🎾 U.S. padel gets a digital backbone as USPA launches a federation platform with WPR and Tournated
The Padel Insider Newsletter
Lucas Campagnolo's debut alongside Morocco's Alami Moahmed at the inaugural FIP Bronze in Agadir marks more than just another tournament—it's the first time international padel competition has officially landed in North Africa. Meanwhile, the U.S. Padel Association just locked in its digital infrastructure through a partnership with World Padel Rating and Tournated, creating the unified platform American padel has desperately needed. And across the pond, Playtomic's data reveals UK participation exploded 125% in 2025, with monthly bookings surging from 140,000 to over 360,000 as the sport moved from novelty to weekly habit.
Big Developments
🇺🇸 U.S. Padel Gets Its Digital Backbone
The U.S. Padel Association has partnered with World Padel Rating and Tournated to launch a comprehensive digital platform that will standardize player ratings, tournament operations, and league management across American padel. The white-label solution aims to create unified player identities and streamline competitive pathways as participation continues to scale nationwide.
Why it matters: A centralized USPA platform solves one of American padel's biggest structural problems—fragmented ratings and inconsistent tournament standards that have made it difficult for players to progress through competitive levels. This digital backbone will enable better talent identification, more efficient sponsor activation, and clearer pathways from recreational to elite play. Expect tournament operators and facility owners to benefit from standardized booking and rating systems that make league organization far more scalable.
🇬🇧 UK Padel Participation Triples in One Year
New Playtomic data reveals UK padel participation surged 125% in 2025, with active players jumping from 76,695 to 172,564 and monthly court bookings more than doubling to 360,000. Infrastructure expanded rapidly to match demand, with active clubs increasing from 129 to 288 and total courts growing from 529 to 1,130. Remarkably, average player frequency held steady at four sessions per month, indicating the sport has moved beyond novelty into regular sporting habits.
Why it matters: Triple-digit participation growth transforms the UK from a "promising market" into a structurally investable one, but it also creates immediate pressure on coaching capacity, court availability, and competition formats. The fact that engagement levels remained consistent even as tens of thousands of new players entered suggests sustainable demand rather than a fad. However, the next critical test is whether infrastructure development and governance structures can keep pace with this explosive growth to avoid bottlenecks that could stunt momentum.
🌍 FIP Tour Expands to Morocco for First Time
The CUPRA FIP Tour has arrived in Agadir for Morocco's first-ever international padel competition, featuring 32 men's pairs including world No. 27 Lucas Campagnolo partnering with Morocco's No. 3 Alami Moahmed. The tournament represents one of seventeen new countries added to the 2026 FIP calendar, signaling aggressive expansion into emerging markets beyond established European and South American hubs.
Why it matters: FIP's Morocco debut isn't just about adding another tournament stop—it's about creating ranking opportunities for regional players and establishing new entry points for sponsors and academies into North African markets. This expansion strategy suggests the tour is prioritizing geographic diversity over simply adding events in saturated markets, which could accelerate padel's global development by giving emerging talent legitimate pathways to international competition.
Teemo's Thoughts: The USPA platform launch feels like American padel's "growing up" moment—finally addressing the organizational chaos that's been holding back competitive development. Meanwhile, the UK's 125% participation jump is staggering, but I'm watching to see if they can avoid the infrastructure bottlenecks that have plagued other rapidly growing markets. Morocco hosting its first FIP event shows how serious the federation is about true global expansion, not just adding stops in the usual suspects.
Insights
Net Position Recovery: The Real Currency of Padel
A detailed tactical analysis breaks down the essential techniques for recovering net position in padel, focusing on the globo (high lob), chiquita (soft drop shot), and bajada de pared (wall play) as the primary weapons for transitioning from defense to attack. The piece emphasizes that effective defense isn't about survival—it's about creating opportunities to reclaim the net through strategic shot selection and court positioning.
Why it matters: This reframes a fundamental padel concept that many club players misunderstand. Instead of viewing defense as purely reactive, top players use defensive positions as launching pads for counterattacks. The specific techniques outlined—particularly the chiquita's role in forcing opponents back and the globo's effectiveness in buying time to advance—give recreational players actionable tools to improve their transition game and spend more time in winning positions.
Nutrition Mistakes Hit Harder in Padel's Stop-Start Format
Common dietary errors among padel players—poor hydration timing, inadequate recovery nutrition, and mismatched pre-match fueling—have amplified consequences because of padel's unique match structure. The sport's repeated high-intensity bursts separated by brief recovery periods create specific metabolic demands that punish poor nutritional choices through diminished decision-making speed and reaction time during crucial points.
Why it matters: Unlike steady-state sports where nutritional mistakes might cause gradual performance decline, padel's format means poor fueling shows up immediately in the moments that decide matches—net exchanges, reaction volleys, and late-set pressure points. For competitive amateurs managing multiple matches per week or tournament weekends, understanding these specific metabolic demands becomes crucial for maintaining performance across extended play periods.
Quick Hits
• York Sport Club's padel court proposal was rejected due to noise and lighting concerns, highlighting planning friction as a growing bottleneck in mature markets. Read more at BBC
• A father suffered serious injuries after crashing into a glass wall during a padel match, putting court safety standards and maintenance protocols under renewed scrutiny. Read more at US Glass Magazine
• Hello Magazine published a women's padel style guide, signaling the sport's transition from niche activity to mainstream lifestyle content. Read more at Hello Magazine
Community Updates
Cincinnati Tennis Center Launches Year-Round Padel Club
The Cincinnati Open Sporting Club debuts March 16 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, bringing premium padel facilities to an established tennis ecosystem. The year-round club model leverages existing infrastructure and member pipelines to create a sustainable padel community within a proven racket-sport environment.
Kirkland Padel Facility Moves Forward
A new indoor padel concept has been pitched in Kirkland, representing another U.S. metro area transitioning from interest to concrete real-estate proposals. Indoor facilities are particularly crucial for year-round play in northern climates, improving league density and tournament calendar consistency.
Add a comment: