From Growth to Lasting Participation
Oxygen Consulting has published the 2026 UK Padel Report, which examines growth, pricing, participation, access, venue formats and emerging operating models. PadelNation looks at the main findings from the report
Participation to Lasting From Growth
The UK padel market is entering a more demanding stage of its development. After several years in which progress has largely been driven by an explosion in the number of new courts, rapidly increasing awareness and first-time participation, the 2026 UK Padel Report argues that the sector’s next challenge is to turn that interest into regular, affordable and sustainable play. Researched and written by Oxygen Consulting managing director Ray Algar, the report examines growth, pricing and participation in a rapidly scaling sport. Its central conclusion is that the long-term strength of UK padel will depend less on how many people try the game once, and more on whether venues can persuade them to return often enough for padel to become part of their normal active lives.
This shift has major implications for operators, investors, landlords, clubs and local authorities. Court numbers will remain important, but the market will increasingly be judged by utilisation, repeat visits, customer loyalty and the ability of venues to create commercially resilient communities of players.
Setting the right price
The report’s most striking finding concerns pricing. Across the UK’s nine largest chargeable padel operators, the median peak-time price is £42 per court hour. Oxygen Consulting’s player price- sensitivity research, however, found acceptable national ranges of approximately £13–£21 for an outdoor uncovered court, £15–£25 for an outdoor covered court and £18–£28 for an indoor court, based on a weekday evening booking.
These figures are value benchmarks rather than recommended prices. Operators may be able to charge more, but the report suggests that any premium will increasingly need to be justified. As players gain more choice, a court alone may no longer be enough. Weather protection, comfort, changing facilities, reliability, customer service, programming and the overall social experience will all contribute to whether a venue represents good value.
This points towards a more sophisticated phase of competition. Successful operators will need to become a player’s “home venue”: the place they choose repeatedly because its location, price, playing formats and atmosphere make it feel worth belonging to, rather than simply worth booking. Memberships, leagues, coaching, social sessions, introductory programmes and stronger off-peak offers are therefore likely to become increasingly important.
The most exciting opportunity for UK padel is to find the point where commercial sustainability and social value reinforce each other
Venues need to support significant infrastructure investment, appropriate staffing and a high quality player experience
Improved access
The research also indicates that access is beginning to widen, although provision remains uneven. In England’s most deprived neighbourhoods, the number of padel venues rose from six in December 2024 to 33 in December 2025, increasing their share of English venues from 3% to 8%. The report cautions that an updated Index of Multiple Deprivation baseline prevents a strict like-for-like comparison, but the direction suggests padel may be starting to move beyond its early affluent base.
Even so, 60% of venues remain in less deprived neighbourhoods, compared with 40% in more deprived areas. The implication is that physical expansion alone will not guarantee inclusion. A court located on community land can still operate at prices, times and through booking systems that exclude large sections of the local population.
For that reason, the report places significant emphasis on delivery models. Rugby and golf clubs, leisure centres, councils and other community-rooted organisations are increasingly hosting padel, but frequently as landlords rather than operators. Oxygen Consulting argues that achieving wider social value may require these organisations to play a more active role in shaping pricing, access and programming.
That could lead to more partnership-based models, combining commercial expertise with community objectives. Operators may gain access to suitable land and established local audiences, while councils, clubs and not-for- profit asset owners ensure that affordable sessions, targeted programmes and inclusive pathways are built into the proposition.
Choosing locations
The report also reflects padel’s growing credibility within the property market. Jess Hill, associate director for UK restaurants and leisure at Savills, says padel has moved beyond being a short-term activation tool and is now viewed as a commercially credible element of landlord strategy. However, the market is becoming more selective and data-led, with landlords looking for operators that can create sustained footfall, complement other tenants and support mixed-use destinations.
The next phase of UK padel will be about more than scale. It will be about value, belonging and repeat participation.
This suggests the era of expansion based primarily on novelty is giving way to one in which proposals will face closer scrutiny. Investors and landlords will want clearer evidence of repeat demand, realistic pricing, differentiation and long-term operational strength.
Sustainable growth
Algar argues that the biggest opportunity is to find the point at which commercial sustainability and social value reinforce one another. Venues must generate sufficient returns to support infrastructure, staffing and a high-quality experience, but players also need the affordability and access required to make padel habitual.
The report’s message is not that UK padel should slow its growth, but that it must broaden its definition of success. Future winners will not necessarily be those that build the most courts or charge the highest prices. They will be the organisations that turn curiosity into loyalty, create venues people genuinely want to return to and demonstrate that padel can contribute to physical activity, social connection, wellbeing and public health.
Algar says that commercial measures, such as utilisation, pricing and financial returns remain important, but they do not fully capture the value padel can create through social reach, inclusion, community connection and improved health and wellbeing. The real test will not simply be how quickly the sport expands, but how fairly and effectively it contributes to wider participation.
“The most exciting opportunity for UK padel is to find the point where commercial sustainability and social value reinforce each other,” Algar says. “By social value, I mean the benefits beyond financial returns: helping more people to be active, feel connected, improve wellbeing and access sport more easily. Venues need to support significant infrastructure investment, appropriate staffing and a high-quality player experience, but players also need the price and access to make padel a repeatable habit. Get that balance right, and padel becomes much more than a fast-growing leisure product.”
The next phase of UK padel will be about more than scale. It will be about value, belonging and repeat participation.