Cardiff Padel & PadelLevels – Laying the Foundations for a UK-Wide Rating System

The Challenge: Bringing Structure to a Fast-Growing Sport

Padel in the UK is growing at an incredible rate. Courts are popping up everywhere, but one key issue remains—how do players find the right opponents? Unlike squash or tennis, where established leagues and club structures naturally sort players by ability, padel is still in its early stages. Most rating systems rely on self-assessment, which can be inconsistent and lead to mismatched games.

Frazer Richards, Head of Cardiff Padel Community, saw this problem first-hand. Having played squash for 25 years, he had witnessed various ranking attempts come and go. Nothing truly worked—until SquashLevels came along, using real match data to create an accurate, evolving rating system. Now, with PadelLevels, the same transformation is happening in padel.

Frazer explains:

“As more courts have been built, participation has grown too. However, one of the key issues padel faces as a nascent sport is a mechanism for matching strangers up for games at a similar standard. This is where PadelLevels has been crucial.”

The Solution: iPadel Box Leagues & PadelLevels

Cardiff Padel became one of the first clubs in the UK to adopt iPadel Box Leagues, powered by PadelLevels. But unlike other rating systems, we’re not taking shortcuts. We know that getting ratings right from day one is critical. That’s why we’re taking a long-term approach, setting a solid foundation before expanding across the UK.
Instead of relying on self-rating, we’ve:

✅ Established ‘anchor players’—trusted players within the club to help calibrate the system

✅ Set Cardiff Padel as an ‘Anchor Club’, one of the first in the UK to validate our approach

✅ Worked closely with club managers and coaches, ensuring fair and accurate rankings

✅ Launched Box Leagues as the first step, where match results continuously refine player ratings

✅ Onboarded over 100 players, building one of the UK’s most active rating-based padel communities

Frazer adds:

“Not only do the boxes allow us to record all fixtures and results with a neat interface, but they are also backed by the power of PadelLevels ratings. Soon, players won’t need to use arbitrary words like ‘experienced beginner’—they’ll simply share their rating, making matchmaking effortless.”

The Bigger Picture: A UK-Wide Padel Rating System

We’re not in a rush. We know this takes time, and we’re putting in the hard yards to make sure it’s done properly. Our plan is simple but structured:

1️⃣ Calibrate club-level ratings first—starting with Box Leagues to ensure accuracy

2️⃣ Expand inter-club connections—linking Box Leagues through iPadel’s wider network

3️⃣ Integrate with UK-wide tournament tours—so ratings evolve beyond club play

4️⃣ Evolve to casual matches & broader participation, making ratings accessible to all players

Jethro Binns, co-founder of LevelTech, explains:

“We believe the long-term gain for UK padel will be enormous. We’re not rushing this. We’re making sure we get levels correctly set at club level, and then we’re doing proper calibration. We feel the Box Leagues within clubs are the right way to go about this, and then we’ll start introducing inter-club connections through the iPadel leagues, and ultimately build a nationwide, trusted rating system. We’re looking one to three years ahead, knowing there’s an opportunity to create a truly amazing product with a global rating system.”

The Results: A Model for the Future

✅ Cardiff Padel is now a leading Anchor Club, paving the way for others to follow

✅ Over 100 players actively competing in Box Leagues, strengthening the rating system

✅ Hundreds of matches recorded, refining ratings with real data

✅ New onboarding tools & insights developed, solving key challenges in doubles rating

✅ Laying the groundwork for national-scale integration, creating a UK-wide ranking

Our work with Cardiff has been invaluable. We’ve learned a huge amount from the onboarding process, developing specialist tools to help clubs integrate seamlessly. We’re solving key rating challenges in doubles play, ensuring fair rankings even when partners change.

We believe this is just the beginning. As inter-club leagues grow and tournament play connects, PadelLevels will become the trusted standard for UK padel rankings—just as SquashLevels did for squash.

Frazer sums it up best:

“I believe PadelLevels is primed to take the sport by storm, just as SquashLevels did!”

Want to be part of the future of UK padel? Join us as we build something that lasts. Get in touch: info@padellevels.io

To learn more about the box leagues, click here