The UK passes 3,000 padel courts as an upset hits the Kuwait Major

The UK now has more than 3,000 padel courts. Figures from the data platform Padel Genie, as at 24 October, count 3,053 courts at 890 clubs: 2,707 in England, 124 in Northern Ireland, 112 in Scotland and 110 in Wales. Councils approved 572 new schemes in the past year, which adds up to at least 1,276 courts, and turned down 98. Another 450 schemes are still waiting for a decision. On average there are 4.5 courts for every 100,000 people. Northern Ireland and the North West have the most, at 6.5. London has 3.8 and Scotland 2.1. Some 38 councils with more than 100,000 residents still have no open court. Founder James Morgenstern told The Padel Paper he expects at least 4,000 courts by this time next year. Source: The Padel Paper

Players in London pay about £13 an hour more than players in Manchester. Estimates from the booking platform Playskan, built from public booking data, put the UK average at about £34 per court-hour, with average occupancy of 54%. London averages about £47 an hour, with courts 66% full. Manchester averages about £37, with occupancy at 50%. In the past three months, more Manchester clubs cut their prices than raised them, while in London more clubs raised them. York has the lowest average in the country, at about £23. Playskan puts the UK court market at more than £300 million this year, almost double last year's figure. The clubs have not confirmed these estimates. Source: The Padel Paper

Sintes and Zamora knock out the eighth seeds in Kuwait. Marc Sintes and Coquito Zamora beat Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to reach Wednesday's round of 16. Seventh seeds Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal needed three sets to get past Fede Mouriño and Marc Quílez. Stupaczuk and Sanz, and Navarro and Di Nenno, both won in straight sets. Today, Coello and Tapia play Abbate and Dal Bianco in the last match on centre court, not before 18:00 CET. Lebrón and Augsburger also play today. Source: FIP

Three women's pairs can still finish the year as number one. Padel Addict's sums put Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea on 12,020 Race points. Ari Sánchez and Andrea Ustero are 1,980 behind, and Paula Josemaría and Bea González are 2,400 behind. Kuwait cannot change the leaders, but if Sánchez and Ustero won the 2,000-point title while Triay and Brea lost in the quarter-finals, the gap would shrink to about 340 points. Dubai, Mexico and the Finals in Barcelona are still to come. Source: Padel Addict (Spanish)

Luna and Meléndez win the FIP Bronze in Taunton. The Spanish pair beat Henrique Barbosa and Marco Remolina 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in Somerset on Sunday, a week after their win in Alkmaar. Third seeds Paula Ferran and Susana Martín took the women's title, beating Portugal's Constança Gorito and Catarina Santos 6-2, 6-2. Source: FIP

The last places at the World Cup are being decided in Kuwait. Fourteen men's teams and thirteen women's teams from Asia and Africa are playing the final qualifying event until 30 October. One men's place and two women's places at next week's FIP World Cup in Doha are on offer. Teams play in round-robin groups, and the group winners go into a knockout stage. On the first day, Egypt and Tunisia both won their opening ties 3-0, in the men's and the women's events. Sources: FIP, FIP

Lebrón says he is happy to partner Galán for Spain. Asked by VeinteDiez about playing alongside his former partner at the World Cup, Juan Lebrón said the national team comes first and praised Galán's recent form. Spain's coach Juanjo Gutiérrez has already said the two will play together at some point in the event. They won 33 titles as a pair before splitting in March 2024. Galán's fitness is still unconfirmed after the injury that took him out of Kuwait. Source: Padel Addict (Spanish)