In this second tranche of our series (part one here), we select five more figures who have played their own roles in steepening the UK padel industry’s upward trajectory.
We’ve chosen influencers in the original and modern senses of the word – all of them bringing our wonderful sport to new demographics and adding more gunpowder to the boom!
Pepita Stonor – UK Country Manager, Femme Open
Arguably the second most influential person named Pep in British sport, the extrovert Aussie has become one of UK padel’s most recognisable and ubiquitous figures.
Pep fronts the trailblazing Femme Open padel movement in the UK. Femme Open began in Sweden in 2018 with the vision to bring women together on the padel court and has since grown into a multi-national phenomenon.
It was during lockdown that Pep first took up padel at Stoke Park in Berkshire. At the time, she was managing Coggi, her own digital health tech start-up, and found padel to be an excellent stress-release. But when Pep entered competitions, she struggled to find a partner or found events cancelled due to lack of female participants.
Taking matters into her own hands in the role of Femme Open’s UK Country Manager, Pep has changed this narrative. In her first year in the driver’s seat, Stoner hosted seven tournaments, organised star-studded training sessions and helped attract high-profile sponsors such as Wilson. Most importantly, hundreds more women started playing padel. Femme Open promises competitive matches, new friendships, empowering events and high-end goodie bags. What more could a woman want?
Toby Bawden – Director of Drop Shot UK, Hexa Padel and Padel Corner and senior LTA padel coach/tutor
A wearer of many hats, Bawden is one of the UK private sector’s true padel pioneers. He got into padel after doing his LTA Level 4 tennis coaching qualifications and was immediately drawn to the burgeoning sport for its growth potential.
Since then, Toby focused more on e-commerce, identifying a huge gap in the UK market for padel rackets, balls and apparel. He is now the Director of Drop Shot UK, specialising in high quality padel, pickleball, beach tennis and hockey equipment, distributing nationwide and globally.
More importantly, his work as an LTA tutor is helping to grow and develop the UK’s padel coaching workforce, ensuring that venues are equipped with trained and knowledgeable coaches who can deepen player engagement and instil a long-term love of the sport.
Jack Chaplin – Founder of Padel Shift; Jack Hazelwood – Head of Padel
‘The Jacks’ as they are affectionately known amongst the Chipping Norton set, have charm in abundance. It was fun-loving Jack Chaplin that created Padel Shift in February 2023, bringing padel to the countryside while industry heavyweights such as Rocket Padel and Game4Padel focused mainly on high-footfall urban areas.
Chaplin teamed up with elite padel player Jack Hazelwood, who came on board as Head of Padel, and since then the Jacks have brought their own unique twist to the Cotswolds, with facilities at the chi-chi Daylesford Organic in Gloucestershire and popular Elkstone Studios one hour south.
Aimee Fuller, Olympic snowboarder and Katya Jones, Strictly Come Dancing star
Swapping snowboard boots and stilettoes for court shoes, Olympian and broadcaster Aimee Fuller and Strictly Come Dancing star Katya Jones are among the UK’s most well-known padel converts. Both high-profile in their own right, Fuller and Jones have been spotted at Femme Open events, the Hurlingham Club, The Padel Club in Wilmslow and on court training at home and abroad.
Their combined social media presence, sense of fun and engaging personalities are helping to bring padel to a whole new audience. They are prime examples that sport can be a source of pure joy, whilst socialising and getting fit with friends – all factors that chime with padel’s main attributes.
One of Katya’s Instagram captions rings true; ‘Dancer vs Olympian. But friendship above all! And padel welcomes everyone as long as you’ve got a cute outfit!’ Fuller brought the fun factor to the Pro Am Padel Tour last November, where she teamed up with her namesake Aimee Gibson and secured an impressive third place finish. These best friends are helping turbo-boost padel’s profile among new demographics.
Alexander Inglot – thought leader and investor
This Oxford graduate’s fascinating career has taken him into the worlds of strategic leadership, investment, eSports, sports integrity, the upper echelons of men’s tennis and now, seemingly, padel.
Inglot is a progressively-minded former ATP Board member and commissioner of the ESL Pro League. He is now fast making a name for himself as a thought-leader in padel agenda topics including player advocacy, innovation, technology and more recently posing articulate and provocative questions about the LTA’s role as governors of the sport.
With an impressive track record in the sport industry, and a strong contacts book, Inglot (brother of former GB Davis Cup tennis player Dominic) is an investor in padel projects in and outside of the UK. He’s on course to become a dominant voice on the British and international padel scene.
We’ll bring you our next five selections in our top 25 UK padel influencers next week (w/c 16 June)
