John Lewis customers can now get their hands on one of sports hottest pieces of equipment - the padel tennis racket - after it was named as one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
The rackets by Bullpadel, the global market leading padel tennis brand, will be sold online at John Lewis, which has become the first major UK retail website to sell padel tennis rackets. There are 18 Bullpadel rackets available to buy on johnlewis.com ranging from £79.99 to £264.99 in price.
There are currently over 90,000 people in the UK who play padel – a rise of nearly 1,400% since 2020. The number of players in the country is predicted to reach 600,000 by the end of 2026.
The sport is popular with many celebrities including football stars Lionel Messi, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, to French President Emmanuel Macron, and actors such as Antonio Banderas and Hugh Grant. There are around 450 padel courts in the UK, which is expected to grow to 1,000 within the next two years and continue to scale rapidly beyond.
MRH Sport, the official distributor in the UK & Ireland of Bullpadel, launched in May 2023 and was founded by Maximillian Holloway and R3-Sport, which invests in the sports and entertainment sector. MRH Sport Ltd Director Max Holloway said: “We are delighted to have secured this agreement with John Lewis, which is a huge endorsement for padel as it continues to take the UK by storm.
“Being stocked at a highly credible and established retailer such as John Lewis just shows you where padel is right now, and will only help to elevate the sport and Bullpadel. In the UK, many of its top ranked players use Bullpadel rackets (we have pictures of R3 sponsored players).”
Emilia Hougasian, Sports Buyer, John Lewis said: “Padel is taking the UK by storm, and it's certainly not showing any signs of slowing down. The fact that it's always played in doubles means it's a very sociable sport - so it's no wonder it's such a hit.
"We predict it could soon rival sports like squash or badminton. Bullpadel offers a wide range of rackets - from those for beginners to some of the best players in the world.”
