VanEck joins Co-Title Sponsors and Leading Padel Industry Players Playtomic and Babolat as the Event’s Core Sponsorship Group.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK, NY (May 11, 2026) – VanEck today announced that it will be the Exclusive ETF Partner of the Anglo American Padel Cup, set to take place in South Florida in February 2027.
The partnership demonstrates the growing global importance of the sport of padel, which has a vibrant community of an estimated 35 million players worldwide*, and the significance of the Anglo American Padel Cup, a unique competition bringing together the best padel players from two nations with an historic sporting rivalry.
VanEck is a global investment manager offering active and passive investment strategies with over $199.1 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2026. Its successful Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) platform has been built upon anticipating investor needs while carefully measuring the potential risk and reward of each new ETF it introduces - a perfect alignment with the sport of padel, which demands strategic thinking and careful assessment of the risk and reward of every shot. The agreement represents the second sports partnership in VanEck’s history (the first being the NHL’s New York Islanders), underscoring the firm’s commitment to like-minded and high-quality organizations.
Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck, said:
“Padel is widely viewed as the fastest-growing sport worldwide, and the Anglo American Padel Cup has quickly established itself as a standout international event, built on a rich and storied sporting rivalry. We see a strong alignment between our global growth and the Cup’s expanding presence across our core ETF markets in the US, UK, and Europe.”
“Padel is widely viewed as the fastest-growing sport worldwide, and the Anglo American Padel Cup has quickly established itself as a standout international event, built on a rich and storied sporting rivalry. We see a strong alignment between our global growth and the Cup’s expanding presence across our core ETF markets in the US, UK, and Europe.”
As the Exclusive ETF Partner, VanEck will play a central role in supporting the tournament’s continued expansion, helping to elevate its global profile and deepen engagement with a growing international audience. VanEck’s partnership represents a strong backing for the culturally-rich tournament and the broader trajectory of the sport. Like padel itself, VanEck has achieved rapid global growth, and continues to expand its footprint across key international markets. This alignment—between a fast-growing sport and a globally scaling financial institution—makes the partnership a natural fit.
The Anglo American Padel Cup made history with its debut London edition in October 2025. Building on the famous 175-year-old Great Britain vs United States sporting rivalry that has covered sailing (America’s Cup), tennis (Davis Cup) and golf (Ryder Cup), the Anglo American Padel Cup set the standard for a new era of inter-nation sporting competition, becoming the most significant and impactful padel competition in the UK to date with an audience of 9.1 million.
The Cup has already attracted leading partners including Playtomic and Babolat. The addition of VanEck further strengthens the tournament’s commercial platform and signals increasing interest from major global brands.
Anglo American Padel Cup Co-Founders Bill Ullman, Ben Nichols and Joelle Quinn, added:
“Having VanEck as our Exclusive ETF Partner is a powerful endorsement of the international padel competition we are building––and a major statement of backing for the sport of padel. It reflects the growing status of the Cup and the increasing relevance of padel in the U.S., UK and worldwide.”
“Having VanEck as our Exclusive ETF Partner is a powerful endorsement of the international padel competition we are building––and a major statement of backing for the sport of padel. It reflects the growing status of the Cup and the increasing relevance of padel in the U.S., UK and worldwide.”
To learn more about VanEck visit: vaneck.com
* Source: FIP World Padel Report 2025
About VanEck
VanEck has a history of looking beyond the financial markets to identify trends that are likely to create impactful investment opportunities. We were one of the first U.S. asset managers to offer investors access to international markets. This set the tone for the firm’s drive to identify asset classes and trends – including gold investing in 1968, emerging markets in 1993, and exchange traded funds in 2006 – that subsequently shaped the investment management industry.
Today, VanEck offers active and passive strategies with compelling exposures supported by well-designed investment processes. As of March 31, 2026, VanEck managed approximately $199.1 billion in assets including mutual funds, ETFs and institutional accounts. The firm’s capabilities range from core investment opportunities to more specialized exposures to enhance portfolio diversification. Our actively managed strategies are fueled by in-depth, bottom-up research and security selection from portfolio managers with direct experience in the sectors and regions in which they invest. Investability, liquidity, diversity, and transparency are key to the experienced decision-making around market and index selection underlying VanEck’s passive strategies.
Since our founding in 1955, putting our clients’ interests first, in all market environments, has been at the heart of the firm’s mission.
About the Anglo American Padel Cup
Launched in London in October 2025, the Anglo American Padel Cup is the first-ever Great Britain vs United States padel competition, igniting a bold new chapter in one of sport’s most iconic rivalries.
The competition returns for its second edition in February 4-6, 2027, at The Replay Club in Palm Beach County, South Florida. Showcasing elite talent across Open and Age Group categories (40s, 50s, 60s), the Cup will expand from 64 to 104 players, introducing deeper men’s and women’s fields alongside a new University Division. Co-founded by Bill Ullman, Ben Nichols and Joelle Quinn, the Anglo American Padel Cup celebrates world-class competition while strengthening the cultural and sporting ties between Great Britain and the United States.
Social Media
Showreel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fFlAeHaI_0.
Media Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nVPPMXjrYk.
Media Contacts
VanEck: Chris Sullivan, Craft & Capital, chris@craftandcapital.com
Anglo American Padel Cup: Ben Nichols, Padel 22, ben@padel22.com, +44 (0) 7457 413702