Padel is having a moment. Not the kind that fades, the kind that compounds. Every week there are new clubs, new deals, new cities on the tour calendar.
We started The Ludo Edit to make sense of it all: the stories worth knowing, the shifts worth paying attention to, and the culture forming around the fastest growing sport in the world. No noise, just the good stuff. Every week.
London is getting its first Premier Padel tournament this summer
This August, London hosts a Premier Padel P1, the second-highest tier on the tour, just below the Majors. Olympia in Kensington is the frontrunner as venue, backed by a multi-year deal with entertainment firm Sela and the support of the LTA.
The numbers behind it: the UK is now the sport's third-biggest market globally, behind only Spain and Italy. Britain has over 400,000 players, 1,000 courts, and six of the world's top ten revenue-generating clubs. This tournament is a consequence of that growth, not a catalyst.
Padel is no longer just a sport
Something has shifted. Padel courts have become social infrastructure - the place people meet, decompress, and make plans that have nothing to do with the score. That quality is what's drawing in a different kind of brand partner.
This week, WHOOP - the performance wearable worn by F1 drivers and PGA Tour golfers - signed a three-year deal as the official health partner of Premier Padel.
They join Qatar Airways, Heineken, and Wilson on the tour's sponsor roster. When brands like that start paying attention, it tells you something about the room padel has moved into.
See you next week,