Key Points
- The female lead coach of Ignite Padel, Paige Williams, has helped develop a community of over 500 women padel players in the company’s Speke facility, as reported by Padel Nation in September.
- Ignite Padel claims that its women’s Americano tournament is now the largest in the UK, but there is no independent verification provided in the available sources.
- According to the Liverpool Echo, Williams organized a women’s Americano tournament at Speke, which brought together 40 players.
- Before becoming a padel player and a Level 3 coach, Williams used to be a professional football player for Everton.
- She describes the sport as inclusive of a variety of people regardless of their age, but states that women’s courts were predominantly male when she joined the sport.
- Women’s activities offered by Ignite include lessons and tournaments.
Liverpool (Liverpool standard) October 12, 2026 — Former footballer and firefighter Paige Williams has helped build a women’s padel community of more than 500 players at Ignite Padel Speke, as the Liverpool club develops regular opportunities for women to take part in the fast-growing racquet sport.
A report published by Padel Nation on 2 September said Williams had helped establish the community and stage what it described as the UK’s largest Women’s Americano. The Padel Paper’s article presents Williams as addressing the male-dominated character of local courts by organising women’s events and creating a route into the game. The available reports do not independently substantiate the national “largest” claim, so it should be understood as a claim made in coverage of Ignite’s programme rather than an independently confirmed league-wide record.
An Americano is a social tournament format in which players rotate partners and opponents over a series of short matches. Its structure can let participants meet different players in one session, rather than requiring a fixed team throughout. Ignite’s listings show women’s Americano tournaments and women-focused coaching sessions at its Liverpool venues.
The reported community figure reflects more than tournament participation alone. It points to a base of players who can meet through organised sessions, develop their skills and return for further play. The articles available do not specify how the 500-plus figure was counted, whether it represents active players or everyone connected with the group, or the period over which it grew.
How did Paige Williams become involved?
Williams, who is from West Derby, first tried padel while visiting her younger sister in Spain, according to the Liverpool Echo’s report on the sport’s popularity in the city. After returning home, she found that Ignite Padel in West Derby had recently opened and was hosting an Americano event. She entered, played against different opponents and told the Echo she quickly became “hooked” on the game.
Before moving into padel coaching, Williams played football, including for Everton. Ignite-related coverage identifies her as a former professional footballer who played in England and Italy and says she is a Level 3 padel coach. The Liverpool Echo described her as working to help newcomers improve their skills, while Ignite’s public activity listings name Williams as a coach for women’s sessions.
The transition from football to padel has shaped her role at Ignite, but the reports do not describe her coaching qualifications in detail or give a full account of her football career. They do establish that she is now involved in coaching and organising women’s padel activity, rather than simply participating as a player.
What has Ignite organised for women?
The Liverpool Echo reported that Williams organised a women’s Americano at Ignite’s Speke site that attracted 40 participants. That provides a specific example of the activity behind the broader community-building effort, although it is separate from the 500-plus community estimate reported by Padel Nation.
Public booking listings also show a range of women-focused formats at Ignite. These have included women’s beginner and intermediate sessions, coached match play and women’s Americano tournaments. The listings suggest that the programme is not limited to one-off events, though schedules and availability can change.
Ignite’s presence in Liverpool has expanded since its first venue opened on Queens Drive in 2025, according to The Padel Paper’s earlier report on the company. A separate company announcement said the Speke centre was planned with indoor and outdoor courts and would also provide space for coaching and an academy. These facilities provide the setting for organised play, but the available material does not quantify how many courts or coaching hours are dedicated specifically to women.
The distinction matters: a venue can offer women’s events without those events necessarily being exclusive or permanent. In this case, the combination of recurring listings, Williams’s coaching role and reported tournament attendance indicates a sustained programme, while the precise scale and retention of participants remain unclear from the published information.
Why does the format matter to new players?
Williams told the Liverpool Echo that padel’s simplicity makes it more forgiving physically and accessible to people of different ages. She said she had played against women in their 70s at Ignite and argued that the game’s accessibility allows people to pick up a racket and try it.
She also described padel as a social setting that brings people with different backgrounds together. The Echo quoted her observation that after matches, players might include a police officer and a heart surgeon. Her comments present the sport not only as exercise, but also as a way for participants to make connections through regular play.
Those points help explain why an organised Americano can appeal to people who are new to the sport: it offers a structured session and a chance to play with several partners. However, the reports do not include participant surveys or other evidence measuring whether these formats have increased women’s participation across Liverpool as a whole.
The wider Liverpool context is one of growing interest in padel. In its report, the Echo spoke to players and operators who said clubs were busy and more facilities were being planned across Merseyside. That coverage also described padel as combining elements of tennis and squash. The statements are accounts from local participants and businesses, rather than a formal survey of the city’s sporting habits.
What is known and what remains unverified?
Several elements of the story are supported by distinct reporting or public listings: Williams’s involvement with Ignite, her transition from football into padel coaching, women’s Americano events in Liverpool, and an event at Speke that the Echo said attracted 40 players.
The larger claims require more caution. Padel Nation reported a community of more than 500 players, while The Padel Paper and Ignite-related promotional coverage describe the Women’s Americano as the UK’s largest. The material available does not explain the counting method behind the community figure or identify an independent body that has verified the tournament ranking.
The sources also differ in their focus. The Liverpool Echo provides first-hand comments from Williams and reports the 40-player event, while Padel Nation and Ignite-related press coverage emphasise the scale of the women’s community. The latter includes promotional material connected with Ignite, so its claims should be attributed accordingly rather than presented as independently audited findings.
Background: Padel’s growth in Liverpool
Padel has been gaining visibility in Liverpool as clubs open and local players organise events, according to the Liverpool Echo. Its reporting describes a sport that is drawing people across age groups and social backgrounds, with players citing the straightforward format and social element as reasons they keep returning.
Ignite Padel opened its first Liverpool site on Queens Drive in April 2025, according to The Padel Paper’s report on the company’s expansion. The club later developed its Speke venue, where Williams has led women’s coaching and tournament activity. The Echo’s account of Liverpool’s padel scene also includes other local clubs and players, indicating that the city’s interest extends beyond Ignite alone.
This background gives the women’s programme a local setting: it is developing alongside a broader increase in facilities and organised play. But the sources cited here do not provide a comprehensive participation dataset for Liverpool or the UK, so the scale of the overall sport’s growth cannot be measured from these reports alone.
Prediction: How could this affect women players?
If Ignite’s reported community continues to grow, women in Liverpool may have more chances to try padel through beginner sessions, coached play and tournaments designed around rotating partners. Regular formats can make it easier for newcomers to find opponents and build confidence without needing to arrive with a complete team, although the reports do not measure how many first-time players these events attract.
A larger and more visible group could also make women’s participation more evident at local courts. That may help address the imbalance Williams described when she began playing, but sustained change would depend on factors such as session availability, cost, access to courts and whether players return after their first visit. The available reporting does not establish that the programme has already changed participation across the wider city.
For Ignite, continued interest could support further women-focused coaching and event programming. The immediate evidence is more specific: a 40-player event reported by the Echo, a community of more than 500 cited by Padel Nation, and women’s sessions appearing in booking listings. Whether those numbers translate into lasting growth will depend on participation over time and the availability of regular opportunities.
