Britain’s governing body is throwing its weight behind The Padel Directory’s new festival series, kicking off 19 September at Rocket Padel Bristol.

If you’ve been playing padel in the UK for more than five minutes, you’ll know the sport has a bit of an identity problem right now. It’s growing faster than the infrastructure around it, and most “events” are either private club tournaments or brand pop-ups that don’t quite capture what makes the community special.

PadelFest is trying to fix that. And now it’s got the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) in its corner.

The Padel Directory (TPD) has announced that the Lawn Tennis Association, the national governing body for tennis and padel in Great Britain, is officially supporting PadelFest, described as the UK’s dedicated padel festival. The first event lands on 19 September 2026 at Rocket Padel Bristol, with more roadshow dates expected to follow.

What’s Actually Happening on the Day

This isn’t a tournament with a few spectators milling about, it’s shaping up to be a full day out for the padel community:

• 14 courts in action across Rocket Padel Bristol
• 1,000+ players expected through the doors
• Open court sessions and coaching clinics running throughout the day
• Brand activations and exhibitor stands from Adidas, Bullpadel, Pallap, Head, Tecnifibre, Dunlop, Oxdog, Raquex, Hirostar, Stiga and Bas3line, with more still to be confirmed
• The day builds to an LTA-graded mixed doubles tournament in the evening, featuring 96 players

Good to see Raquex, Proper Padel’s partner, on that exhibitor list. If you’ve followed our content, you’ll know they’ve been part of our journey since day one, so it’s genuinely nice to see them at an event with this kind of backing.

Why LTA Support Actually Matters Here

It’s easy to be cynical about governing bodies attaching their name to grassroots events, but this feels like more than a logo on a poster. LTA Padel Manager Steve Yeardley framed it as being about access and safety as much as competition:

“PadelFest is an exciting new concept that showcases everything people love about padel: the opportunity to play, learn, connect and have fun on court. Taking place at LTA-registered venues, PadelFest provides players with a safe and welcoming environment to enjoy the sport.”

For a sport that’s still figuring out its structure in the UK, having an LTA-graded tournament sit inside a festival built for players of every level, not just competitive ones, is a smart bit of positioning. It gives complete beginners and grizzled club regulars a reason to be in the same building on the same day.

TPD co-founder George Modler put it simply:

“Having the LTA’s support behind PadelFest is a huge moment for us and for the wider padel community. It’s recognition of what we set out to build: an event that’s genuinely welcoming for players of every level.”

The Bigger Picture

This slots neatly into where UK padel is heading in 2026: less about one-off tournaments, more about building recurring, community-first touchpoints that double as a shop window for the sport. If Bristol goes well, expect this “roadshow” language to mean exactly what it sounds like, more cities, more courts, more of this. Clubs can operate day-to-day, in terms of hosting their own socials and tournaments, but this sort of event implicates more than just players playing padel at their favourite club.

Tickets for PadelFest Bristol are on general sale now via The Padel Directory, with full details on court sessions, clinics and the evening tournament bracket to follow. With general admission prices as low as £9.99, what are you waiting for, padel fans?

We’ll be keeping an eye on this one, expect more coverage as details drop.

Proper Padel. From Court to Cover.