Britain Hits 1.5 Million Padel Players, LTA Reveals on World Padel Day

British padel has passed another milestone. To mark the first official World Padel Day on 20 October, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) published new figures showing that 1.5 million adults and juniors now play padel in Britain. They play on 2,445 courts spread across 682 venues.

Growth this year has been especially fast. In May the LTA counted one million players, so the sport has gained around half a million more in only five months.

From 15,000 to 1.5 million

The LTA's own figures show how quickly padel has grown in Britain:

2019: 15,000 players
2023: 129,000
End of 2024: 400,000
End of 2025: 860,000
May 2026: 1,000,000
October 2026: 1,500,000

That means padel has grown a hundredfold in seven years. Since the end of 2025 alone, the number of players has risen by around 75%. The LTA now describes padel as one of the country's fastest-growing sports.

Tennis and padel side by side

The data also suggests that padel is not taking players away from tennis. According to the LTA, two-thirds of the 1.5 million padel players also play tennis. The governing body sees this as proof that the two sports support each other rather than compete for the same people.

The LTA also highlighted the community side of the boom. More than 80% of padel venues run outreach programmes aimed at groups that are under-represented in racket sports.

The LTA's plan: public courts and coaches

Tom Murray, the LTA's Head of Padel, said: "On World Padel Day, these figures demonstrate the remarkable trajectory padel continues to make in Britain. With 1.5 million people now playing the sport, padel has firmly established itself as one of the country's fastest-growing sports."

He went on to set out the governing body's priorities: "Our focus remains on supporting public courts, sustainable growth and increasing access to facilities, alongside developing and growing our on-court workforce through our LTA Activator and coaching qualifications. By investing in both facilities and the people who bring the sport to life, we can widen opportunities to play and ensure more people can pick up a racket and enjoy padel."

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Public access is at the centre of the plan. The LTA and the UK Government are working together on pilot projects for publicly owned padel courts, which are due to launch across Britain this year. No details on locations or the number of sites have been published yet.

Part of a global story

Britain's figures came out on the day the International Padel Federation and Premier Padel officially made 20 October World Padel Day. The date matches the 20-by-10-metre court. According to the FIP's World Padel Report 2026, around 40 million people play padel in 191 countries and territories.

The fast growth has not been free of tension. In some places, new court projects have met opposition from neighbours and other local users. With public court pilots on the way and the LTA's figures still climbing, the next test is whether Britain can turn its commercial boom into affordable courts for local communities.