Name: Alan Douglas
Role: Regional Manager UK & Ireland
Company: Playtomic
Tell us what Playtomic offers?
Playtomic is the largest and fastest-growing community of racket sport clubs and players in the world. Through our free app we help clubs grow by connecting players with clubs and players with players. Playtomic is the place where players, clubs, professionals, coaches and communities come together to enjoy their favourite racket sport.
What does your role entail?
I am helping to grow padel in the UK by joining investors, entrepreneurs, court builders, potential sites and existing clubs with each other and with our amazing tech.
How long have you worked at Playtomic and what did you do before?
I joined Playtomic in summer 2021 when they acquired my UK-based court booking business.
How many people work there and how quickly is it growing?
We’re an international team and my colleagues, who support me to grow the UK, live all across Europe from up in the Nordics all the way down to the southern Europe. Playtomic currently has just under 200 employees and a growing business in more than 25 countries.
Does your role entail a lot of travel?
Sometimes. Mostly in the UK but every now and again I travel to HQ in Madrid which is a nice treat. An amazing city!
What is the Playtomic ethos?
We regard all of our clubs as real business partners. We don’t just provide tech, we work with our clubs to help them grow and provide their players with the best possible club experience.
What made you get into padel?
I’ve been a squash player for over 35 years and joining Playtomic introduced me to padel for the first time. It’s a great game in so many ways.
How much do you play and what is your current level?
I try to play as much as I can but there are still a lot of gaps in the UK where the nearest padel courts are over an hour away. My level is probably above average for the UK as I can draw on squash a bit, but compared to European players I am a definite beginner.
What is most exciting about the padel scene?
I love the friendly, fun aspect of padel and its accessibility to young and old of all abilities. The demand for padel is huge and when we partner with a new club it doesn’t take long for occupancy rates to get really impressive.
The investment is absolutely there and there are some very ambitious padel chains emerging who will propel this sport even further. 2023 and 2024 are set to be really interesting with some great projects in development. Every club I visit has happy players of all abilities enjoying this amazing sport. That’s a great sign.
What are the ambitions for Playtomic in 2023?
2023 for us is all about our partner clubs and the players who use our app. Giving them the tech they want with new features and more efficient ways of managing their bookings, club operations, tournaments, leagues, coaches and communications. We have a great tech roadmap and a great development team who are obsessed with driving club growth and player experience.
Finally, are there any partners or people in your team that you’d like to give a shout-out to?
We have a great range of partners from court builders like PadelTech and access control partners like Smart Padel, but we don’t have any exclusive ‘deals’. We will work with anyone who shares our vision of growing padel through excellent service and delivery.
