Padel has gone from niche to everywhere in a few years, helped along by famous fans like Andy Murray and Lily James and a steady stream of videos on TikTok and Instagram. That’s also where a lot of your next players are looking for something fun to do with their friends, so the question for any padel club is whether they’re finding you.
The growth is huge. The LTA reports that 1.5 million people now play padel in Britain, up from 15,000 in 2019, across 2,445 courts at 682 venues. That’s a lot of new players, and a lot more clubs competing for their bookings.
Most people pick a club because it’s close by, it looks like a fun place to play at any level, and someone they trust has played there. Creators help with the last two. Padel is still new to plenty of people, and the biggest barrier to a first booking is not knowing the rules, worrying about being rubbish or not having three friends to play with. When a local creator films their first game at your club, from the warm-up to the first point won off the glass and drinks afterwards, their followers can see how quickly it clicks. Because those followers live nearby, it’s easy for them to grab a few friends and book the next free court.
For most clubs, the hard part is filling courts outside peak evenings and weekends, and standing out as more clubs open nearby. Finding creators and messaging them one by one takes hours your team doesn’t have, and it’s hard to know who’ll actually turn up.
Why Creator Content Works for Padel Clubs
- Padel is made for video. Fast rallies, shots off the glass, big celebrations and the odd hilarious miss are fun to watch even if you’ve never played.
- It’s a social sport. Every booking is four people. A creator who plays with friends shows the whole group experience, and their followers start planning their own game.
- It shows anyone can play. Seeing a beginner pick it up in one session takes the pressure off and makes padel feel like something for everyone, not just tennis players.
- The best videos can keep working. A post reaches the creator’s followers first, and if one does really well, you can ask the creator whether you can run it as a partnership ad or Spark Ad for 12 weeks.
How Can Padel Clubs Work with Influencers and Creators?
There are four common ways:
- Gifted court time: Give a creator a free court for them and their friends, so they can play a real game and, if they enjoy it, share it honestly with their followers.
- Paid partnerships: Pay a sports or lifestyle influencer with a bigger following for agreed content, like a challenge or a series following them as they learn the game.
- Creator socials and tournaments: Host a creator mix-in, social night or mini tournament, so lots of creators visit at once.
- Videos made for ads: With Ad Studio, vetted creators film at your club to your brief, ready to run as Instagram and TikTok ads. You approve every video, and you own the ones you approve.
Most clubs start with gifted court time and add the others as they grow. Our guide to gifted visits, paid collaborations and videos for ads explains how they fit together.
How to Promote a New Padel Club Opening
A new club is the best moment to bring creators in. With so many clubs launching, getting content out early helps you build a player base before the competition does.
- Build buzz before you open: invite creators to a preview session or launch night just before bookings open
- Show every part of the club: the courts, coaching, the bar or café and the social side, so people see it’s a place to hang out, not just play
- Fill the quieter slots: book creators into off-peak times after launch to show those courts off and keep momentum going
What to Offer Creators
A clear, generous offer makes it much easier to find creators who are excited to come. These work well for padel clubs:
- A free court for them and three friends, plus racket hire and drinks after
- A beginner coaching session, so they can film themselves learning the game
- A spot at a launch, social night or tournament, which gives them something different to film
How Joli Works for Padel Clubs
Joli is a creator platform built for hospitality and leisure brands. Rather than messaging creators yourself, you set up a campaign and local creators apply to visit.
- Set up your campaign: add what you’re offering, like a court for four or a beginner session, the times creators can book and what you’d love them to capture.
- Creators apply: local creators who like the look of it apply, so there’s no cold messaging.
- Choose who comes: check each creator’s content, engagement rate and where their followers live, then approve the ones that suit your club.
- They play: creators book a court and come in with their friends, and if they enjoy it, they share it with their followers.
- See the results: their posts land in your content library, with views and engagement for every visit.
Every creator on Joli is based in the UK and reviewed by our team before they can apply to anything, so you’re choosing from people whose content we’ve already checked. If you run more than one club, one campaign can cover all of them, with each site’s own availability.
What Creator Content for Padel Clubs Looks Like
A tour of the whole club, from the courts to the bistro and the shop. The saves show people were bookmarking it for their own game.
A dad and daughter’s day out at the club’s opening, taking in the courts, the warm-up area and the lounge. It shows padel as something families and friends can do together, not just a sport for regulars.
The Results It Can Drive
Rocket Padel started using Joli in April 2024 to get creators on court at Ilford, then did the same as it opened clubs in Bristol, Battersea Power Station and Beckton. Across its clubs, creators have shared:
- 120 pieces of content
- 448k views
- 403k people reached
- 2,550 saves
Figures are from Joli platform data, April 2024 to November 2026.
Marketing is always hard to quantify, but we’ve had calls coming in for bookings telling us they found us on TikTok which is all you can ask for!
Oskar, Club Manager at Rocket Padel
If you’d like more players finding your courts, book a demo and we’ll show you how it would work for your club.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I market a padel club?
Show people what playing at your club is really like. Make it easy to book a court online, offer beginner sessions or coaching for newcomers, and run socials that give people a reason to come back. Content from local creators and real players is one of the best ways to get all of that in front of people nearby.
How do I get more bookings at my padel club?
Focus on the slots that are hardest to fill. Make off-peak courts easy to book, run beginner sessions and mix-ins for people without a full four, and give creators a discount code or booking link to share. Ask new players how they found you, so you can see which creators are bringing in bookings.
How do I promote a new padel club opening?
Start before you open. Invite local creators to a preview session or launch night just before bookings open, then keep inviting creators over your first few weeks so the buzz doesn't fade.
How do I promote padel on social media and work with influencers?
Short, real videos of people playing work best: rallies, shots off the glass, beginners trying it for the first time and the social side after. Work with local creators who already share sport or lifestyle content, give them a simple brief and reshare what they post. With Joli, you set up a campaign and vetted local creators apply to visit.
Why does UGC work to promote padel clubs?
Because padel is still new to lots of people, they want to see it before they try it. User-generated content shows real people, not models, playing and having fun at your club. It feels like a recommendation from a friend, answers the "is this for me?" question and gives people the confidence to book their first game.
What if other players don't want to be in the content?
Padel courts are self-contained, which makes this easy. Book creators onto a court away from busy areas, or at a quieter time, so other players stay out of shot. For bigger shoots, host a creator social or tournament where everyone on court is happy to be filmed.
