adidas hosts padel events at Westfield in London

adidas padel took centre stage at an event in London’s Westfield Shopping Centre last week, aimed at raising the profile of padel in the UK.

The three-day event, organised by Game4Padel, was held at one of the capital’s busiest and most iconic shopping centres, allowing for visitors both young and old, to see for themselves what the sport is about, ask questions to players and experts, and even try taking their first ever shots on a padel court.

On Sunday, adidas hosted a number of events, with adidas player and ambassador Pablo Franco leading the activities. The day started with an exhibition match on the court featuring Pablo alongside fellow players Marina Marti, Rafa Vega, and Max Lutostanki. Curious passers by stopped to watch the action as the four players showed off their impressive collection of shots.

Youngsters get the chance to play for first time

Next up, it was the chance for the players of tomorrow to get to know what padel is. Youngsters accompanying their parents at Westfield were invited onto the court to ask questions, hold a padel racket for the first time, and take their first shots. This activity attracted many of the shoppers, with large queues of visitors wanting to take part.

Following on from that, Pablo, along with six other players from the UK and Denmark gave a masterclass, allowing participants to ask questions about padel, find out the rules of the sport, and even get some tips from the experts - such as how to play the perfect spin shot or make use of the walls.

The ‘What is Padel?’ theme continued into the afternoon when Pablo hosted four students from the local area in a “Welcome to Padel” session, an event which could inspire them to tell their friends to also pick up a racket and try playing padel in the future too.

Thousands visit Westfield over weekend

As well as organising the on-court events on Sunday, adidas padel also had a stand at Westfield over the course of the three days. Shoppers were able to ask for information about, and even try products such as padel rackets.

With more than 250,000 visitors to Westfield over the weekend, the event was a huge success and may have inspired a new generation of players to play padel, which is already one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.