Each May, The Hurlingham Club in Fulham becomes the most unusual venue on the UK padel calendar. World-class professional padel players compete alongside rugby internationals, cricket legends, and television personalities on glass-walled courts overlooking one of London’s great private gardens. A celebrity charity pro-am that began in 2024, the Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic has become the one event where padel breaks into mainstream British sport and entertainment coverage – and the 2026 third edition, confirmed for 13–14 May, looks like its most ambitious yet.
Quick facts: Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic 2026
| Dates | 13–14 May 2026 |
| Venue | The Hurlingham Club, Fulham, London |
| Format | Pro-Celebrity Challenge · Team Championship · Team Plate |
| Charity | Laureus Sport for Good |
| Key padel professionals | Aimee Gibson, Rafa Vega, Miguel Lamperti, Louie Harris, Frankie Langan, John Leach |
| Automotive partner (2026) | Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin London |
What is the Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic?
A two-day celebrity padel tournament held at The Hurlingham Club each May, pairing professional padel players with sporting celebrities to raise money for Laureus Sport for Good. The event is invitation-only – no public entry, and tickets for spectators are limited – but it’s become a fixture on the UK sporting social calendar that has real consequences for padel’s profile in this country.
Three competitions run across the two days: the Pro-Celebrity Challenge, where professional padel players partner with celebrities; the Team Championship; and the Team Plate, which gives the whole field something meaningful to play for regardless of skill level. Fine dining runs alongside the padel – Chef Ben Tish of Cubitt House curates what organisers call “The Endless Lunch,” which tells you something about the tone they’re aiming for.
The Hurlingham Club is a deliberate choice. It’s one of London’s most exclusive private members’ clubs, with a reputation built on lawn tennis and croquet. Staging a padel tournament there sends a signal: this isn’t a pop-up court in a car park. This is padel in a context that the British establishment recognises.
The 2026 edition – what’s confirmed
The third edition is scheduled for 13–14 May 2026 at The Hurlingham Club. Several new partnerships have been announced: Mercedes-Benz joins as Automotive Partner, alongside Aston Martin London. Alfred Dunhill continues as title sponsor. The charity partner remains Laureus Sport for Good.
Sir Andrew Strauss, who chairs the event, described it as “now firmly on the map as a highlight of the sporting calendar.” That’s exactly the kind of language that matters for padel in the UK – an event run by one of England’s most decorated cricket captains, positioned as a calendar highlight, with luxury automotive brands attached, at one of London’s most prestigious clubs.
Full participant lists for 2026 had not been confirmed at the time of writing. Check the official site for updates as May approaches. For broader context on the UK padel calendar this year, see our UK padel season guide.
The format: how the tournament works
Two days, three competitions. The Pro-Celebrity Challenge is the headline act: professional padel players partner with celebrity participants – mostly sporting figures, some from entertainment – for a team-format competition.
The Team Championship and Team Plate run alongside it, giving the full field a structure to compete within and ensuring the event has sporting substance rather than just spectacle. The Plate exists so that pairs who lose early have a competitive route to stay involved – it’s a common format choice for pro-am events, and it works.
The padel itself is proper padel. The professionals play at pace; the celebrities generally don’t. That gap is part of the entertainment, but the pros also provide a standard of play most spectators won’t see elsewhere in the UK outside dedicated padel venues.
The professionals: not just the celebrities
Every write-up of this event leads with celebrity names. The padel professionals – the people who make the event playable as a sport – tend to get a single-line mention.
Aimee Gibson, GB’s No. 1 female player, has been part of the event. Rafa Vega – who won the 2025 Pro-Celebrity Challenge alongside rugby world cup winner Jonny Wilkinson – is one of the strongest padel professionals the event has drawn. Miguel Lamperti, an Argentine-born player who reached the upper tier of world padel rankings, brings serious pedigree. Louie Harris, Frankie Langan, and John Leach round out the domestic and British-circuit contingent.
