In a new series, we profile the movers and shakers of the UK padel scene. First up is the individual responsible for the UK growth of one of the industry’s leading tech companies.
Name: Adam Knutsson-Sundblad
Role: Sales, Growth Markets
Company: MATCHi
Tell us about what MATCHi offers?
MATCHi offers a complete digital eco-system for racket sport venues around the world. Our platform pretty much handles everything that has to do with online bookings, payments, memberships, CRM, welcome screen solution, league play, tournaments, automatic access and light system, camera streaming, and much more! We want to be a force in the growth of padel and make people #playmore (the MATCHi hashtag).
What does your role entail?
My role is sales/account management within growth markets, and especially the UK. Our growth markets are basically countries outside of Scandinavia and my efforts are to help new venues get going in our digital space/platform and educate/help venues to run a successful business. We have great data and experiences from the Scandinavian region that many times will help venues to grow in new markets.
How long have you worked at MATCHi and what did you do before?
I have worked at MATCHi for two years and three months. Before that I used to work with college recruiting (finding universities/scholarships for student-athletes in the US). I also spent seven years in the US playing college tennis and also working as an assistant coach for two separate universities over there.
How many people work there and how quickly is it growing?
Right now we have approximately 95 employees at MATCHi. Two years ago we were 20-25 staff members so lots of growth and expansion has occurred during this time period. The growth of padel in Scandinavia really had a big effect on this growth and during the last year our aim has also shifted towards new markets and a global expansion.
Does your role involve a lot of travel now that travel is opening up again?
It involves quite a lot of traveling as we visit many clubs both in the UK and other countries. Sometimes it’s for sharing information about our platform and other times it’s events such as the World Padel Tour, tennis tournaments, or other partner meet-ups.
What is the MATCHi ethos?
The MATCHi ethos is to empower people in racket sports through user-friendly tech.
What made you want to get into padel?
I felt a need to get back into the competitive spirit that I had in college tennis, and many of my friends already competed for the Swedish national team in padel. It was a game of catching up and after about 18 months I was able to practice and play close matches with these same players. As everyone knows, it’s also quite an addictive sport from when trying it the first time. Just like everyone else, I felt I was getting a little bit better every time I played and that created a want to #playmore.
How much do you play and what is your current level?
I am currently the most frequent player in the organisation and I also compete on the Swedish Padel Tour, which is our equivalent of the World Padel Tour. It welcomes a mix of the best Swedish players as well as players from Denmark, Norway, Finland, and even Spain. My current national ranking is #20 and I probably step on the court about five or six times a week for an hour and a half.
What do you feel is most exciting about the padel scene?
It’s just awesome to see this new trend entering the global arena of sports, from being a “one or two country” sport to really spreading across the globe and becoming popular anywhere it enters. We still feel like we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in padel and there is so much more to come. And, let’s be honest, watching professional padel matches with all it entails is one of the most fantastic things to see.
Do you believe that padel can catch on in the UK in a big way?
Yes, with the history of racket sports in the United Kingdom, padel has an opportunity to grow exponentially in your area. We’ve already seen some early signs of this, and more and more tennis clubs are starting to realise that adding two or three padel courts to their facilities offers their players a bigger variety of experiences. As in Scandinavia, padel is not here to replace tennis, it’s simply another dimension of the sport which can be fun to mix in every now and then. It’s also a little bit easier to learn (the basics) which is good for individuals from a non-racket sport background who want to find a new physical activity to get into.
What are the ambitions for MATCHi in 2022?
The ambition for MATCHi is to become the obvious platform for the global racket sports community. We work very closely with our customers and we believe that we make life easier for anyone who is running or working at a racket sports facility/venue. During 2022, we have a big focus on international expansion and we are hiring country managers in new markets which will start to form teams outside of the Nordics. It’s a very exciting time for the organization and I am very happy to be part of this adventure.
Finally, are there any MATCHi partners that you’d like to give a shout-out to?
We would like to give a shout-out to our new ambassador Tia Norton, who is the No. #1 UK female player at the moment. She is an up-and-coming superstar and we are happy that she will represent the MATCHi team during her competition. She really is a great role-model for the sport and someone for players all around the UK to follow and look up to.
