How The Padel Directory Became the Hub for UK's Fastest-Growing Sport

Starting Small

Ben and George didn't try to build everything at once. They started with a simple question: Does this help connect or grow padel in the UK? Yes meant build it. No meant move on.

Early in the process, they partnered with Arobase Creative, a Webflow agency run by a friend, to handle branding and development. Andrew, the agency's founder, recommended Outseta for membership and payments—a tool he could implement himself without needing specialized backend expertise.

"He kind of guided us to Outseta and worked with us and educated us on it," Ben says. The initial setup was straightforward: a landing page with an email capture form to build a waitlist while they developed the full site. "We used it from the outset—excuse the pun—but we did use it from day one with the holding page, using it to create a database (of players)."

For the first few months, there wasn’t a paid membership. The focus was on gathering emails, building relationships, and understanding what the community needed. When they did launch paid memberships, they started with a simple monthly membership that provided access to gated content, like a player finder tool and directory. The first paying members soon followed.

Unexpected Demand

The Padel Directory launched expecting to serve players. What they didn't anticipate was how quickly businesses would come knocking.

"What surprised us a little bit in the early days was the demand from a B2B point of view," Ben admits. "Not only was it tough for players to find out more about the sport—it was tough for businesses within padel to connect and grow."

Clubs wanted to be listed. Coaches wanted visibility. Retailers, court builders, and event organizers all saw the directory as a way to reach a growing audience. What started as a player-focused resource quickly became an ecosystem.

This shift required flexibility. Different customer types meant different needs and different pricing models. Clubs needed annual listings with multiple team members. Coaches wanted individual profiles. Players wanted access to forums and retail discounts.

Because Outseta makes it easy to create new subscription plans and segment members, the team could respond quickly to demand. Ben and George set up new membership plans and email segments for businesses, coaches, and clubs.

"Being able to do targeted newsletters to those different groups has been a massive help," Ben explains.

Their website reflects this evolution to a multi-player ecosystem. Today, the homepage features separate sign-up and payment experiences for both player and business customer types.

From Emails to Events

In January 2025, something shifted. After a quiet holiday period, their inbox was flooded with notifications.

"We just remember the first week of January, our inbox popping," Ben recalls. "People caught on to what we were trying to achieve and wanted to be part of it."

The demand gave them confidence to think bigger. They'd spent months building a database of players, coaches, and venues across the UK. What if they brought that community together in person?

The result was the UK Padel Convention, an 800-person event that brought industry professionals together under one roof. Using their existing member segments and list, the team sent broadcast emails announcing ticket sales and communicating key details in the lead-up to the event.

When asked if the event was a success, Ben responds: "Already planning year two.”

What’s Next

With 80% of UK courts now on the platform and an 800-person convention under their belt, The Padel Directory has cemented itself as the go-to resource for the sport in the UK.

For Ben, the mission hasn't changed since that first open match in Bristol. Padel was his outlet—a way to switch off, stay active, and clear his head. Now, he works in padel full-time, talks about it all day, and still plays whenever he can.

"There are days when I think I'd rather not talk about padel again," he admits. "But within a few hours I just want to go and play or watch a game. I think it shows how much I love this sport. I have a passion to get more people playing this game because it solved a lot of issues for me both mentally and physically. I don't think there are many sports out there like it."

There's talk of international expansion, bigger events, new features, but it all comes back to one question: what will get more people playing? It's a question that bonded two strangers on a court in Bristol and one they’ll keep working to answer.