Lorraine Kelly
Padel’s march into the British mainstream has just picked up a particularly smart-looking ally, as Crew Clothing signs on as Official and Exclusive Performance Apparel Partner to iPadel, the UK’s leading padel league operator. If you’ve spotted more people whacking balls off glass walls than ordering flat whites lately, this is the moment Crew Clothing has decided to step firmly onto court.
The premium British lifestyle brand will kit out iPadel staff across both Winter and Summer Leagues, dressing the people running the rapidly expanding sport in performance-led gear built for quick feet, faster reactions and the odd full-stretch volley.
Players won’t miss out either: iPadel competitors will receive exclusive discounts on Crew Clothing pieces, so they can train, compete and flop into a post-match coffee in the same modern, sport-ready kit.
Padel: from niche curiosity to national habit
For a country that already has opinions on everything from Test cricket to tiddlywinks, the UK has taken to padel with surprising enthusiasm. The numbers are no longer a gentle rally; they’re a full-on smash.
Padel is now one of the fastest-growing sports in Britain, thriving inside established tennis clubs and spreading through a new wave of dedicated indoor and canopied padel centres across the country. There are already over 400,000 active players in the UK as of 2024, and a further 8.2 million Brits say they’re interested in giving it a go. That’s not a trend; that’s a movement.
It’s exactly this surge that iPadel has been riding. Founded with a mission to grow and develop padel nationwide, the operator has built a reputation for high-quality, accessible leagues that work just as well for complete beginners as they do for the racket-sport tragics who can’t walk past a court without asking, “Anyone need a fourth?”
Why Crew Clothing is stepping onto the glass
Crew Clothing might be better known for crisp polos and harbour-side knitwear, but this partnership is about more than looking tidy on the touchline. It’s a statement that the brand’s evolution into performance-led apparel is no casual knock-about.
Enter Crew Sport, launched in 2025 as Crew Clothing’s first holistic performance collection. This isn’t just “gym kit but in navy”. The range is built around technical fabrics, ergonomic design, seamless construction and breathable, sweat-wicking materials – the sort of details you only notice when you realise you’re not noticing your clothes at all.
From high-intensity padel matches to warm-ups and recovery sessions, Crew Sport is designed to keep players comfortable, mobile and vaguely presentable, even after a third-set tiebreak. For the growing padel community, it means a wardrobe that works on court, in the clubhouse and on the school run.
A brand with salt spray and sport in its DNA
The partnership makes even more sense once you scroll back through the Crew Clothing story. Born in the back of a windsurfing shop in Salcombe in 1993, the brand has always mixed salt air with sport, long before “athleisure” became something people wore to brunch.
Over the years, Crew Clothing has quietly assembled a serious sporting CV. The brand has backed the England Red Roses, Henley Royal Regatta, the Lawn Tennis Association and Exeter Chiefs, stitching itself into some of Britain’s most cherished sporting institutions.
Now, with iPadel, it’s turning that heritage towards one of the country’s newest sporting obsessions.
Jon Baker, Sponsorship Projects Manager at Crew Clothing, can see the fit from both sides of the net.
“Padel is one of the most exciting growth sports in the UK right now, and iPadel is playing a key role in shaping its future. Becoming an Official Performance Apparel Partner is a natural fit for Crew, allowing us to support players and staff with Crew Sport – technical, performance-led clothing that reflects our British sporting heritage and our ongoing commitment to supporting sport at every level.”
For Crew Clothing, this isn’t just another logo on another backdrop. It’s a chance to put its performance credentials to the test in a sport where movement is constant, rallies are relentless and style is, frankly, half the fun.
iPadel’s booming leagues get a sartorial upgrade
On the other side of the partnership, iPadel gains more than just coordinated staff outfits. As its leagues expand across the country, having an apparel partner that understands both performance and polish is no small advantage.
From club organisers to court-side officials, iPadel staff will be dressed in Crew Sport pieces chosen for padel’s stop-start explosiveness – sprint, slide, pivot, repeat. The players, meanwhile, gain easier access to the full Crew Clothing range, with discounts that make upgrading their wardrobe a little less painful than shanking an overhead into the back fence.
Ian Colligon, Founder and Director at iPadel, is in no doubt about the significance of the link-up: “We’re so proud to partner with Crew Clothing as our Official Performance Apparel Partner. They are a brand with real heritage in British sport and with a clear momentum behind them, and we’re delighted to have them on board.
As padel continues to expand rapidly across the UK, it’s exciting to work with a brand that combines performance, quality and style, and that shares our ambition for the future of the sport.”
In other words: Padel has grown up enough to demand a proper wardrobe, and Crew Clothing is more than happy to hang it neatly courtside.
Lifestyle meets league play
What makes this partnership feel particularly of-the-moment is how neatly it slots into the way people now use sport. Padel isn’t just exercise; it’s social, it’s networking, it’s “let’s catch up but also burn off that third croissant”.
Crew Clothing sits right in that sweet spot. This is gear you can wear to play, to commute, to brunch and to the pub without looking like you’ve mistakenly wandered out of a spin class.
By pairing Crew Sport with iPadel’s national reach, the brand is effectively dressing a new kind of British athlete: the everyday player who wants performance fabrics but refuses to abandon style at the turnstile.
A padel future stitched in navy and white
Crew Clothing has already proved its commitment to British sport with its backing of rugby, rowing and tennis. The iPadel partnership is the next logical step: an investment in the country’s newest racket craze and a clear signal that the brand’s performance-led lifestyle push is no passing fad.
As leagues fill up, courts get busier and the waiting list for evening slots grows longer, padel looks set to stay. And if British sport is going to embrace a new obsession, it might as well do it in something that looks as good as it plays.
For now, one thing is certain: the next time you walk past a padel court and wonder when the sport got so popular, don’t be surprised if the people whirling around inside it are wearing Crew Clothing from head to toe.
