A Nation Discovers Padel (2019-2022)
Going back to 2019, when I moved to Manchester, padel in Great Britain was largely unknown, or just “that Spanish sport” someone had seen on a holiday trip. I remember the first time I looked for places to play or talked to people about padel, and they had no idea what I was talking about. Little by little, I found a small niche of padel fans. I was able to play my first padel match in the United Kingdom and teach my first padel classes as a coach at the Manchester City football team’s sports facilities, where they had an indoor court. I was able to make a group of friends and we began training together and competing nationally. We travelled around the country, getting to know the clubs that were slowly opening up.
The Early Days
When I travelled to tournaments, I realized that the sport had a small but growing following, some grassroots clubs, some tennis courts or converted indoor courts, and a huge untapped potential. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) had only just begun formally regulating the sport at the national level. At that time, participation was low: around 15,000 adults and young people played padel at least once a year. The court infrastructure was very modest; it’s estimated there were dozens rather than hundreds.
From 2019 to 2021, I saw on my travels how the growth was gradual but promising. The number of courts increased from approximately 50 in 2019 to around 150 in 2021, and participation followed a similar upward trajectory from approximately 15,000 players in 2019 to around 89,000 in 2021, having played at least once.
The LTA, recognizing the potential, began laying the groundwork: developing coaching structures, exploring facility expansion, and beginning to consider padel more seriously as a complementary racquet sport to tennis.
By 2022, the conditions were set for more rapid expansion. More courts, more publicity, more venue operators seeing opportunity. Demand was increasingly visible, people searching for fun alternatives, more social forms of sport, racket sports that weren’t as technically or physically intimidating to start with. Regions outside London, including the North West, began to see interest. But Manchester in particular was just on the threshold of what was to come.
Smash & Social: Manchester’s Padel Boom Since 2022
When The Padel Club, following the trend set in the rest of the country, opened its doors in July 2022 in Wilmslow, it was one of the first dedicated padel venues in the North West, and where I truly saw the beginning of the padel boom in and around Manchester, where interest in the sport began to grow and people began demanding more. It started with just two courts, but demand was overwhelming, reservations quickly sold out, and within months, operators doubled their size to four courts. All of this prompted new clubs to jump on board and open their doors quickly. Since 2022, Manchester has experienced a wave of court construction, facility expansion, and investment.
My Story as Manchester’s First Padel Coach
But this is where my story as Manchester’s first padel coach begins: Club de Padel, the first padel club in Manchester city centre, opened its doors in December 2023 with four outdoor courts on Deansgate and I would be the padel head coach. With this landmark launch, the expansion of padel in Manchester became unstoppable, and I was at the centre of it. During those first months, I introduced the sport to thousands of new players, who came every day fascinated by this new sport and its engaging social aspect.
Why Padel is Taking Off
For me, the keys to padel’s success are:
Accessibility for All
It’s an easy sport to learn, even for people with no previous experience in racket sports. It’s played in pairs, which reduces individual pressure and encourages fun. It doesn’t require extreme physical fitness to start, making it inclusive for all ages.
Small Court Dimensions
The courts are smaller than tennis courts, allowing for more courts to be built in limited urban spaces. The game is more dynamic and offers greater interaction, making it attractive for spectators.
Social Component
It’s played in doubles, making it ideal for socialising. Many clubs have added leisure spaces, bars, and meeting areas around the courts. It has become a popular activity for after-work and weekend getaways.
Virality
Once someone starts playing, they often invite friends or family to try it out. Social media has helped popularise the sport with videos of spectacular plays and aspirational content.
Immediate Fun
From the first match, the game can be enjoyed without a steep learning curve. It’s a sport with a steady pace and many spectacular plays (thanks to the walls).
Manchester’s Padel Infrastructure
Overall, data from mid-2025 shows Greater Manchester with approximately 74 padel courts spread across 23 venues, with plans to add another 27 courts across three locations by autumn 2025. If these projects are completed, Manchester would exceed 100 courts in total.
Another revealing fact is that approximately 59% of Manchester’s courts are covered or indoor. This reflects both the climate and the year-round demand for play. A good example of this expansion is the club where I currently work as head coach, Carbon Padel Club, which has 11 indoor courts (9 doubles and 2 singles), making it the largest padel facility in the North West.
Players, Participation & The Social Pull
National Momentum, Local Ripples
Nationally, padel’s numbers have been surging. By the end of 2024, just over 400,000 adults and juniors in Britain had played padel at least once in the previous 12 months. Court infrastructure followed: 893 courts across ~300 venues.
The LTA’s strategy aims to increase annual players from ~129,000 (end 2023) to 400,000, monthly players from ~65,000 to 200,000, and courts from ~350 to 1,000. Manchester is firmly part of this push.
