Matt Thacker
Slazenger has never exactly been a shrinking violet in racquet sports, and with its latest move into padel, the famous brand looks about as shy as a serve-and-volleyer charging the net behind a second serve. Under the Slazenger Padel banner, the company is rolling out an ambitious plan to flood the UK with premium courts, open the doors to new players, and tighten its grip on one of the country’s fastest-growing sports.
Part of the Frasers Group empire, Slazenger isn’t just dabbling in padel – it’s gearing up for a full-scale assault. The brand has already signed on as official ball sponsor of the Hexagon Cup 2026 in Madrid, one of the sport’s blue-riband global events, while simultaneously building a network of clubs designed to make padel feel less like a niche curiosity and more like the natural next step after tennis or five-a-side.
Blackburn Gets a 30,000 sq.ft Padel Playground
This weekend, Slazenger Padel cut the ribbon on its newest site in Blackburn, and it’s about as subtle as a forehand winner off the frame. The 30,000 sq.ft club on Haslingden Road is a multi-purpose playground built to showcase what the brand wants its nationwide rollout to look like.
Inside you’ll find:
- 9 premium panoramic padel courts
- Expert coaching for all levels
- A Members Bar and relaxed social spaces
- A fully stocked pro shop and equipment hire
- And, for the first time in the Slazenger Padel portfolio, 2 dedicated pickleball courts
It’s part performance centre, part clubhouse, part social hub – and very deliberately so. Slazenger knows padel’s superpower is its social side, and Blackburn has been set up to keep people hanging around long after the last point is played.
Building on Leeds, Swindon – and Serious Momentum
Blackburn doesn’t arrive in isolation. It follows Slazenger Padel Leeds, which opened in October 2024, and Swindon, which came online in December 2025. The early evidence? Demand for high-quality, inclusive padel facilities is less “gently rising” and more “double-break in the first set”.
That surge has emboldened Slazenger to go big in 2026. The brand plans to open a minimum of 10 new clubs this year, adding up to around 150 courts nationwide. If you’ve been putting off trying padel because the nearest court was somewhere between “miles away” and “imagination only”, Slazenger is clearly aiming to remove that excuse.
Each Slazenger Padel Club is pitched as a premium yet welcoming environment: proper playing surfaces, decent lighting, smart changing rooms, and a bar that doesn’t feel like an afterthought. The company is leaning hard into its 140-year heritage in sporting excellence, trying to combine old-school credibility with new-school facilities.
“A Relevant Younger Brother of Tennis”
For all the shiny courts and polished bars, Slazenger is fairly clear about why it’s doing this: padel fits its DNA almost too well.
A Slazenger Padel spokesperson commented: “Padel has experienced an incredible trajectory over the past few years. It’s a highly social sport and a relevant younger brother of tennis, appealing to a wide array of demographics making it a natural fit for our audiences.
Slazenger has long been synonymous with elite racquet sports, and building on its heritage in tennis, padel represents a powerful next chapter for the brand. Through Slazenger Padel, we believe we can grow Slazenger’s brand identity and improve the experience we deliver across the UK.”
In other words, Slazenger sees padel not as a sideshow but as the next headline act. The sport’s shorter learning curve, smaller court, and chaotic, glass-wall ricochets make it accessible to newcomers while still giving competitive types plenty to gnash their teeth over.
Hexagon Cup 2026: From Club Courts to Global Stage
If the Blackburn club is the local embodiment of the project, the Hexagon Cup 2026 in Madrid is its global shop window. By becoming the official ball sponsor for one of padel’s most prestigious international tournaments, Slazenger is planting its flag firmly at the top end of the sport too.
That dual approach – grassroots access at home, elite presence abroad – is very much in keeping with Frasers Group’s wider sporting strategy. Sport remains central to the Group’s long-term plans, and backing Slazenger Padel while tying its name to the Hexagon Cup 2026 underlines a commitment to innovation, participation and properly community-driven sporting experiences.
Shaping the Future of Padel in the UK
With bold growth plans for 2026 and beyond, Slazenger Padel is positioning itself as the outfit that doesn’t just rent you a court, but introduces you to a new sporting habit. The clubs are designed as places to play, train, relax and socialise – the kind of venue where you might arrive for an hour’s doubles and end up staying for the evening.
If the strategy works, don’t be surprised if the word “Slazenger” becomes as closely linked with padel in the UK as it has long been with tennis balls at Wimbledon.
For now, the latest chapter starts in Lancashire.
Visit Slazenger Padel Blackburn: Haslingden Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 2EE
