Slazenger has been making racket sports equipment for 140 years. The brand predates professional tennis, predates the modern Olympics, and has a legacy that most sports companies would spend decades trying to manufacture. Using it to launch a padel club network is an interesting strategic bet – and Frasers Group, the owner, is clearly making it in size.
Slazenger Padel Clubs currently operates venues in Leeds, Blackburn, and Swindon. Another ten or more are planned across the UK in 2026, targeting a total of around 150 courts. That would make it one of the largest padel networks in the country – and one with a very different brand positioning from the independent clubs and newer operators competing for the same player base.
Liberty Asquith, Marketing Executive at Frasers Group, answered our five questions on behalf of all the Slazenger Padel venues. Here is what she said.
What Slazenger Padel is building
The vision, Liberty told us, is to “bring one of the world’s fastest-growing sports to the UK and create a nationwide padel community under a trusted, heritage and historic brand.”
The pitch is clear: the Slazenger name brings credibility that newer padel brands have to earn. “Designed with members in mind, Slazenger Padel Clubs are more than just a court. They provide athletes of all levels with a place to play, train, relax and socialise, with world-class courts, premium facilities, expert coaching, and welcoming communal spaces.”
In practice, that means large indoor facilities built to a premium standard. Leeds – the flagship venue – has twelve panoramic courts, a members’ bar, and year-round indoor play. Blackburn and Swindon are more recently opened, with the Blackburn venue providing an image gallery at gallery.kelham.productions that shows the scale and finish Slazenger is working at.
The goal, in Liberty’s words, is “to build high-quality, accessible padel environments that cater to all levels – from complete beginners to experienced players – while creating a strong sense of community.” The combination of scale and finish is hard to achieve simultaneously, which is why the expansion pace will be closely watched.
Who plays at Slazenger venues
Slazenger draws a broad demographic. Liberty describes the mix as “young professionals, social players, families and, increasingly, corporate groups.” What keeps them coming back is more consistent: “a high-quality facility and a welcoming atmosphere that give everyone a strong sense of belonging.”
Regular programming plays a central role. “Coaching sessions, social mix-ins, and events also play a big role in building loyalty and engagement,” Liberty says. Social padel formats – Americanos, club nights, ladder leagues – are the engine behind this in almost every well-run UK club, and Slazenger is building these into its core programming.
The corporate group angle is worth noting. Padel has become a popular option for team days and client entertainment precisely because it’s accessible, high-energy, and gives a mixed-ability group something they can all enjoy without feeling out of their depth. A venue with twelve courts and a members’ bar is well-positioned for that market in a way that a six-court facility often isn’t.
The first visit
“A first-time visitor is always welcomed by a friendly team who will help them get set up, whether that’s explaining the rules, providing equipment, or guiding them to their court,” Liberty says.
Most start with a beginner session or social game. “The aim is to make it easy, inclusive, and fun from the moment they arrive, so that they leave feeling confident and eager to return.”
This is the challenge every large padel operator faces: maintaining the warmth of a local club at a scale that could easily feel corporate. Slazenger’s answer, based on what Liberty describes, is to invest in staff culture and programming density – so there is always a session or an event that makes a first-time visit feel like an entry point into something, not a one-off transaction.
If you’re just starting out and looking for where to play, a well-programmed venue with multiple courts gives you options that a smaller club can’t match. You can move from a beginner session to a social mix-in to a coached session without having to go anywhere else.
Why the brand matters
Most UK padel clubs are new. The independent operators who opened in 2020–2023 are building their identities from scratch, and the premium chains entering the market are doing the same. Slazenger is doing something different: borrowing 140 years of racket sports credibility and applying it to a sport that didn’t exist in its current form when the brand was founded.
Whether that heritage travels to a new sport is a fair question. A Slazenger padel racket feels different from a Slazenger tennis racket. But as a venue brand – a name on a building that signals quality and permanence to someone choosing between clubs – the heritage is a real asset. It says this is a serious operation, backed by a large company, which isn’t going to disappear when the novelty wears off.
Frasers Group owns Sports Direct, Flannels, House of Fraser, and a portfolio of sporting brands. That distribution infrastructure, and the footfall that comes with it, gives Slazenger Padel a route to market that pure-play padel operators don’t have.
The expansion plan
The numbers are significant: 10+ new clubs in 2026, targeting roughly 150 courts nationally. That would represent a substantial share of the new padel capacity opening in the UK this year, across a set of venues large enough to run serious programming.
Liberty flags more than courts: “There are also plans to enhance programming, including more structured leagues, coaching pathways, and events.”
Structured leagues in particular would change the calculus for regular players. A player who enters a league has a reason to show up every week, and a reason to stay with a particular club. It’s the difference between a player who uses a padel venue and a member who belongs to a padel club. Getting to that level of engagement is what separates the operators who are building something durable from those managing a booking grid.
Slazenger’s ultimate goal, in Liberty’s words, is to “establish Slazenger Padel as the powerhouse of padel in the UK.” Given the backing, the brand, and the expansion pace, it is one of the more credible bets on who shapes UK padel’s next chapter.
Current venues
Slazenger Padel Leeds 12 panoramic indoor courts · members’ bar · year-round indoor play slazengerpadelclubs.com
Slazenger Padel Blackburn Image gallery: gallery.kelham.productions/slazengerpadelblackburn slazengerpadelclubs.com
Slazenger Padel Swindon slazengerpadelclubs.com
All three venues offer coaching sessions, social programming, and court hire. Ten or more additional locations are planned for 2026 – check the website for opening dates.