🎾 Why is squash declining while padel is booming?

In this episode of the Ball Slapping Podcast, Dan Grant and Jared Robinson sit down with former professional squash player and padel industry leader Roxy Keshavarz.

Roxy reveals how she reached a world ranking of 125 in squash, why her dad stopped her playing for a year because she was already beating her brother, and the bizarre story of being sponsored by a milk company complete with a milk moustache photoshoot.

The conversation explores:

✅ The rise and decline of squash

✅ Why racketball (Squash 57) deserves more attention

✅ How padel captured a new generation of players

✅ Building and operating successful padel clubs

✅ Lessons from Padel4All, Rocket Padel and Padel Hub

✅ Women in sport and the challenges facing female participation

✅ Why community matters more than facilities

✅ The future of padel in the UK

Whether you're a squash player, padel addict, club owner, coach, or simply curious about the fastest-growing racket sport in the world, this episode is packed with insights, stories and plenty of laughs.

🎧 Listen now and don't forget to subscribe for more conversations from the world of weird, wonderful and ball-slapping sports.

🎾 Why do some padel clubs thrive while others struggle?

In this episode of the Ball Slapping Podcast, Daniel Grant and Jared Robinson sit down with Phil Cornhill, Director of Clubs at UK Padel, to uncover what really makes a successful padel club.

From two courts in a car park to one of the UK's busiest padel communities, Phil shares how UK Padel has built an environment where players keep coming back, ratings actually work, and community comes before ego.

We discuss:

✅ How Phil discovered padel after squash

✅ Why padel is growing so quickly in the UK

✅ Building a club culture people genuinely want to be part of

✅ The problem with elitism in padel

✅ Why ratings systems cause so much controversy

✅ Open matches, social play and player development

✅ The future of UK Padel clubs

✅ Singles courts, community building and growing participation

Whether you're a padel player, club owner, coach or simply curious about the sport's explosive growth, this episode is packed with insights.

🎾 Subscribe to Ball Slaps for more padel, racket sports and niche sports stories.

#Padel #UKPadel #PadelTennis #BallSlaps #PhilCornhill #JaredRobinson #PadelCommunity #PadelClub #RacketSports #SportsPodcast

Padel is exploding across the UK and Europe… but why is everyone suddenly obsessed?

In this episode of Ball Slapping, we’re joined by Jared Robinson, former UK Top 10 padel player, coach, and founder of AllCourtPadel.

From dismissing padel as a “tennis-lite joke” to becoming one of the best players in the country, Jared breaks down what makes the sport so addictive.Don't forget to watch the sister video: https://youtu.be/L9bU05HQcT4?si=HUc2OZro_UdZRlAI

We get into:

• Why padel is growing faster than almost any sport in the world
• The key differences between padel, tennis, and squash
• How to actually improve your game (and stop smashing it into the back wall…)
• The tactics that separate beginners from top players
• Why Spain is miles ahead of everyone else
• Whether padel is a fad… or here to stay

Plus: Jared’s journey from Sweden to the UK, his playing style (ridiculous slice + angles), and what’s next for padel in Britain.

🎾 Follow Jared: @allcourtpadel🌍 Padel holidays & coaching (coming soon…)

If you’ve ever picked up a padel racket, this one will hit home.

What does it actually take to grow sport in the UK?In this episode, I sit down with Alex Cole, who went from dreaming of leading Sport England at 15 to working inside the system itself. We get into grassroots sport, funding, bureaucracy, participation, and why some of the best ideas struggle to get off the ground.We also cover:How Sport England really works behind the scenesWhy grassroots sport is harder than it looksThe rise of new sports like pickleballWhy modern lifestyles are changing how people engage with sportThe balance between structure and freedom in coachingAnd of course…The story of a 30-yard goal at Fratton Park that may never stop being mentioned.This is a brilliant insight into the system, but also a reminder that sport at its best is simple: people, movement, and moments that stick.

What do you get when you mix a U.S. President, a bad back, and a medicine ball? Hoover Ball.

In this episode I sit down with Quentin Hick, President of Hoov Nation, to unpack one of the most underrated and surprisingly intense sports on the planet.

Originally created for President Herbert Hoover to keep him fit on the White House lawn, Hoover Ball has evolved into a full-blown beach court spectacle built around throwing heavy medicine balls over a net.We talk:

• The history of Hoover Ball

• Why it was invented

• How it’s played today

• The physical demands

• The community behind Hoov Nation

• And why it feels more like a movement than just a sport

It’s explosive. It’s social. It’s deceptively brutal.

And honestly? It looks like a ridiculous amount of fun. If you love niche sports, community driven movements, or presidential oddities, this one’s for you.

Subscribe for more deep dives into the world’s most fascinating sports.

In this episode of Ball Slapping, we sit down with Rashid Ahmad, founder of Touchtennis, to unpack how a simple idea in his garden turned into a fast-growing global sport.We talk about where Touchtennis came from, why it resonates with players of all ages, and what happens when you strip a sport back to its essentials.

Rashid shares the design philosophy behind smaller courts, lighter rackets, and faster rallies, and why accessibility, fun, and skill development matter more than tradition.

If you’ve watched our WTF is Touchtennis video, this episode goes deeper: the inspiration, the resistance, the moments it nearly didn’t work, and why Touchtennis might be a blueprint for how new sports should be built.

In this episode of Ball Slapping, Dan heads to the Rugby Fives National Singles Finals to interview the best players in the country and to work out what makes them tick. We talk with current and previous National Champions to get a real insight into the sport, its values and just how hard this sport is. Rugby Fives is a traditional British version of handball played on stone squash-like court with a hard ball. Check out the Rugby Fives YouTube Channel or TheRFA.uk to find out more. #newsport #rugby #handball

In this episode of Ball Slapping, Dan and Christian sit down with Phil (Felipe Borges), the founder of Tens Finest, the number one street media brand for the sport of Handball.

We talk about how Tens Finest started, what drives him and how the brand has become a movement across wallball, handball, paddle communities. Phil opens up about building a YouTube channel from scratch and the importance of what he does in the wider picture of the sport's success. He gives a ton of advice for other YouTube, Instagram and TikTok creators about how to get going and consolidate.

A must listen for anyone who loves filming a game or two of any sport. If you're into wallball, 1-wall handball, street sport, paddle, community sport, sports branding, YouTube or Sports Media - or Tens Finest - then this is the episode for you.

#tensfinest

Join us from Mexico City as we attend (and play in) the 2025 World Frontball Championships. We'll be joined by co-host Danielle Daskalakis - one of the best female handball athletes of all time, as we check out the event, meet the players and the guy who set the whole thing up - Jean-Michel Idiart.

Frontball is a handball variant - heavy ball, one wall, line to hit it above. Expect long sloggy rallies!

Gaz and Dan hop back to 2009 — Portland, Oregon — for a trip down memory lane. It’s the World Handball Championships, where legends were made, friendships were forged, and the nights were almost as wild as the games. Expect nostalgia, chaos, and a few questionable memories.

Paul Brady got a 3rd title, Willie Polanco and Rookie Wright cleaned up the 1-Wall, and the English both landed on two feet and invented a banging new game!