The board of Yorkshire Tennis has taken the ground-breaking decision to rename the organisation Yorkshire Tennis & Padel Limited in recognition of the continuing surge in popularity and growth of the sport of padel in the county.
Introduced to Yorkshire for the first time in 2011 by Huddersfield Lawn Tennis & Squash Club, participation levels continue to rise, with padel attracting a new demographic to racket sports, and new facilities development continues apace.
Latest figures from the LTA, the UK’s governing body for both tennis and padel, show that the number of adults and juniors playing padel has hit 1 million, with the number of padel venues now standing at 551.
The rate of growth has continued in Yorkshire. In the last 12 months alone, the county has seen new venues open at Padel Shed Huddersfield and Strike Padel in Bradford, while increasing numbers of tennis and squash clubs are adding padel courts to their facilities.
So far in 2026, The Padel Club has announced plans for a new five-court facility in Sheffield and former Leeds United midfielder Stuart Dallas is part of the team behind Optimum Padel, a new eight-court padel club in Leeds. Ollo Padel has also put forward proposals to convert The Roundhouse, a Grade II-listed former railway engine shed close to Armley Gyratory in Leeds, into a ‘community-led padel’ centre
On court, Yorkshire is a force to be reckoned with. A number of players have been selected to compete internationally for Team GB, while county players have brought home a raft of national and team titles.
Peter Vann, Yorkshire padel lead and LTA councillor, said: “Yorkshire has been the pre-eminent county in padel and re-naming the county organisation ‘Yorkshire Tennis & Padel’ is an indication of our foresight and commitment to the future development of the sport.
“Padel has emerged from the shadow of tennis as a sport in its own right and our ability to communicate effectively and accurately as an organisation with responsibility for both sports relies on recognising their separate identities.
“At the same time, the name change gives a clear signal where overarching governance for tennis and padel resides
at county level, reflecting the set up at national level.”
Paul Billington, chair of Yorkshire Tennis & Padel, said: “We need to embrace the opportunity that padel presents to get more people involved in playing racket sports and to do this we will work very closely with LTA, as the national governing body for both padel and tennis.”
Yorkshire Tennis & Padel has set out its key objectives for developing padel, in line with the LTA’s aims at national level:
Paul continued: “To ensure the long-term sustainability of the sport, we need to put in place coach development and player development pathways. In particular, we need to bring in more younger players, encourage greater diversity and ensure all sections of the community have opportunities to participate.
“While the commercial model for padel is very different compared to tennis, there is much that can be shared in terms of best practice when it comes to encouraging inclusion and developing governance structures for competition and safeguarding.”
Paul Bennet, LTA head of delivery for the area said: “The growth of padel has been extraordinary. From 15,000 players in 2019 to 400,000 by the end of 2024, participation more than doubled again through 2025 and has continued to grow in 2026 to reach the landmark figure of 1 million players.
“Yorkshire has embraced padel, and there is plenty of crossover between padel and tennis. With approximately two thirds of all padel players also playing tennis, both sports are growing, opening up opportunities for more people to enjoy the benefits of being physically active.”