Ah, Barcelona. A city known for Gaudí, tapas, and now—apparently—the global headquarters for people who’ve decided that tennis wasn’t quite what the doctor recommended. Welcome to the Padel World Summit 2025, where 6,062 professionals gathered to discuss the finer points of hitting a ball in a 20×10 cage. Let’s wade through the madness, shall we?
Leadership: Or, How to Pretend You’re in Charge of a Meteor
Now, leadership in padel is a bit like herding cats, if the cats were all wearing athletic shorts and arguing about whether the sport should marry tennis or file for independence (i.e. the country federations). The summit’s theme? Collaborative swagger. Yes, that’s a real term. No, I don’t know what it means either. But, there were plenty of calls for the players in padel to stick together. The growth has been nothing short of meteoric and the pie is big enough for all of us. And padel’s continued growth requires our cooperative spirit.
The Olympic Delusion
The Olympic inclusion discussion was particularly amusing. The consensus seemed to be that it may be difficult to achieve Olympic status with only two real contenders (Spain and Argentina, of course), which is rather like saying you can’t have a proper argument with only one person. Though, as someone pointed out, basketball managed Olympic status despite the USA essentially treating it as their personal medal collection service.
Innovation: Solving Problems That Don’t Exist (Yet)
If there’s one thing padel excels at, it’s innovation. Why? Because nothing says “cutting-edge sport” like strapping a VR headset to your face and swinging a racquet in your bedroom. Enter PadelVR, the brainchild of someone who clearly thought, “You know what this sport needs? Motion sickness.” But seriously, I enjoyed my demo of the product and can see where it will fit into the life of a padel-crazy player. Further, it seemed that one in every five stands mentioned AI. A more prosaic idea that caught my fancy was CourtBrain, that promises to be the Skyscanner of the padel booking apps. The fact that padel has come of age in the digital era means that innovation and disruption are almost hard-wired into the industry.
Quiet Balls for Delicate Ears
Then there’s NetX selling 3D-printed racquet cores and plastic balls at €40 a pop. Their mission? To “soften the blow” of padel. Because God forbid the sound of a ball hitting a wall might startle the corgis of Barcelona’s elite. Surely, the concept of softer sounding racquets and balls could be useful with sensitive neighbours. Let’s not forget the pickle that the other sport (don’t mention it) is in with its noisier-still pops and whacks.

Because Everyone Loves a Midlife Crisis
Padel’s growth strategy is a masterclass in middle-aged reinvention. It’s the sport equivalent of buying a motorbike and leather trousers. “Forget tennis!” they cry. “We’re the new golf!”. Yes, nothing says “networking” quite like sweating through a polo shirt while your business partner yells “¡Vamos!” after botching a bandeja. The smiles, the mistakes, the raw encounter, and let’s not forget the post-match caña, make padel not just a great way to network, maybe even better for dating!
“Padel is not only a successful sport but an economic asset with enormous growth potential” – Mireia Álvarez, President of the International Padel Cluster
And because I’m a brand guy, I couldn’t help but be enchanted by the activation by Joma, who showcased their new limited edition Vero Virseda Rosa racquet.
The Future: 20×10 Glass Boxes and Global Conquest
As Fernando Belasteguín—padel’s answer to Pelé—vanished into a cloud of sponsorship deals and autograph requests, it became clear that PWS 2025 wasn’t just about showcasing a sport. It was about presenting the blueprint for how to turn recreational enthusiasm into global business empire, one 20×10 glass box at a time.