London Gets Its First Premier Padel P1 at Olympia

A Historic First: Elite Padel Comes to Britain

When qualifying begins at Olympia on Sunday, 3 August, Premier Padel will cross a threshold it has never crossed before: a tournament on British soil. The London P1, running through to Sunday 9 August in the Grand Hall of Olympia's newly transformed West Kensington venue, is the circuit's seventh stop of the 2026 season and the first event to put Coello, Tapia, Triay and the rest of the elite in front of a British crowd.

Olympia's renovation — a £1.3 billion project completed ahead of the event — gives the venue a dramatic large glass rooftop canopy with panoramic views of the London skyline, and 2.5 acres of public-facing space. The Grand Hall's dimensions accommodate a full international padel setup with the capacity and sightlines a P1-level event requires.

Twelve British Players Enter the Draw

The LTA granted twelve British wildcards, a number that reflects both the sport's rapid growth in the UK and the circuit's commitment to connecting global stars with local talent. In the main draw, Catherine Rose and Aimee Gibson — Britain's number one and two women — compete together in what will be the biggest match either has played on home soil. Gibson, who missed five months of competition through injury, was still handed a main draw place. "It means the world," she said in remarks reported by The Padel Paper. "I'm super grateful to the LTA that, even though I've been injured for five months, they've still put me forward for the main draw."

On the men's side, Christian Medina Murphy (world ranking 174) takes a main draw wildcard, paired with Spaniard Alberto García Jiménez. Louie Harris, Alex Loughlan, Alfonso Patacho and Chris Salisbury also enter the main draw. The qualifying draw adds junior standout Ben Phillips with Jamie Lobo Wordsworth, plus Cameron Dollimore and Theo Garton. In the women's qualifying, Tia Norton partners Belgian Helena Wyckaert.

Format and How to Watch

The men's main draw holds 48 players — 35 direct entrants, two seeded-entry spots, eight qualifiers and three wildcards. The women's draw runs 28 players: 23 direct entries, four qualifiers and one wildcard. Qualifying takes place on Sunday 2 and Monday 3 August, with the main draw commencing Wednesday 4 August.

British fans can watch the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals free on Red Bull TV. Earlier rounds are broadcast on the Premier Padel YouTube channel. There are no geo-restrictions for the main broadcast platform during the final rounds.

London is one of ten P1-level events on the 2026 calendar, sandwiched between the Pretoria P1 in South Africa — which concludes its final on 2 August — and the Madrid P1, which runs 29 August to 6 September. For the world's top players, the gap between Pretoria and London qualifying is less than 24 hours.