Coello and Tapia made it four titles in a row at the Milano P1, Ari Sánchez drew level with the all-time women’s record, and back home the week’s stories were about who gets to play: a free inclusive open day in Birmingham, a women’s Americano scene in Liverpool with a waiting list, and new LTA money for university tennis and padel. Here is your UK round-up for 12 to 18 October 2026.
Milano P1: Coello/Tapia make it four straight, Sánchez/Ustero win a record-equalling title
The Milano Premier Padel P1 at the Allianz Cloud ran from 12 to 18 October and finished with familiar names on the trophy. Top seeds Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia came from a set down to beat third seeds Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday’s men’s final. It was their fourth title in a row after Paris, Rotterdam and Düsseldorf, and their 12th of 2026, according to the FIP. Lebrón and Augsburger had broken a run of ten lost sets against the pair by taking the opener, but Coello and Tapia saved three break points early in the second set and pulled away from there.
The semi-finals went to form at the top and not at all at the bottom. Coello and Tapia beat Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz 6-4, 6-3, while Lebrón and Augsburger lost the first set 6-0 to second seeds Ale Galán and Fede Chingotto before winning the next two 6-2, 6-2.
In the women’s final, third seeds Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero beat second seeds Paula Josemaría and Bea González 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, having trailed 5-2 in the first set. The FIP says the win takes Sánchez to 58 career titles, level with Gemma Triay and Ale Salazar at the top of the all-time women’s list. Sánchez and Ustero beat world No.1s Triay and Delfi Brea 6-1, 6-4 in the semi-finals, and Josemaría and González ended the run of last week’s Düsseldorf champions Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo 6-2, 7-6.
The FIP put the week’s attendance at 38,794, up 9.3% on 2025. The tour now takes a short break before the Kuwait Major.
Birmingham and Liverpool: two clubs opening the game up
Connect Padel Birmingham, at Moseley Rugby Club, held its first Inclusive Padel Open Day on Saturday 17 October, with free, adapted taster sessions for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent children and adults. The Padel Paper reported that the event was run with Access Sport and Acez Tennis/Padel, that the club’s coaching and front-of-house staff had been through disability inclusion training beforehand, and that the delivery team included Nathan Young, the partially sighted former world record holder for the longest continuous padel match. Founder Charlie Thomson said the session was part of the operator’s commitment to give 1,000 free court hours a year to schools, charities and community groups.
On Merseyside, The Padel Paper (12 October) profiled former Everton and Birmingham City footballer Paige Williams, now a fire officer and padel coach, who runs women-only Americanos at Ignite Padel in Liverpool. The sessions started around 18 months ago with eight players. They now fill 40 places per event, more than 500 women have taken part, and Williams runs six to eight events a month split into beginner and intermediate groups. She said the Halloween event sold out in half an hour.
If you are looking for a club like either of these near you, our UK padel clubs directory lists courts across the country.
The money and the numbers: LTA university funding and the FIP World Padel Report
On 12 October the LTA announced £1.6m of funding for university tennis and padel up to the end of the 2028-29 academic year, a 15% increase on the previous cycle. Universities will match-fund it, and the number of LTA partner universities is set to grow from 32 to 50. The LTA says the new cycle will prioritise growing participation, building the coaching and facility workforce, and improving student competition, with partner universities also playing a part in tennis and padel facility development.
Two days later, the FIP published the third edition of its World Padel Report, covered by The Padel Paper on 14 October. Its headline figures: more than 40 million players worldwide, 91,234 courts (14,000 more than a year earlier), 28,497 clubs, a 53% men and 47% women participation split, and 434 FIP tournaments confirmed across 62 countries in 2026, up from 290 in 2025. A new economic chapter, produced with OpenEconomics, puts annual spending generated by the global padel industry at €6.84 billion. Each federation, Great Britain included, has its own profile in the report.
The week ahead
The last British FIP event of 2026, the FIP Bronze at City Padel Taunton, runs from 19 to 25 October. Premier Padel returns with the Kuwait Major, where qualifying starts on 23 October and the finals are scheduled for 31 October. Further ahead, the inaugural LTA Padel Junior National Championships take place at Just Padel Derby on 29 and 30 October, and Great Britain’s women play the FIP World Cup in Doha from 2 to 7 November. If an open day or a women’s Americano is your way into the game, have a look at our best beginner padel rackets and best padel shoes UK guides before you buy any kit.
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Sources
- Padel FIP (19 Oct 2026): Coello and Tapia return to the Milan throne. Ari Sanchez makes history: title with Ustero and record of 58, matching Triay and Salazar
- Premier Padel / StudyPadel / TennisPadelScore: Milano P1 2026 results and draws (12 to 18 October 2026)
- The Padel Paper (12 Oct 2026): Connect Padel hosts first Inclusive Open Day
- Access Sport / CANN West Midlands event listing: Free Inclusive Padel Open Afternoon, Birmingham, 17 October 2026
- The Padel Paper (12 Oct 2026): Women’s padel is catching fire in Liverpool
- LTA (12 Oct 2026): LTA reaffirms commitment to British university tennis and padel with £1.6m funding
- The Padel Paper (14 Oct 2026): 40 love! New FIP World Padel Report shows continued growth
- Padel FIP: Kuwait Major 2026 event page; FIP Bronze EWH City Padel Taunton event page (19 to 25 October 2026)
- LTA Padel (5 Oct 2026): Britain’s top-ranked stars lift titles at the LTA Padel National Championships (Junior Nationals dates)
