COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:MARTA TALAVÁN RUIZ How did you get started in padel, and what’s your story? I started playing padel at the age of nine, when my father took up the sport – it sparked a huge curiosity for me. At first, we would simply rally together or I would train

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: FEMME OPEN About Femme Open One name has come up consistently in our Community Spotlights, and that’s Femme Open. Founded by Johanna Livijn and Johanna Aybar, Femme Open began as a simple idea that turned into a significant movement.  Their story started in Båstad in 2018, during the

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: MAX ENGLAND About Yourself Growing up, sport was always at the centre of Max England’s life – particularly tennis. He trained and competed both nationally and internationally, playing alongside some of the UK’s top-ranked players, and even competed at the lower levels of the professional tour. All of

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: THE JOSHUA TREE About the Event: The Christmas Padel Tournament On Thursday 20th November 2025, players and businesses from across the North West will gather at Destination Padel, Northwich for a special cause: the Christmas Padel Tournament, raising funds to support families affected by childhood cancers – an

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: AIDAN YUNUS How Aidan’s Padel Journey Started Aidan’s journey with racket sports began at just six years old, hitting shuttlecocks with a badminton racket in his grandmother’s garden in Malaysia. From there, he explored badminton and tennis before eventually settling into squash, where he excelled – competing internationally

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: CHIGZ Meet Chigz Chigz’s padel journey began relatively recently, just last year. It all started with regular conversations about playing at Club De Padel in Manchester with a friend, although the games never quite materialised. Even though that padel club was just round the corner, it wasn’t until

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: HER COURT PADEL CLUB Her Court Padel Club is a fast-growing female padel community based in Cheshire, created to give women of all ages and abilities a welcoming space to discover padel, build confidence, and connect through sport. Founded by Paige, Her Court began not as a business

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: THE PADEL PLAYER About Nick (AKA The Padel Player) Nick’s padel journey started in a natural way — casual games with family, purely for fun. But it didn’t take long for something to click. What began as relaxed rallies quickly turned into a real hunger to improve, compete,

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: PRIDE PADEL Founded by Seun and Laura Crowe, Pride Padel is a community built upon inclusion, accessibility, and the simple joy of playing padel together. About the founders of Pride Padel Seun and Laura started playing padel just over a year ago, initially as a way to get

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: BRYANT SALCEDO Bryant’s journey into padel is shaped by a lifetime in racquet sports, a deep commitment to personal growth, and a clear desire to build meaningful community — on and off the court. From Tennis to Padel Bryant’s sporting foundation began early. He grew up immersed in

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: DEMID HRYTSUN About Demid (Demid Padel) Demid first discovered padel around three to four years ago, in a familiar way – a casual game with friends. Like many newcomers, it started without structure or formal training, but from the very first hit, something about the sport felt different.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: CAMERON DOLLIMORE How Cameron’s padel journey started Cameron’s padel journey started early — first picking up a racket in Spain at just 11 or 12 years old. A natural competitor, he quickly progressed from local tournaments to the British padel tour and went on to represent Great Britain

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: GEORGIE PLAYS PADEL How Georgie’s padel journey began Georgie’s padel journey began in 2023 at a local David Lloyd club — and what started as a social session quickly became something much bigger. With no prior sports background, padel opened the door to fitness, confidence, and a competitive

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: FREDERIK SANGILL If you’ve spent any amount of time on social media looking at padel content, you’ve probably seen Frederik Sangill’s work – or at least others’ work that was inspired by his. While all our Spotlights are special to us, this one feels extra special! About Frederik

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: DAMIAN HOO Meet Damian Hoo Damian first discovered padel in mid-2022 at Jungle Padel Pererenan in Bali, joining friends from his Australian Football team for relaxed social games and small leagues. At the time, it was the only padel court there, and word spread quickly about this new

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: BOJANA JOVANOVIC From Tennis Courts to a Second Sporting Life in Padel Bojana Jovanovic’s journey into padel is a story of reinvention, resilience, and belief. Coming from a professional tennis background, Bojana spent more than 15 years competing at a high level and, in 2020, was ranked the

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: JARED FINKELSTEIN Meet Jared Jared is a Wealth Manager in his 40s who relocated from New York City to Miami during COVID. Until that move, padel wasn’t on his radar at all. That changed in January 2021, when a friend convinced him to play. From that first rally,

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: JM PADEL ACADEMY How Did Your Padel Journey Begin? After playing tennis all my life, I got a rotator cuff injury which meant I couldn’t serve overhead. Someone said, ‘Why don’t you try out padel, it’s an under arm serve?’ So I thought, great! I’ll give it a

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: PADELFLO About Florian Marco / PadelFlo Florian’s padel journey began just over a year ago, almost by accident. At the time, sport wasn’t a priority for him. His focus had largely been on business, and physically, he didn’t feel connected to his athletic side. What started as a

