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Women’s padel in Britain: 2026 recruitment figures do not prove the gap is closing
Women account for a reported 30% of Britain’s padel players. What 2026 recruitment results and retention targets establish—and what they do not.
Women account for a reported 30% of Britain’s padel-playing population, according to an LTA figure cited by Sustain Health in August 2026. A March PA News Agency report also put female participation at 30%. That is 20 percentage points below a 50% share—not evidence that the gap has narrowed during 2026. Neither report provides the underlying survey period, sample or playing-frequency definition alongside the percentage. Sources: Sustain Health, PA News Agency.
The new programme figures concern recruitment rather than a revised national participation split. Padelstars reported 230 first-time female players at its July sessions, while Empower Padel and the LTA launched a pilot with separate targets for first participation, repeat attendance and regular monthly play. Those are useful measures, but they do not establish a new national female share—or a worldwide participation gap.
What the 2026 figures actually count
| Figure | Scope and timing | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| 30% female share | Britain; reported in March and August 2026 | A reported national participation split, without enough methodological detail to treat it as a precise current census |
| 532 women and girls, including 230 first-timers | Padelstars’ July 2026 She Rallies sessions across nine UK venues | Reported programme reach and beginner recruitment, not subsequent retention |
| More than 1,250 women and girls introduced | Empower Padel’s first two years, from September 2024 | Cumulative introductions, not a count of current monthly players |
| 1,000 unique participants; 500 repeat participants; 200 regular monthly players | Four-month Empower Padel–LTA pilot announced in September 2026 | Targets, not achieved outcomes |
The Padelstars figures come from its results reported by Sustain Health on 4 August. Empower Padel’s cumulative figures and pilot targets appear in the LTA’s September announcement.
Padelstars: a recruitment result, not a retention result
Dividing 230 first-timers by 532 reported participants gives ~43%. On those reported totals, roughly four in ten participants were new to padel. It does not mean that women’s national participation rose by 43%, or that 43% continued playing.
The sessions were free and coach-led, with equipment supplied and no requirement to arrive with a partner. Padelstars allocated Friday evening court time from 7–9 p.m. Its CEO, Andy Knee, identified overlapping barriers including cost, unfamiliar rules, lack of playing partners and confidence in entering a male-dominated environment. These are the operator’s explanation for the programme design, not independently measured effects of each intervention. Source: Sustain Health.
The reported results do not explain how repeat attendance was deduplicated or how many newcomers returned after July. The defensible finding is that the operator reported reaching 230 first-time female players. Continued play remains a separate question.
Empower Padel: measuring the next step
The four-month Women’s Padel Activator Pilot Programme explicitly separates unique participants, repeat participants and regular monthly players. The LTA says Empower Padel will track participation and retention to identify sustainable approaches. New activations include Basildon, Eastbourne and Lightwater, alongside existing weekly initiatives and university activity. Source: LTA.
That structure is more informative than an introduction count alone. But the 1,000, 500 and 200 figures remain ambitions. If all were achieved within the same tracked cohort, they would imply repeat participation equivalent to 50% of the unique-participant target and monthly play equivalent to 20%. They are not observed conversion rates. Published outcomes will need clear definitions of “repeat” and “regular monthly,” plus the observation period.
Empower Padel’s reported community of more than 3,500 women is also not interchangeable with its more than 1,250 introductions. A community total measures reach; introductions measure entry into play; monthly participation measures an ongoing habit. These groups may overlap and should not be added together. Source: LTA.
What would demonstrate a closing gap?
A credible national comparison needs female and total participant estimates for at least two periods, using the same geography, age coverage and playing-frequency definition. Women’s numbers can increase while their share stays unchanged—or falls—if the rest of the player population grows faster.
For individual programmes, the next useful evidence is deduplicated follow-up: how many first-timers play again, how often, and whether they continue beyond subsidised sessions. Our 30/60/90-day player-retention method explains how to follow those groups without counting every visit as a new player.
The 2026 announcements show recruitment activity and a more explicit plan to measure continued participation. They do not yet demonstrate that Britain’s reported 30% female share has increased.