The Social Pull: More Than Just Sport
What is striking about padel’s evolution in Manchester since 2022 is the degree to which it is becoming a social phenomenon, not just a sport.
Social hubs & lifestyle elements: Facilities are being built with clubhouses, cafés, lounges, outdoor social spaces. The idea is that people come to play and hang out.
Events and community activation: Padel clubs host social tournaments and family sessions. These types of events help attract people who may not be looking for serious training, but are interested in socialising through sport.
Accessibility of courts and formats: Covered courts help deal with Manchester’s less predictable weather. “Pay and play” options (not just membership) lower barriers.
Beginner and casual players driving growth: Many first timers are coming because padel is viewed as more approachable than tennis: doubles format, smaller court, less pressure, more immediate play.
Challenges, Outlook & The Road Ahead
Challenges
Even amidst fast growth, Manchester’s padel scene faces challenges:
Capacity vs Peak Demand: Many existing courts are booked out during evenings and weekends. Players often need to plan well ahead. Indoor or covered courts are especially in demand where weather constraints make outdoor courts less usable.
Cost of Infrastructure: Building high-spec covered courts, installing good lighting, maintaining courts, and creating social facilities (clubhouses, lounges) requires large upfront investment and ongoing cost. That may drive higher usage fees, membership charges, or minimum spend requirements, which may exclude some potential players.
Balancing Social vs Competitive Uses: As popularity grows, demand for competitive play (tournaments, leagues) may strain the availability of courts for casual/social users. Maintaining a balance so that the sport remains inclusive and accessible is an important managerial challenge for venue operators.
Site, Planning, and Real Estate Constraints: Finding appropriate sites (especially for indoor/covered courts), securing planning permission (noise, lighting, structure), negotiating with real estate owners or local authorities are often time-consuming and costly. Projects like Victoria North are tied into larger regeneration plans to help with this.
Maintaining Quality & Experience: With so many courts being built in different places, ensuring consistent surface quality, coaching availability, lighting, hygiene and overall user experience will be vital to making sure people return.
Outlook & What to Watch
Looking forward from 2025 and into 2026, here’s what seems likely in Manchester:
Court numbers exceeding 100: With the +27 planned courts, Manchester is on track to surpass 100 courts in Greater Manchester across all venue types (indoor, covered, outdoor) by late 2025.
More large-scale, purpose-built facilities: Facilities like Carbon Padel Club set new standards. We can expect more venues built from scratch with all the amenities, rather than converted ones.
Expansion of covered/indoor courts: Because of Manchester’s climate and the demand for year-round play, the share of courts that are indoor or at least covered will continue to increase.
Growth in monthly/frequent players: As awareness continues and accessibility improves, more people will move from “played once” to “play monthly” or “play weekly.” Nationally, Sport England data already shows those playing twice monthly doubled from ~23,000 (2022/23) to ~51,000 (2023/24). Manchester will likely mirror or exceed this trend.
Social & Community Integration: More events, more mixed use of venues (social, food, drink, music nights, social leagues), more family/junior offerings. There also seems to be a desire by operators to make the venues part of the local identity.
Policy Support & Local Plans: Manchester is the first city in Britain to have a “local padel plan” in collaboration with the LTA, Manchester City Council and Manchester Active. This should help align future facility development with planning policy, transport access, and public health/leisure strategies.
Why It Matters: The Social Shift
The rise of padel in Manchester is not just about more courts or more players, it’s about how sport is evolving socially:
- People increasingly look for leisure activities that combine activity + socialising + lifestyle. Padel offers that trifecta.
- For many, padel is less intimidating than other racket sports. You can play with friends, meet new people, not worry too much about technical perfection.
- Sports venues are becoming places to hang out, not just to train. The investment in social spaces, food/drink, events, spectator-friendly design shows that clubs understand they are building communities, not just courts.
- There is also a wellness angle: people are more interested in enjoyable, sustainable physical activity rather than only gym or high-intensity competition. Padel gives cardio, coordination, social interaction, fun.
The Future
Since 2022, the padel scene in Manchester has transformed fast. What began with a couple of courts and curious locals has become a vibrant network of venues, social spaces, and a growing community of players—casual, curious, competitive. With nearly 74 courts and 23 venues, plus more under way, Manchester is becoming one of the leading hubs of padel in the UK.
All signs suggest growth will continue if done with attention to access, affordability, and quality. If those are managed well, padel in Manchester may not just be a boom, but a sustainable fixture in the region’s sporting and social life; one where people play, meet, hang out, and stay active, not just for a season, but for many years to come.
Alberto Cubero Torregrosa is known as “Cubero The Padel Coach” and is Manchester’s first dedicated padel coach. You can find him at Carbon Padel Club.
Published in Liverpool Fitness Magazine
