Padel, a combination of tennis and squash, is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Tia Norton, the UK’s top female padel player, has seen the sport’s growth first-hand, having traveled to major tournaments in Australia, Egypt, and the US. Padel is played in more than 130 countries, and its big-name proponents include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Andy Murray.
In the UK, it can be a challenge to find somewhere to play, with more than 200 courts serving roughly 90,000 active players. Nonetheless, the sport is said to be the fastest-growing in the world, with money pouring in and courts popping up everywhere. There is optimism that it will join the Olympic program by 2032.
Stormzy, who is known to play padel, is one of the celebrities Tia has met during her travels. Tia herself started playing the sport when she was 12 and spent most of her teenage years training in London after flying there from her family’s home outside Birmingham. She also flew to Spain regularly after school on Fridays and returned in time for Monday morning.
Tia, who has seen padel grow both in terms of recognition and participation, believes the boom is due in part to increased investment in courts. Premier Padel, the leading professional tour, recently inked a partnership with Red Bull that is said to be worth tens of millions of pounds.
Despite all of this, Tia acknowledges that padel’s growth has been uneven, with much of it occurring in Spain, where it has been popular for decades. In the UK, it can be tough to find a game, but Tia remains optimistic. “Being British number one is quite a big thing,” she says. “Most of my friends are at university, and whenever I talk about what I’m doing, they say: ‘Tia you’re literally living the dream.
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