This week’s stories show that growth comes in many forms. From its battle for scale against pickleball and a major U.S. television deal to new urban opportunities in Hong Kong, the sport is expanding quickly while also confronting the realities that come with wider participation.
Here are the stories below!
Padel vs. Pickleball: Growth vs. Scale
Padel’s U.S. growth is accelerating, but pickleball still dominates participation. While padel grew 14.5% in 2025, pickleball counted 24.3 million American players compared with padel’s 1.07 million. The contrast highlights a key reality: rapid percentage growth does not yet equal nationwide scale.
Pro Padel League Lands National CNBC Broadcast Deal
The Pro Padel League is expanding its national reach through a new broadcast partnership that will bring five 2026 championship matches to CNBC. The deal gives PPL its biggest U.S. television platform yet as the league builds momentum around sponsors, investment, live events, and fan growth.
Padel Finds Its Space in Hong Kong
Padel is gaining ground in space-constrained Hong Kong, where compact court footprints and strong revenue potential make the sport especially attractive. Rather than replacing tennis, new padel venues are appearing on rooftops, plazas, and waterfront sites, offering operators a practical way to maximize scarce urban real estate.
Svitolina’s Kyiv Padel Club Damaged in Russian Attack
Elina Svitolina revealed that SVITO Padel Club in Kyiv, which she founded with Sergiy Stakhovsky, was damaged in a Russian attack. The Ukrainian star used the incident to highlight the war’s wider impact on athletes, training conditions, and sports infrastructure across the country.
Padel’s Boom Is Bringing More Players to Physiotherapists
As padel and pickleball participation surges in India, physiotherapists are seeing more ankle, wrist, knee, and shoulder injuries among recreational players. With padel courts and player numbers rising sharply, experts are stressing warmups, recovery, and strength work as essential parts of regular play.
- Read more on The Economic Times
Highlights
Check out these highlights from Day 6 of the Premier Padel Paris Major!
Bigger broadcasts are creating visibility, dense cities are finding new ways to make courts viable, and participation continues to rise across markets. At the same time, comparisons with pickleball reveal how much room there still is to grow, while stories from Kyiv and India underscore that expansion also brings real-world challenges beyond the court.
The next phase of padel will not be measured by hype alone. It will be defined by how well the sport converts attention into access, infrastructure, sustained participation, and a stronger global ecosystem.
Stay tuned to Padel Mecca for next week’s biggest stories!