Padel is a sport that is still little known in Brazil — but in the rest of the world, it is booming.
This year alone, more than 4,400 new clubs were opened to practice padel, reaching the mark of 24,000 gyms, which together have 77,000 courts.
In terms of practitioners, there are already 35 million people playing the racket sport at least once a week.
It was with an eye on these numbers that LinkinFirm, the manager of former professional tennis player and manager of great tennis players Márcio Torres, decided to invest in Hexagon Cup — the company that in a short time became the owner of the main padel team tournament in the world.
LinkinFirm joined Hexagon as soon as it was founded, in 2023, and is now doubling down.
The manager is co-leading a new fundraising together with the venture capital of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the PIF.
The round also included participation from QSI, the sports investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund; and two other Brazilian managers: Outfield and Spectra Investimentos.
The capitalization, of around US$10 million, adds to another US$5 million that Hexagon Cup had already raised.
After the round, LinkinFirm will become the largest individual shareholder in the Hexagon Cup, along with PIF. Each will have around 12% of the capital, as well as a seat on the board.
For those who don’t know, padel is a racket sport that mixes elements of tennis and tennis. squash. It is played in doubles, on a court smaller than a tennis court and surrounded by glass walls, which can be used during the game.
Just like tennis, padel has a world circuit, the ‘Premier Tour’. There are more than 30 tournaments per year – each with its own organizer who pays a license fee to be part of the circuit. The owner of the Premier Tour is QSI, which has now become a partner of Hexagon.
The Hexagon Cup started as a team tournament, which takes place once a year in Madrid and is not part of the official circuit.
“In the first year everyone tried to boycott us, but we grew very quickly and they saw that we were here to stay,” Torres, from LinkinFirm, told Brazil Journal. “This round is very important because it will allow Hexagon to become an official competition on the global padel calendar.”
QSI’s investment makes the Hexagon Cup an official ‘Premier Tour’ tournament, giving ranking points to athletes and counting on the support of the world league.
With the round, the Hexagon Cup will also organize four tournaments throughout the year — instead of just one, as is the case today.
One of these additional tournaments will take place in Saudi Arabia. The other two are still being defined, but should take place in another European country and probably in the United States. In the medium term, the plan is to reach eight annual tournaments.
The format of the Hexagon Cup is similar to that of Formula 1: there are 8 teams, which belong to investors, with 4 players in each (a male pair and a female pair).
In the tournament, these teams are divided into two groups, where all teams face each other once. The top two from each group advance to the semi-finals, in a knockout format.
Behind the teams are celebrities from the world of sport, such as Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, two tennis legends; as well as football players such as Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski. The owners pay a fee to buy the teams and pay all the players’ expenses. Revenue comes from tournament prizes and sponsorships.
This year, the Hexagon Cup — which took place in January in Madrid, the world capital of paddle tennis — attracted an audience of 32 thousand people over the five days of the event. Revenue was about $6 million, most of that coming from sponsorships and a smaller portion from box office and food and beverage sales.
For next year, Torres’ expectation is to at least triple revenue with the creation of new events, in addition to negotiating broadcasting rights.
“In this year’s edition we preferred not to sign broadcasting contracts because these contracts are generally for three years, and as we knew we were going to grow the tournament globally we thought this was not the time,” said the manager. “But now we are in the final negotiations to conclude an exclusive broadcast contract, which should already be in place in January 2026, when the next tournament takes place.”
The Hexagon Cup was founded by Spaniard Enrique Buenaventura, who was for 13 years the chief business affairs of Formula E, the electric car race acquired in the middle of last year by Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1. Buenaventura is still a partner and CEO of the Hexagon Cup.
This is the eighteenth investment by LinkinFirm, which specializes in sports and entertainment and has already allocated around US$15 million through club deals.
Pedro Arbex
