Move Over Tinder, Padel is the New Matchmaker

Finding that special someone has never been easy. Even with a phone full of dating apps, it has somehow made everything more difficult.

But people are meeting in a completely new way and it’s all thanks to padel. 

As anyone who’s played knows, one of the biggest challenges with padel is you need to find three similar skill-level players to play with. Fortunately, Playtomic came to the rescue when it launched the Open Matches matchmaking tool. In January last year, 41,008 Open Matches were organized in the UK through the platform. And just five months later in June, that number had climbed steadily to over 59,000.

As these numbers continue to climb, people are connecting through padel at record rates as they look for ways to play this fun sport and create new friendships.

However, friendships aren’t the only thing that have come out of it. According to the Daily Mail, Zeffi Metia, from Manchester, met her partner Andy through Playtomic's Open Matchmaking platform.

“Padel had been quite life changing for me,” she told the Daily Mail. 

“I started playing in April 2024 at Pure Padel Alderley park and was 20 pounds heavier and both physically and mentally in a very different place. Over the last year and a half I have met some amazing people who I now call friends.”

“Most importantly, padel brought me to my wonderful partner, Andy. What started on court has grown into something truly special off it, and for that reason I am a true advocate for the sport and super grateful to Pure Padel.”

It’s worth remembering how important the community element is to growing the game. Playtomic has created a valuable tool within its platform that is helping create friendships, business partnerships and lifelong romantic relationships. Never underestimate the power of racket sports in bringing people together.