Padel 22, the communications and industry consultancy for padel founded by Ben Nichols, has been nominated at the 25th Sport Industry Awards in London.
In what is milestone recognition for the British padel industry, Padel 22 is a finalist in the ‘Best Newcomer’ category at this week’s glittering event.
It is the first ever time in 25 years that padel has featured at the awards, in which past winners include British Airways, Team Sky, John Amaechi and adidas.
The nomination is another sign of padel’s transformation from niche curiosity into sporting mainstream.
Padel 22 is the UK and world’s first communications and industry consultancy for padel and emerging racket sports, having represented some of sport’s most influential brands including Playtomic, Hexagon Cup, PPL and Vitality.
Padel 22 founder Ben said: “The Sport Industry Awards has been the heartbeat of UK sport’s commercial world for 25 years. For padel to appear on the shortlist for the first time – at its silver anniversary – feels like a real marker of where the sport has arrived. Not just in participation numbers, but in the conversation that really matters: media, brands, investment.
“We’ve spent three and a half years building a category that didn’t exist, often before there was a clear framework for how padel fits into the wider UK conversation.
“This nomination is less about us and more about what it signals for the sport, and it shows that the consistent work of getting the sport into mainstream media, brand and investor conversations is paying off.
“Padel is being taken seriously at an industry level now. That’s the story, and we’re hugely proud to achieve this for padel in the UK, and overseas.”
Other finalists in the Best Newcomer category include: Baller League, Pangaea 13, See you at Jeanies, She’s a Baller and Voxer.
