British teenager Jack Kirkland and brother Finn have launched ATHLFT, a padel-specific strength and conditioning platform, to help combat the sport’s rising injury rates.
ATHLFT’s mission is to keep padel players of all abilities fit, injury-free and performing at their best, as injuries continue to outpace access to the specialist training needed to prevent injury and improve performance.
Published research shows padel injury rates of approximately eight injuries per 1,000 matches, with overuse injuries to the elbow and lower limb most common.
For regular players hitting the courts three times a week, that translates to a potential injury every three to six months.
ATHLFT was co-founded by Jack and brother Finn with the ambition of making the kind of strength and conditioning expertise that elite athletes take for granted available to every padel player, at a price that reflects that goal.
The platform partners with Move4Sport, whose lead coach Gareth Shelbourne brings over 20 years of strength and conditioning experience, having worked with Emma Raducanu from age 11 through to a year after her US Open victory.
All Move4Sport coaches hold master’s degrees in Strength & Conditioning and are UKSCA accredited.
“Every individual committed to a sport deserves the opportunity to play it for as long as possible and perform at the highest level their body allows,” says Kirkland, co-founder of ATHLFT.
“We recognised the barrier that traditional one-on-one S&C coaching, typically £60 or more per hour, places in front of most players. ATHLFT exists to remove it.”
Structured programmes for every level
ATHLFT’s core offering is a suite of year-long programmes spanning three levels (Foundations, Intermediate, and Advanced), with sport-specific warm-ups, cool-downs, and structured training blocks focused on pre-season preparation, strength development, and injury prevention.
Each exercise includes detailed guidance on proper form and a clear explanation of how it benefits padel performance specifically. Annual programmes are priced at £19.99 per month, or £199.99 paid upfront, a fraction of what a single hour with a traditional personal S&C coach would cost.
Looking ahead, ATHLFT will be adding a series of shorter, targeted six-week blocks within weeks of launch. Structured around specific periods of the sporting calendar, such as a Pre-Season Block available at Foundations, Intermediate, and Advanced levels, these programmes will allow players to dial in their training at key moments of the year.
Cameron Dollimore, GB no.4 and ATHLFT’s lead ambassador, said: “I’ve been on the ATHLFT Advanced programme for three months and moved from GB top five to consistently top three during this period. I feel stronger, quicker, and far less stiff. Staying healthy is everything, and ATHLFT has helped me do that.”
ATHLFT launches as a progressive web app (PWA), accessible via desktop and mobile across iOS and Android, with international availability from day one.
For more on padel injury prevention, see our series with The Padel Physio
