This November, Game4Padel, the UK’s leading provider of padel courts, is bringing this rapidly growing sport to Westfield London for a three-day event which will showcase just why it is becoming so popular all around the world.
An exhibition padel court will be built in the Central Atrium at Westfield London, from 5-7 November, giving visitors the chance to try out this new game, as well as featuring celebrity Pro-Am matches, coaching sessions, exhibitions and much more. Stars who will feature on the court include Andy and Jamie Murray, Andrew Castle, and Annabel Croft, as well as special guests to be unveiled on the day.
Padel is reported to be the world’s fastest growing sport. It was recently described in magazines and newspapers as the ‘biggest fitness trend of the Summer’ and the ‘racket sport that’s rapidly becoming a big hit’. The game originally started in Mexico and quickly swept through South America and then into Europe. Spain is reckoned to have over 20,000 padel courts, and an estimated six million active players – it is now the country’s second biggest participation sport after football. Padel is played in 91 countries and is the fastest growing sport in many countries such as Sweden and Italy. Fans of the game include Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Jurgen Klopp, Virgil van Dijk, Carlos Sainz, Bradley Walsh, Elle MacPherson and Nicole Scherzinger and forecasters predict padel will become an Olympic sport by 2032.
The pop-up padel court at Westfield London is an Instantpadel court, a new world-unique design that doesn’t require any major groundwork, enabling the court to be erected in six hours – a crucial factor in making the event achievable.
A jam-packed schedule of activities will take place on the court throughout the three days, including an ‘on-the-hour, Open Play Session’ where shoppers will be encouraged to get on court and ‘give it a go’! Game4Padel is also partnering with charity, Give It Your Max who will be bringing local children to Westfield to try out padel for the first time.
Melanie Lalou, Head of Westfield Rise, UK, said: “It’s brilliant to welcome an emerging and well-loved sport to Westfield London, alongside appearances from a host of iconic sporting legends. Westfield offers appealing spaces and an avid audience for brands to engage with, making the centres the perfect destinations for brands to reach new customers. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Game4Padel to bring this engaging pop-up experience to life and inspire visitors to try their hand at padel.”
Game4Padel CEO, Michael Gradon, added: “Being able to bring padel to Europe’s premier shopping destination is great for the sport because it provides us with a fantastic platform to take it to a much wider audience. Padel is an incredibly addictive, fun game which is highly sociable and easy to pick up and it thrives in urban settings and inner cities in countries like Spain and Italy. We hope that anyone that comes across the sport in person at Westfield or by reading, watching or hearing about it because of this activation will be interested in finding out more. We have plans to open courts at up to 50 new venues in the next year, and so accessing a court will be much easier for people all across the country.”
Game4Padel already has the most venues around the UK including Withdean Sports Club (Brighton), Heron Tennis Centre (Newquay), Windsor Penarth Lawn Tennis Club (Penarth) and Parabola Edinburgh Park Business Park. The company has a further 30 venues secured including Ocean Terminal Leith, and a partnership with golf’s R&A at Lethamhill Glasgow, Marriot Tudor Park, Grappenhall (Lancashire), Draycott Sports Centre (Staffordshire), and is in discussions regarding approximately 100 additional other venues.
Game4Padel boasts a diverse group of experienced UK investors and ambassadors, including former world no.1 tennis players Andy and Jamie Murray, Liverpool FC and Holland star Virgil Van Dijk, the former British no.1 players Annabel Croft and Andrew Castle, and Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies.
Game4Padel offers to partner with a huge range of venues, including sports clubs, leisure centres, parks, schools, universities and, increasingly, commercial venues. Its capital and technical expertise enables it to finance, install, maintain and operate padel courts in any setting. The company also creates bespoke coaching and playing programmes, events, tournaments, and engagement activities for children and schools.
For more information, please visit Game4padel.com
