As the UK padel scene continues to boom, we thought it was time to take stock of the key figures who have taken us to this point in the sport’s ever-upward development arc.
The start of padel’s journey in Britain stretches back much further than just the explosion of the last couple of years. It’s time to salute those who started the engine – as well as those who have jumped aboard more recently and pressed the accelerator even harder.
We’ll be revealing five top influencers per week over the next five weeks – in no particular order! To ensure impartiality, we’ve asked our new writer Emily Thomas, former tennis coach turned passionate padelista, to make the selections.
SANDY FARQUHARSON
Originally a tennis player and coach on the professional circuit, Sandy got into padel quite by chance during a 10-year stint in Dubai thanks to a random phone call (long story!).
In 2012, he took the role of Rackets Manager at NAS Sports Complex and became personal coach to royalty – Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Following this, he began to organise international tournaments for the World Padel Tour and FIP, as well as coaching national teams in both the UAE and Great Britain. Farquharson also represented Great Britain at both the World and European Championships.
However, it is Farquharson’s latest creation, The Padel School, for which he is best known. Alongside his brother Tom, he is building the largest online padel community in the English-speaking world and providing padel expertise to players, coaches and clubs alike. With 260,000 social followers to its name (and counting), The Padel School has emerged as one of the sport’s most reputable and influential global brands.
BEN NICHOLS
With an eclectic career in sports communications behind him at the World Anti-Doping Agency, Formula 1, the Commonwealth Games and ATP Tennis Championships, Ben Nichols’ next move at the end of 2022 was to found the world’s first padel-dedicated communications and marketing agency, Padel 22.
In just two years, Padel 22 has rapidly become the go-to source of expertise to promote your padel business or brand. In 40-year-old Nichols, they have one of the leading voices on the sport in Britain, America and across what he terms ‘the New Padel World’.
Charismatic, affable and with an energy and dynamism that offer the ideal combination for the promotion of a new sport, Nichols has become well respected on both sides of the pond.
TIA NORTON
It was love at first hit for Tia when she first picked up a padel racket aged just 12 and took a big gamble by abandoning tennis for what was then a nascent and niche pursuit in the UK – with a non-existent junior scene.
Aged 18, Tia made history by becoming the first professional female British player on the World Padel Tour. In August 2022 she won her maiden International Padel Federation (FIP) title at Britain’s first ever international event alongside partner Carla Fito, before, in 2023, playing on the winning Las Vegas Smash team at the inaugural Pro Padel League.
Such achievements have not gone unnoticed, and after signing up with Activate Sports Management and the aforementioned Padel 22, Tia has featured in the likes of Sheer Luxe’s ‘Up & Coming Young Women In Sport To Know About’ and signed sponsorship deals with the likes of Matchi Sports, Padel Shack and Elemental Herbology. She is GB’s highest-ranked professional player, male or female, and a figurehead for women in sport. She was recently part of a Femme Open panel, inspiring the new generation of female padel players.
TOM MURRAY
Ex-tennis and corporate professional Tom was an early adopter of the game after stumbling across padel in Spain back in 2011. He was later integral in padel moving under the jurisdiction of the Lawn Tennis Association in 2019, after which he became Head of Padel for the new governing body.
Since then, he has been responsible for managing and implementing all aspects of padel’s development in the UK from grassroots to professional level. While the landscape has rapidly shifted in the last couple of years and the private sector now plays a major role in driving the sport’s development, the LTA’s role in growing infrastructure remains crucial.
This year will bring big litmus tests of progress with European and World Championships coming up and there is the issue of the LTA’s bid to take over governance of pickleball too, with a decision from Sport England expected later this month.
MAX EVANS
Charismatic, fun-loving and charming, Scotland rugby union star Max Evans relocated to the Algarve after a stellar 15-year rugby career, and fell for padel – big time. Brother of Nicole Scherzinger’s beau, Thom Evans, Max is best known in the padel world for developing the distinct padel racket brand Cork, which (yes, you guessed it) is made of Portuguese cork.
Cork Padel has a unique approach of personalising the rackets and taking them to the rich and famous worldwide. Max even delivered one to Prince Albert of Monaco and created a King Charles Coronation racket. He also founded PadelXO to provide high quality courts and premium covers for the padel market. His winning combo of big-name razzmatazz and an exclusive product range attract a lot of attention to our sport.
Stay tuned for the next five personalities in our top 25 influencers next week…