These are names that regular UK padel players should know. The event is a rare occasion where they appear in mainstream coverage. If you follow Aimee Gibson’s progress through national and international competition, you can read more at our Premier Padel London 2026 guide.
A brief history: 2024, 2025, and what’s changed
| Year | Dates | Notable participants | Unique feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | May | Judy Murray, Bryan Habana, Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sean Fitzpatrick | Inaugural edition – first event of its kind in the UK |
| 2025 | May | Jonny Wilkinson, Peter Crouch, Rafa Vega (winner, Pro-Celebrity Challenge) | UK’s first floating padel court installed at The Hurlingham Club |
| 2026 | 13–14 May | TBC | Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin London as automotive partners |
The 2024 inaugural drew an impressive first-year field. Judy Murray said: “It was brilliant to play in an event which was the first of its kind in the UK.” Bryan Habana, the South African rugby icon, described the atmosphere as generating “fun, smiles, passion and positivity” that would create “tangible impact.” For a first-edition event in a sport still finding its mainstream UK footing, that was a strong start.
The 2025 edition added something unusual: a floating padel court. Installed at The Hurlingham Club, it was described as the first floating padel court in the UK. Whether or not that claim survives fact-checking, the intent was clear – the organisers wanted a visual that would travel on social media and in news coverage. Peter Crouch’s verdict: “I loved it! Such a great event and an amazing place.”
The Laureus connection – what the charity does
Laureus Sport for Good is not a small charity. It runs over 300 sport-based social development programmes in more than 40 countries, using sport as a tool to address inequality, marginalisation, and exclusion. The connection to sport is structural – Laureus was founded by a group of sporting legends and is governed through its World Sports Academy.
Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis-Hill, and Sean Fitzpatrick were participants in the 2024 event – all of them Laureus alumni in some capacity, all bringing direct credibility to what the charity does. When an event raises money through padel at a Fulham private members’ club and directs the proceeds to youth sport programmes across 40 countries, the contrast is intentional. That’s how charity sports events work at this end of the market.
For UK padel specifically, the Laureus connection provides legitimacy. This isn’t a brand activation with a charity sticker on it. Laureus has a track record, and the individuals who have attended the event have track records in elite sport.
What the event says about padel’s moment
Events like this don’t happen in sports that are still fringe. The Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic exists because enough people in British sport – club members at The Hurlingham, athletes from rugby and cricket and athletics, luxury brands looking for a culturally resonant placement – now associate padel with something worth being part of.
The UK padel season has grown significantly in the past two years. The UK PADEL Masters Series provides a domestic competition structure. Premier Padel has staged events on British soil. But most of that growth is invisible to anyone outside padel circles.
The Dunhill Classic is one of the few occasions padel appears in mainstream British sport and entertainment coverage without any explanation required. Celebrity attendees don’t need to be told what padel is. Luxury brands don’t need to be persuaded that padel’s audience is worth reaching. That’s a different kind of milestone to a venue opening or a tour event – and it matters for the sport’s trajectory in the UK.
If you’re new to padel and curious about where the sport is heading, your first month of padel is a good starting point before working backwards into the events calendar.
FAQ
Is the Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic open to the public? The event is invitation-only for participants. Spectator tickets are limited and not available for general sale – the event is hosted at a private members’ club and capacity is deliberately restricted.
What format is the Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic? Two days of padel across three competitions: the Pro-Celebrity Challenge (professionals partnering with celebrities), the Team Championship, and the Team Plate.
Who are the professional padel players at the event? Past editions have included Aimee Gibson (GB No. 1), Rafa Vega, Miguel Lamperti, Louie Harris, Frankie Langan, and John Leach. The 2026 professional line-up was not confirmed at the time of writing.
Which charity does the event support? Laureus Sport for Good, which runs 300+ sport-based social development programmes in 40+ countries.
When is the 2026 edition? 13–14 May 2026 at The Hurlingham Club, Fulham, London.