Turf sports startup PadelPark has merged with rival 7Padel, owned by cricketing legend MS Dhoni, to build a unified and scalable padel ecosystem in India. The merger aims to accelerate the growth of padel as a professionally structured sport, with a focus on rapid expansion and deeper community engagement.
Backed By MS Dhoni And Parth Jindal
Post-merger, the combined entity will continue to be backed by MS Dhoni, alongside Parth Jindal, owner of JSW Sports and an early investor in PadelPark. The leadership believes the merger will strengthen infrastructure, operations, and grassroots participation across the country.
Strong Financials And Revenue Model
PadelPark primarily generates revenue by leasing over 40 padel courts under its management. The Mumbai-based startup turned EBITDA positive in FY24, highlighting improving unit economics as interest in racket sports continues to rise in India.
Building India’s Padel Ecosystem
Founded in 2020 by Nikhil Sachdev, Ronak Daftary, and brothers Jigar Joshi and Pratik Joshi, PadelPark entered the market at a time when sports like padel and pickleball were gaining early traction in India.
Since launching its first padel court in 2020, the Gurugram startup has expanded into:
- Padel coaching programmes across skill levels
- Tournament and community events, attracting strong advertiser interest
- Court construction, leasing, and sales through its subsidiary Sky Padel India
The company claims to have built over 200 padel courts so far and plans to scale this to 400–500 courts through a franchise-led expansion model.
Expansion Beyond Metro Cities
The merged entity now plans to move beyond elite Tier I neighbourhoods and expand aggressively into non-metro cities. According to Sachdev, nearly 30% of inbound queries already come from cities such as Chandigarh, Kochi, Surat, and Jaipur.
Echoing this vision, MS Dhoni said:
“In a country with over 10 million racquet sport players, Tier I cities have already shown how quickly padel can grow. The next step is taking that momentum into newer markets and making the sport accessible beyond the metros.”
Dhoni added that 7Padel merged with PadelPark due to its end-to-end infrastructure capabilities, which can be scaled to build padel as a professionally run sport across India.
India’s Padel Opportunity
India currently has around 300 padel courts, up sharply from 70 courts in 2023. In contrast, the sport boasts 77,300 courts across 150 countries globally, highlighting the massive growth headroom in the Indian market.
With strong investor backing, improving financials, and a nationwide expansion roadmap, the PadelPark–7Padel merger positions the combined entity as a key force in shaping the future of turf and racket sports in India.
