Editorial Policy

How we research, write, review and update what we publish.

Purpose

UK Padel Guide exists to help UK readers understand padel — the rules, the gear, the courts and the competitive scene — and to help them spend their money sensibly when buying equipment or booking sessions. This policy sets out how we work and what readers can expect.

Sourcing standards

  • Primary sources first. Participation and court figures come from the LTA's published statistics. Tournament information comes from Premier Padel, the FIP, the LTA Tour and competition organisers. Product specifications come from manufacturer pages and retailer listings.
  • Independent verification where possible. Where a claim hinges on a number (court count, prize pool, racket weight), we link the original source so readers can check it themselves.
  • Dating. Pages that contain time-sensitive data — court counts, calendars, gear lineups — are dated and reviewed on a published cadence (see Updates).
  • No second-hand quotations. We don't fabricate quotes from players, coaches or operators. Where we use a quote it's directly attributed and linked to the original interview, social post or press release.

Recommendation criteria

Gear recommendations rank on, in order:

  1. Suitability for the stated player level (beginner, intermediate, advanced; control vs power preference; head shape).
  2. UK retailer availability — at the time of writing, with the link checked. We don't recommend rackets that aren't currently in UK distribution.
  3. Value relative to the alternatives in the same band — including older models that are still on shelves at meaningful discounts.

Affiliate revenue does not influence the rank order. Where the same product is sold by several retailers, the link goes to whichever combination of stock, price and shipping currently looks best for UK buyers — and is re-checked on the page's update cadence.

Club and city pages are descriptive editorial: surface, indoor/outdoor, accessibility, booking platform — sourced from the venue's own published information and the LTA directory. We don't run a parallel directory; we point readers at first-party booking.

Updates

  • Pillar pages (Where to Play UK, Padel for Beginners UK, Best Padel Rackets UK 2026): reviewed every quarter at minimum, sooner when an obvious change happens (a new flagship racket lands, the LTA publishes new figures, a city's court count shifts materially).
  • City pages: reviewed quarterly, with a focus on club openings and closures.
  • News and tour coverage: dated; older pieces are not silently updated to look current. Where we revisit a tournament guide year-on-year, the URL is reused but a clear "Updated" line appears at the top.

Corrections

When we get something wrong we correct it in place, add a dated note at the bottom of the page explaining what changed, and (for material errors that ran for more than 24 hours) keep the correction visible for 30 days.

Conflicts of interest

Where a piece of content covers a venue, club operator, brand or event with whom we have a commercial relationship beyond standard affiliate links — sponsorship, paid trip, product loaned for review — that relationship is disclosed prominently in the article.

What we don't do

  • We don't claim hands-on testing of products we haven't actually tested. Reviews built from manufacturer specifications, retailer pages and aggregated third-party reviews are labelled as such.
  • We don't claim to have visited venues we haven't visited. Where a city guide is built from desk research, that is stated.
  • We don't fabricate user reviews, testimonials, or first-person padel experience. The site is presented as an editorial and research resource.

For how AI tools are used in the editorial process, see the AI use disclosure.