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: HARBOUR & COURT About Harbour & Court Founded by Sarah Walker, Harbour & Court is a woman-forward, woman-led padel collective built around movement, modern sport culture, and genuine connection. While the community proudly centres women, its events are designed for both women and men, creating inclusive, social environments

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: LAURA KAY About Laura & Her Padel Story “Padel changed my life” might sound dramatic, but for Laura Kay (might know her better as “Laura Padel Addict”), it’s simply the truth. What started as a casual invitation to “come try padel” quickly turned into full-blown obsession. One match

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:6 LOVE SPORTS Why Was 6 Love Sports Started? 6 Love Sports was born from something very personal: I simply couldn’t find other women to play with. When I first fell in love with padel, I struggled to find matches. I played mostly with guys, because I couldn’t seem

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:DHANY QUEVEDO How did you get started in padel, and what’s your story? I grew up playing tennis and spent most of my life competing at a high level. I played professionally before going on to compete at the Division I level, so sport has always been a core

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:SUZANNE BAUM About Suzanne Baum Suzanne’s padel journey began around two years ago, when, as a fitness editor, she was invited to be the first journalist to step onto the courts at Padium (padel club in London). Playing alongside the head coach, she was introduced to padel for the

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: SUNSET PADEL CLUB “I first started playing padel when my gym opened new courts. I decided to give it a go a couple of times, joined a small group coaching session, and before I knew it, I had played 12 days in a row. I was completely hooked.”

HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, a keen padel player, accepting Barry’s invitation to travel to Dublin to inaugurate the new padel courts at Fitzwilliam LTC, where he was presented with a special edition racquet by Barry. COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:BARRY COFFEY Discovering Padel Racquet sports have been a lifelong passion for Barry

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:PADEL WITH HOLLY About Holly Holly first discovered padel almost by chance. After starting a new job, she noticed courts next to her office and decided to give it a go. From her very first session, she was hooked (something many of us can relate to!). What began as

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:PINK PADEL CLUB About The Founder of Pink Padel Club For Janelle Marie Rodriguez, padel has been a game-changer in more ways than one. A journalist, actress, producer, and former ESPN professional, she only picked up the sport earlier this year. Despite never having played racket sports before (“unless

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:BRITISH PADEL ACADEMY About the Academy The British Padel Academy is dedicated to developing and supporting the future of padel in the UK. With the sport growing rapidly and hundreds of clubs opening across the country, the demand for experienced coaches, structured programmes, and opportunities for players has never

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:EMPOWER PADEL About Empower Padel For Pepita Stonor (Founder), the journey into padel began in 2020, first on holiday in Portugal and then back at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire. What started as a personal passion for padel among friends quickly evolved into a mission. It became clear that while

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:FEMPADEL COLLECTIVE About FemPadel Collective FemPadel Collective was founded by two Colombian sisters, Claudia and Carolina, who now live in Portugal and The Netherlands. Their journeys into padel began in different ways but led them to the same mission: “to carve out a dedicated space for women in padel.”

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:LOUIS TELFORD About Louis Louis Telford, from Greater Manchester, is a remarkable multi-sport athlete competing at the top level. Living with cerebral palsy diplegia has never held him back: Louis plays professional wheelchair basketball abroad as part of the England pathway programme for half the year, and dedicates the

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:PADEL SMASH GIRLS How The Padel Journey Began Padel kind of found us! Jo was introduced to it through friends and loved the fun, fast pace. At the same time, Gail picked it up while on holiday and as a former tennis enthusiast with slightly dodgy knees, she realised

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:RAF PADEL About Ben Ben’s padel journey began in late 2022 after moving to Madrid for work. He first picked up a racket in November and, like so many others, quickly became hooked to padel. From this, he made it his mission to bring padel back to the UK

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:MEN OF THE MILE About the Founder & Community Origins Lee first picked up a padel racket in October 2024. Every Wednesday, he’d pass by the local padel courts during the group’s “Walk & Talk” sessions and tell himself he’d try it one day. Eventually, he did – and

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:WORLD’S LONGEST PADEL MATCH A Record Attempt for a Remarkable Cause When four friends decided to turn their love for padel into something extraordinary, they set their sights on an ambitious goal: to break the World Record for the longest padel match ever played – aiming for 40 hours

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: ANASTASIA How It All Started It all began on holiday in Spain, where friends invited Anastasia to join a casual padel match – and she was instantly hooked, like so many of us. The blend of strategy, social energy, and fast-paced rallies made it impossible to resist for

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: AZIZ PADEL About Aziz Padel Aziz first discovered padel when a colleague invited him for a casual match. What started as a friendly social activity quickly turned into a passion that hasn’t faded since. “I fell in love with the sport right away and still have the same

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: PADEL & PRAMS About the Founders: Emma & Vic Padel & Prams was founded earlier this year (2025) by Emma Powell and Vic Nicholas, two women passionate about sport, community, and creating opportunities for new parents to stay active. Emma, a keen padel player and sports lover, first