Digital Next Open 2025 – Padel for Business Leaders

Since we got into padel 12 months ago, it’s been a hot topic of conversation amongst the team. We have been playing regularly ourselves and we thought that we would get other people involved.

The Digital Next Open

On the 7th August 2025 we held our first ever business padel competition at the Manchester Padel Club in Cheadle Heath. What started out as a throwaway comment in the office of “oh we should do our own padel event” quickly turned into an event where 24 businesses signed up 2 players per team. We couldn’t believe the uptake – it’s clear padel is hot on the agenda for 2025 and we rode that wave!

Everyone at Digital Next got involved in every detail – from sending details to clients about the day, to getting Digital Next branded balls, to ensuring every team had a goody bag with their kit from our official apparel partner IGD Sports.

On the day we had refreshment stations, a DJ playing summer vibes, branded padel balls, a speed smash test (thanks to Sedulo), and nutrition from Vyomox including protein snacks, carbohydrate drinks and plenty of water. Zee from Flex Personal Training led warmups and stretches to get everyone match ready.

Family, friends and colleagues joined too – at one point, 100+ people were at the venue watching the tournament. A huge thank you also goes out to our chosen charity partner: The Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN).

“GMYN empowers young people to build brighter futures by supporting them to develop confidence, skills, and positive relationships. Our mission is to help young people make a meaningful impact on their own lives and contribute positively to their communities.”

The growth of Padel in the UK

Padel has become something of a sensation in the UK over the last few years. It’s gone from a fairly niche hobby to a popular pastime, supported by some impressive infrastructure. As of February 2025, there were over 893 courts across 300 venues nationwide – nearly a fivefold increase in four years!

Operators like David Lloyd, Game4Padel, Pure Padel and Powerleague have spearheaded this growth, with the latter committing £14 million to install 76 new courts by 2026. This push for prominence is working. In the last year, over 400,000 Brits have played padel at least once, with around 51,000 playing at least twice a month. Considering barely anyone could tell you what it even was a few years ago, the fact that it’s now a known sport among 43% of adults is truly a feat of community. And it’s not just about recreation – the spirit of competition is strong in padel!

The LTA Padel British Tour has grown to host 11 Grade-1 events in 2025, with the UK hosting FIP international events, along with county championships for different age groups. The R3 Bullpadel Cup launched in 2025 and is set to evolve into a Super League in 2026. In short, the movement is working, both at a local club level and on a professional scale – we’re loving being along for the ride!

Video recap of the day

The Teams

• Sedulo – Aaron Malhotra & Adam White
• Find Me a Property – Amer Watson & Callum Walsh
• Hibbert Homes – Matthew Galloway & Adrian Hibbert
• Premium Trendz – Jack Savage (NOX) & Sam Gardener
• Sharp UK – Ben Savage & Kieran Wilson
• Sharp UK – Emily Garner & Heath Moores
• MCR Property Group – Daniel Rainsford & Will Jones
• Bricks to Riches – Nabeel & Arsalan
• EPG Services – John Kell & John Goss
• Streamline Car Finance / Sports FS – James Phee & Harvey Sutton
• Kick Doctor – Aaron Bailey & Guest
• LTR Productions Limited
• AXEMAN Investments – Mike & Sam
• Andrew Morrell +1 – Andrew Morrell & Mike Herz
• Marc Howard +1 – Marc Howard & Steve Pownall
• Red Flag Alerts – Richard West & …
• Avail Logistics – Phil Woodbridge & Ross Lory
• EA Sports – Kel & Ben Ramsour
• EA Sports – Mark Lomas, Teddy Weyman & Luke Didd
• Just Tik It – Josh Bailey & Ciaran Hopkins
• Easy Access Self Storage – Bernard & Sam Bailey
• Public Desire – Qasim & Atiq
• Public Desire – Bilal & Sufiyan
• Prymo & Yobgerries – Matthew Agass & Jasen Jackiw

Click the link below for official photography from the day

Photography from the day – CLICK HERE

The Tournament

We organised 4 groups of 6 teams, where everyone played each other. It was hotly contested and very competitive – things got heated at times! The eventual finalists were as follows:

Quarter Finals

Public Desire (x2 teams), Bricks to Riches, Axeman Investments, LTR Productions, Streamline Car Finance, Monatude Consulting and Sedulo.

Semi Finals

Public Desire, Bricks to Riches, Axeman Investments and LTR Productions.

Finalists

Public Desire and Bricks to Riches.

Winners

Public Desire

Congratulations to public desire.

The eventual winners were Public Desire who were an amazing pair that have won many tournaments before this event.  Well done to Qasim & Atiq on their win.  Hopefully next year, everyone will bring the same competitive nature, the winners can defend their trophy and The Digital Next Open will be open for business in 2026!

Celebration Feast

Then at the end when the padel bats were placed back in the bags and the balls were put away, everyone enjoyed a 60 person catered feast, everything was served from curries to grilled chicken, amazing rice and tasty Chapatis. 

Huge thanks to the Haus of Spice in Alderley Edge for the catering.

See you all in 2026 for the next one!