe Root (England Cricketer and Cameron Dawson (professional footballer) to name a few.

Was it an entrepreneurial spirit or just a his love for this new found sport. Either way, plans where set in motion and 2 years later they opened Play Padel Sheffield.

If you haven't already seen this place, it's a sight to behold. A very cool looking facility equipped with 3 doubles courts and a singles court (only one of two places in the UK that currently has a singles court).

They've had some big names down already. Sheffields very own Jessica Ennis and Kyle Walker. But one thing Alex is most proud of is the wide age ranges that are trying Padel with three generations of the same family recently on a court.

And to honest, I think that's why it's being embraced so heavily not only here in Sheffield, but all across the UK. With the courts being smaller, the entry level skills being lower (compared to the likes of tennis), it's a super easy sport to pick up and start having fun with.

They're now fully booked up to 2 weeks in advance and it's clear there's a real Padel community starting to form here in Sheffield.

And that word 'community' is something Alex references heavily throughout the podcast.

From day one, there was a clear emphasis on building and nurturing a community at Play Padel Sheffield. This started with putting on beginner classes for those new to the sport alongside a prominent communal area where players can interact.

Which then grew into a WhatsApp group where players can organise meet ups based on ability level and more recently has sprouted an in house tournament where players of all abilities can bring our their competitive side.

But Alex and co are again thinking big with the expansion into another location in the very near future.

Their keen to keep the community happy and for new players not to be put of playing due to high demand. Which is why a second venue is something they're keen to put into motion as quickly as possible.

I also posed quite an important question... Do you think Padel is a FAD or is it here to stay. I'll let you check out the episode to here his full answer.

Watching the rise of Padel in this city alone has definitely peaked my own interest in the sport and it's safe to say I've been sold after talking with Alex.

Once my dodgy knee's have finished physio, I'll definitely be over to see what all the fuss is about.

But I'm not gonna lie, there's a part of me worried it might become my new thing.

If you haven't already seen our chat, head over to the Fit Dads Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or watch the full episode on YouTube.

Big shout out to Alex for a really insightful conversation and best of luck to him as they look to drive the sport even further over here in the UK.

Ryan

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