Meet the man building ‘Brand Padel’ in the US and UK

Ben Nichols, Founder & CEO, Padel 22

Four years ago, padel in Britain was but a whisper in the mainstream sport conversation. It lacked infrastructure, a competitive structure and, most crucially of all, an identity by which it defined itself.

A community of padel fanatics had yet to be established, with the sport yet to truly take off outside of a small number of predominantly Spanish-speaking countries.

Determined to do something about this was Ben Nichols, a former communications leader whose CV included handling the media relations for WADA during the Russian doping crisis, widely called the biggest sports story of the 21st century, documented in the Academy Award-winning film Icarus, in which he featured. Nichols spotted an untapped market in 2022 and moved first in the UK and, simultaneously, the US.

What followed was three years of building things that did not exist. Padel 22, the sport’s first dedicated communications consultancy, became the launchpad working with top names including Vitality, Playtomic, Hexagon Cup and Premier Padel, and placing padel in Forbes, the FT, the New York Times, CNN International and the BBC. 

Alongside it came Insider 22, a global membership community for operators, founders and investors. And then the American Anglo Padel Cup – better known as ‘the Ryder Cup of Padel’ – which became the most impactful padel event ever staged in the UK or US after its debut in London last year. The three projects combined propelled Nichols’ rise to become one of the most recognisable figures in the now-booming sport.  

As I speak to Nichols, it is 22 days since he attended The 25th Sport Industry Awards in London, where Padel 22 became the sole, and first ever, padel company to be nominated in the awards’ 25 year history. Though not victorious in the Best Newcomer Category, the nomination itself was, in his words “a big win for padel, globally, given the precedent this set.” Today, he’s just returned from being named ‘Ambassador of the Year’ at the first ever British Padel Awards.

He understood early on that padel needed more than courts and players — it needed an identity. Beyond building the ecosystem, Nichols now advises brands and investors who “want in on padel”, helping them navigate the space and identify the right opportunities in a sport that has attracted significant commercial interest but not always clear direction.

“Most brands entering padel make the same mistakes. They see the growth numbers and move quickly, which is right, but they do not always understand where the real value sits, and where the right fit is for them. This is where I spend a lot of my time now.”

He explains, “Padel 22 was the launchpad. What I am building now is something bigger. Padel has grown and, with it, my role in it. The agency was never the end destination.”

As a self-confessed Americaphile, Nichols believed early on that if the sport was ever to become truly global, it needed to conquer America.

“Ask anyone in the industry what the single most important future market is and they’ll all say the same thing: America.” As someone who’s always admired the relationship the two nations share, he felt “perfectly primed to build what is not only the UK’s but also the US’ first communications and marketing agency dedicated to the sport.”

Nichols has been a central figure in building America’s padel story, following in the footsteps of trailblazer Marcos del Pilar, the ‘Godfather of USA Padel’ , in creating its identity. Co-founding the Anglo American Cup last year alongside US Padel Association President Bill Ullman and former American Express executive Joelle Quinn, he describes launching the event as “a special piece of sporting history.”

His focus on the US market has driven his relocation to Charleston, South Carolina this summer. In 2026, he became On-Screen Contributor and Executive Producer of Travel Racket, the first mainstream production to feature padel, set to launch on a major global streaming platform.

While the mission to evangelise the sport across what he’s coined the ‘New Padel World’ continues to drive his work, where does Nichols now see the biggest opportunity?

“The appeal is in the community, and the sport’s unique social ethos. I see padel as a true emblem of the participation economy. With every new court, four new players come off it evangelising the sport — that’s millions of new advocates every single year. I challenge anyone to find a sport that can match that right now.”

“Padel attracts founders, executives and investors and brings them back three or four times a week. Golf has done this for decades. Padel is doing the same thing for a younger, more entrepreneurial generation. The brands that understand that earliest will capture the most value.”

His focus has not changed since day one: to make padel that bit more famous every day. “We are getting there,” he says, “but the biggest chapter is just beginning.”