Renowned as one of the major fashion capitals of the world – Milan it is also carving out a reputation as one of padel’s top destinations.

While the city’s stunning Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II boasts the world’s best designers such as Gucci, Versace and Prada in this Milanese shopping icon, the padel court is quickly becoming the new catwalk in this sporting city, with many brands taking a share of the limelight.

Having hosted the Milano Premier Padel P1 event just over a month ago featuring the best players in the sport, padel was again back in the spotlight with the second Padel Trend Expo.

Having taken the plunge last year with the first dedicated event for padel, it has built on the success of the inaugural expo 12 months ago, outperforming in its key indicators by 20 percent or more.

There were 120 stands (up 20%), there were 145 brands (up 28%) and more than 22,000 visitors (up 23%). These increases are definitely worthy of popping open a few extra bottles of prosecco in celebration.

"We are thrilled with this second edition, both for the growth in numbers and, above all, for the quality of the visitors - many of whom came from England, France, Sweden, the United States, and China - with whom we shared every single moment of this padel 'celebration',” said Luigi Spera, Director General of Padel Trend Expo.

“The audience, exhibitors, and sponsors, whom I thank once again, along with FITP and the Municipality of Milan, fully embraced the spirit of our initiative, which encourages us to do even better in the future,"

The Expo is unique in being a blend for both the trade and consumers, with both harmoniously sitting side by side.

For those in the padel business, everything from court construction to covers to flooring to lockers and every conceivable aspect was there. If securing opportunities on land is an issue, then why not consider putting your court on water!

Ville Leisti of Floating Padel saw plenty of interest in their business. He said: “The show has been pretty good. Friday was more B2B, which is very important for us, and then it’s been more B2C clients the other two days.

“I like this show, it’s good to have all the people around padel in the same place and we are young company with a unique product and it’s important for us to participate and spread the word of what we actually do.”

For Luca Bargagli of Spanish racket manufacturer Sane, there are plenty of positives from the Expo, particularly with the larger racket brands choosing not to exhibit. However, creating a dedicated trade only day would be advantageous.

“We knew we were going to have a very good week as we were here last year,” he said.

“We had high expectations and they were met. Saturday was very busy with a lot of private clients and Friday was very more B2B with contacts with new clubs and in people interested in producing rackets with us. We also had exhibitions on the court with the new collection.

“It’s a good thing that there are very few of the big brands here as we can showcase our quality and there’s no other brands taking away the attention.

“I think it’s a mistake as this is the most important trade fair in the world and it’s the place to be.”

For those who play padel, it was a real Alladin’s cave of consumables, dominated by racket and apparel brands. There was a chance to consider your next padel trip, try products on the courts, investigate the latest training aids or just catch the action on the show courts with many of the world’s leading players here to entertain but also share their skills in the clinics.

The Expo also hosted the opening event of the Inclusive Padel Tour, which featured the UK’s Jack Binstead, Luke Dolphin and Rob Teague all competing.

In the thirst for knowledge, there was the Inspiration Hub, which covered several topics including the first National Conference on Padel Traumatology and the Club of the Future.

The one drawback to this – it was only in Italian.

Finally, the unexpected star of the show had to be the presence of the Davis Cup. Yes, it’s a tennis trophy, but with Italy having won it last year, the FITP saw sense to bring it to the show – attracting thousands of photos. (Who knew it was so huge as well!)

Talking of huge, you can expect next year’s Padel Trend Expo to no doubt be even bigger.