Let’s talk today with Mr Ricky Brigolle, a long time expert in padel and the boss of racket sports at HEAD for Spain, Portugal and Andorra.

 

Could you please introduce yourself and your position at the prestigious brand HEAD?

I’m Ricky Brigolle a passionate in racquet sports with a background in statistics, marketing and sales. I’ve been in the industry of tennis and padel my whole life, first as a tennis player (I did not succeed to be a pro ;), then as a coach while I was doing my degree and before joining HEAD 18 years ago I was in Decathlon for 8 years. At HEAD I’m responsible for the Racquet Sports category for Spain, Portugal and Andorra in terms of sales and marketing and within the company I am the expert in padel using my expertise and knowledge to help HQ to develop the best products and strategies.

How do you see the evolution of padel in Europe / America / Asia? Which markets seem the most promising to you?

There’s still a long way to go. Only Spain and Italy would be mature markets, France, Scandinavia and Benelux are developing well, and all the rest are in a very early stage. So, still a lot of potential.

 

Do you think padel could one day become an Olympic sport?

I hope so, there is a lot of work and efforts from the International Padel Federation on this direction. It is a big project that takes time but as the sport will become global it has to be Olympic!

What are the main challenges that padel faces today (infrastructure, equipment, accessibility…)?
Except in Spain and maybe Italy, padel is very young. The main challenge is that all the parts of the industry have to be professional. Theirs is still a lot of people with no expertise that see the padel as an opportunity but they don’t know the sport and their decisions are based in a business perspective, looking for profit, and most of the times the decisions are not good for the sport.

What would it take for padel to surpass tennis in popularity one day?

This might be impossible in the short term. We can’t compare a global sport, born years ago (lawn tennis was born in 1873!). A tournament like Roland Garros has a huge worldwide impact, padel is still very far away. But it is growing year by year!

 

HEAD is one of the market leaders. What sets the brand apart from its competitors and how many padel rackets sold in 2024?

I can’t tell you the number of racquets sold, this is confidential information (laughs), but yes, HEAD is one of the leaders of the markets. We have a global distribution, so we are present in almost all the countries. We have a huge heritage in R&D as our founder was an engineer and we our products have a lot of engineering behind. And finally we also have a strong focus in marketing, from grassroots to digital marketing.

What is HEAD’s development strategy to continue innovating in this rapidly growing market?

From one side we have the PRO players products as the Coello, Extreme, Speed or Gravity series. In these products we try to achieve the best performance and playability through the best technologies and a big focus on testing with our TEAM HEAD. These series covers all types of players (from control to power) and all type of shapes (diamond, hybrid and round).

But also we try to develop new products to fulfill all the needs or even new needs! This is the example with the ONE racquets (one as they only have one hole). With the ONE technology we can reduce significantly the weight so for example on the ONE UL we have the lightest racquets of the market (300gr) for beginners or players that needs ultralight racquets but also with the Speed ONE and Speed ONE X we target good club players.

 

HEAD sponsors several top padel players. What role do they play in product development?

They are a very important part of the product development. They are involved in every new product as they can feel differences that the normal players can’t. They are experts, they play thousands of hours so their feedback is very much appreciated. But not only on the playability, as for example with the new Coello line, Arturo had an important role on the concept and design.

 

What impact does an ambassador like Arturo Coello / Ariana Sánchez have on the brand and sales?

They have a big impact. It is difficult to measure it, but it’s more than relevant.

First of all, top players gives you credibility but also club players like to see the matches and they identify themselves with some players, so they want to buy the racquet of the pro’s.

How do you see the future of sponsorship in padel?

As in every sport, the sponsorship of the “main tool” (as it’s the racquet on tennis or padel) will be focused on the top top players that makes the difference. People love to have the products of the big stars. Unfortunately a players ranked 30 or 50 do not create sales. So, the brands will focus their investment on the top players.

There has been a big inflation in the past but this is due to the big number of brands. If there’s 40 different brands and each one wants to have a top players, then 40-50 players will have good sponsorship, but now the market has 7 to 10 relevant brands and each one has 1 or 2 top players, that give us that only top players will get good sponsorship on the racquet side.

At the end the brands have a limited budget and we can support young players or some relevant ones, but not all of them.

In your opinion, what are the essential characteristics of a good padel racket?

This is not that simple! I wish I could have the recipe! Every player is unique so the characteristics can be different. There are some parameters as weight, balance, shape that can help you choose the best racquet but the feeling, the stiffness of the maneuverability has to be tested on court.

 

Is racket customization a future development area for HEAD?

Today we have different shapes, weights, stiffness,…that covers all the needs. We have tested the customization with weights that you can add, and the testers did not felt the difference. The racquet is too short to change the playability adding some grams here and there. In tennis it makes sense (68,5cm length) but in padel is very tough to feel it (45cm). But of course, our R&D team is working on new ideas!

Where do you see HEAD in the padel market in 5 or 10 years?

The market will keep on growing and the number of brands will be reduce to 5 or 7 maximum. This has happened in other sports. For example in tennis, the 3 main brands are covering 85% of the market. This will happen in padel, and for sure HEAD will be in the TOP!

 

Do you think padel could grow even more in the United States and Asia?

For sure, today it is in a early stage of the development, it’s a baby with potential to grow!

 

Does the brand plan to further diversify its offering (clothing, accessories…)?

We offer 360º since the very beginning. We are in the industry of padel since 2000 and we have balls, bags, clothing, shoes, accessories,…everything!

For example the Motion shoe was developed together with Mondo (leading brand in synthetic grass), and it has a special outsole for padel.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start playing padel and choose their first equipment?

He should go a well-known padel store and let the sales men help him to get the best products and if possible, test the racquet before.

 

 

Any final words for all padel enthusiasts and players who are looking to choose their next padel gear ?

My advice is again to ask to the experts and also check the information that the brands offer in their website. In HEAD we have a lot of content that will guide you to choose your gear.

 

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