Game4Padel, the UK’s leading provider of padel courts, is bringing this rapidly growing sport to Westfield London for a three-day event.
An exhibition padel court will be built in the Central Atrium at Westfield London, from November 5-7, giving visitors the chance to try out this new game. It will also feature celebrity Pro-Am matches, coaching sessions and exhibitions. Stars who will appear 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 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 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: “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 who 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.”
