Bringing the world’s best padel players to the UK for the first time is just one potential outcome from the LTA’s new partnership with Team AD/vantage, the British-owned inaugural winners of the Hexagon Cup.
That’s according to Arran Yentob, the London-based advisor and investor, who co-owns Team AD/vantage with Dani Vallverdu, former coach of Andy Murray. Vallverdu’s connection with Murray enabled them to bring the two-time Wimbledon champion on to the ownership team and in January, they added another British sporting superstar, two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua.
It’s hoped the involvement of such high-profile figures will help grow awareness of the sport in the UK, both in terms of grassroots participation and developing people’s sense of connection with the professional level of the game. As Yentob tells The Padel Paper: “This is where there was a very natural alignment with the LTA.”
He added: “Team AD/vantage is the UK representative on the global stage provided by the Hexagon Cup, so meshing that position with the objectives and vision of the LTA in terms of growing the sport domestically, there was an obvious crossover there.
“Practically what that involves, we’re still working on. Can we bring the very best international players to the UK? We have not had the best players on UK soil yet. Can we host an event, format to be determined, with the very best players in the world, so the audience here in the UK can get a flavour of that, and the British players can interact with that? That is one example, but there are many other angles we’ll continue to discuss.
“Team AD/vantage provides a fantastic base to support the growth of the sport with a very strong professional team and strong advocates in Andy and Anthony. We’d like to use that base to look at other ways of bringing padel to the UK, through events, facilities or a whole variety of other methods.”
Whilst padel is clearly growing massively at participation level, the UK’s engagement levels with the professional game are low. This may be due to the lack of British players in the biggest tournaments, the inaccessibility of live coverage or lack of connection with the (largely non-English speaking) top players.
That’s where the Hexagon Cup’s partnership with Premier Padel and FIP, announced on Monday, could be game-changing. By harnessing Team AD/vantage’s UK profile through Murray and Joshua and the reach of the Hexagon Cup (which is owned by the Daily Mail’s venture capital business DMGT and is screened live on ITV), there is strong potential for ramping up the British public’s engagement in the professional game as a whole, and the individual personalities within it, through activations and content creation.
But it will take a little time, as Yentob explains: “It’s an evolution, which is happening fast in padel, but it still takes time. You start with participation, then you look at the professional sport and build affiliations with individuals and teams within that.
“If I look at my own journey, I started to play padel every day five or six years ago and over time I became fascinated with the professionals and built affiliations with the players and their stories, followed them and watched their matches live. That’s my journey and it will happen for others, but it’s a process.”
Tom Murray, Head of Padel at the LTA, commented: “Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in Britain, and we’re delighted to be working with the Hexagon Cup to raise awareness and demonstrate the potential padel has. We’ll be working with Team AD/vantage throughout the year on further opportunities, as we aim to inspire players of all ages and abilities to pick up a racket and enjoy the sport.”
