MATCHi

Racket sports just keep growing, boom or no boom 📈

Right now, more than 1,000 new players are signing up every week in Sweden, Norway, and the UK. Some weeks in Sweden and the UK, it's closer to 2,000.

Different stages, different sized markets, same thing happening everywhere: more people picking up a racket than putting one down.

Wherever you're playing this week, you're in good company 🎾

Thousands of women have stepped on court in 2026 🎾

Tennis leads the way in participation this year, with women making up 30.2% of all tennis players. Padel comes in close second at 26.2%, and in raw numbers, that's actually more than 41,000 women on court, compared to just under 17,000 for tennis.

However often you play, whatever your level, you're part of these numbers.

Which one's your sport? 👇

Always at the club, yet you never see the other regulars? Time to fix that: Say hi to Communities in MATCHi 💬👋
Every venue can now set up a space for players, tailored to their level, playing schedule and much more. And the best part? It’s right there in the MATCHi app.

This is a great way to connect with people, find new players and keep up with what’s the latest at your venue, all in one feed.

Your venue decides which communities to set up. Been invited to one? Jump in. Got an idea for a community that isn’t there yet? Ask them to create it🤝

You've probably heard it by now: UK padel is exploding 🇬🇧
Demand is wild, courts fill themselves, and barely anyone has to think about it. But take it from us, one day that changes.
Fourteen years of Nordic booking data taught us how a padel market grows. And the UK? It's on a curve we haven't quite seen before.
The Padel Market Maturity Playbook is out now. Built for UK operators👇

Link in comments 🔗

Big news!

Yesterday, we released the possibility for all venues to create their own matches. This is a feature that has been requested by many, and we believe that this will make matchmaking for all skills levels much easier ✅

For you as a player, this is an easy way to get more matches in without fronting the money for everyone. If a match is auto-cancelled, you get a full refund = there’s no risk of paying for something that doesn’t happen. And, you’re free to look for other matches that suit your level, at your favourite venue or somewhere new 🎾

last week was a blast and the official photos are in 📸 (Photo credit: )

1. Booth in full swing: Three days of back-to-back conversations with customers, partners, and a lot of people thinking hard about the same questions💡
2. Deep in conversation: The best meetings weren’t scheduled, they just happened🤝
3. Andreas on stage: Our CCO Andreas Karlsson on stage for ”From Boom to Balance”, a panel about what comes after the boom, and how venues build something worth staying for 🎙️
4. The sign says it all: Leading digital partner for racket sport venues globally. That’s what we’re here for💚
5. Padel World Summit, we’ll see you next year, for more of the sport’s biggest conversations 🙋🏻‍♀️

A lot of players today move between tennis and padel without thinking twice. One day it’s competitive tennis, the next it’s social padel after work. But while the two sports might share players, changing rooms, and clubs, they don’t work the same way behind the scenes💡

In the latest Court Side by MATCHi, Peter Nyborg shares why tennis and padel need to be run differently, what each sport can learn from the other, and why the future of racket sports is about building communities players actually want to come back to.

From ATP tour life to coaching national teams (and a previous MATCHi employee) to now leading sports operations at , Peter has seen racket sports from every angle.

Read the full conversation over on LinkedIn, link in bio🖇️

Padel World Summit, here we go again 🚀
Just like last year, we're bringing the full MATCHi ecosystem with us, and we'd love to chat if you're going too📱🌍

We've got the tools, the team, and the time for a good conversation.

Barcelona | 26-28 May | Booth D200 📍

has been part of the Swedish tennis scene since 1913 and is one of the country’s most iconic tennis venues, and a long-standing MATCHi customer.

But what happens when a 113-year-old club outgrows its city? 👀

Read the whole story in the latest Court Side by MATCHi on LinkedIn. Link in bio.

What does it actually take to rebuild a tennis programme from the ground up?

Julius Demburg and the team at RQT Stora Wäsby have spent four years finding out. Their focus: children under 12. Their bet: start where Sweden's tennis infrastructure disappeared.

𝟒 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬:
𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬
By age 13-14, the foundation must already be in place. Catch up later? Nearly impossible.

𝟐. 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭
75% subsidised fees as baseline. Economics can't determine which children get professional development.

𝟑. 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤
As long as Sweden trains seriously only after school, it will lag internationally. RQT integrates schooling from year 6. The best technical sessions can't happen when kids are already exhausted.

𝟒. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲?
Financing and time. They go together. Ten years is the real horizon, not 2-3. Most venues won't tell parents the truth because they're afraid to be uncomfortable.

Read the full conversation in our latest Court Side (link in comments) 👆