Ball Slapping

This week on Ball Slapping, Dan Grant is joined by Jared Robinson and the team behind one of the UK's most exciting new premium indoor padel club. Tom and Louis are leading the development of Rulo , a brand-new indoor padel venue in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, designed from the ground up to deliver a world-class player experience. But what actually goes into creating a premium sports club? We di...

🎾 Why is squash declining while padel is booming? In this episode of the Ball Slapping Podcast, Dan Grant and Jared Robinson sit down with former professional squash player and padel industry leader Roxy Keshavarz . Roxy reveals how she reached a world ranking of 125 in squash, why her dad stopped her playing for a year because she was already beating her brother, and the bizarre story of being s...

🎾 Why do some padel clubs thrive while others struggle? In this episode of the Ball Slapping Podcast, Daniel Grant and Jared Robinson sit down with Phil Cornhill, Director of Clubs at UK Padel, to uncover what really makes a successful padel club. From two courts in a car park to one of the UK's busiest padel communities, Phil shares how UK Padel has built an environment where players keep coming...

Padel is exploding across the UK and Europe… but why is everyone suddenly obsessed? In this episode of Ball Slapping, we’re joined by Jared Robinson , former UK Top 10 padel player, coach, and founder of AllCourtPadel. From dismissing padel as a “tennis-lite joke” to becoming one of the best players in the country, Jared breaks down what makes the sport so addictive. Don't forget to watch the sist...

What does it actually take to grow sport in the UK?In this episode, I sit down with Alex Cole, who went from dreaming of leading Sport England at 15 to working inside the system itself. We get into grassroots sport, funding, bureaucracy, participation, and why some of the best ideas struggle to get off the ground. We also cover:How Sport England really works behind the scenesWhy grassroots sport i...

What do you get when you mix a U.S. President, a bad back, and a medicine ball? Hoover Ball . In this episode I sit down with Quentin Hick, President of Hoov Nation, to unpack one of the most underrated and surprisingly intense sports on the planet. Originally created for President Herbert Hoover to keep him fit on the White House lawn, Hoover Ball has evolved into a full-blown beach court spectac...

In this episode of Ball Slapping, we sit down with Rashid Ahmad , founder of Touchtennis , to unpack how a simple idea in his garden turned into a fast-growing global sport. We talk about where Touchtennis came from, why it resonates with players of all ages, and what happens when you strip a sport back to its essentials. Rashid shares the design philosophy behind smaller courts, lighter rackets,...

In this episode of Ball Slapping, Dan heads to the Rugby Fives National Singles Finals to interview the best players in the country and to work out what makes them tick. We talk with current and previous National Champions to get a real insight into the sport, its values and just how hard this sport is. Rugby Fives is a traditional British version of handball played on stone squash-like court with...

In this episode of Ball Slapping , Dan and Christian sit down with Phil (Felipe Borges), the founder of Tens Finest , the number one street media brand for the sport of Handball. We talk about how Tens Finest started, what drives him and how the brand has become a movement across wallball, handball, paddle communities. Phil opens up about building a YouTube channel from scratch and the importance...

Join us from Mexico City as we attend (and play in) the 2025 World Frontball Championships. We'll be joined by co-host Danielle Daskalakis - one of the best female handball athletes of all time, as we check out the event, meet the players and the guy who set the whole thing up - Jean-Michel Idiart. Frontball is a handball variant - heavy ball, one wall, line to hit it above. Expect long sloggy...

Gaz and Dan hop back to 2009 — Portland, Oregon — for a trip down memory lane. It’s the World Handball Championships, where legends were made, friendships were forged, and the nights were almost as wild as the games. Expect nostalgia, chaos, and a few questionable memories. Paul Brady got a 3rd title, Willie Polanco and Rookie Wright cleaned up the 1-Wall, and the English both landed on two feet a...

We’re back — and this time, it’s all about Rugby Fives! 🧤 Ball Slaps hits the courts at the Rugby Fives London Open, one of the sport’s biggest and most historic tournaments. Host Dan Grant dives into the action, catching the atmosphere and chatting with players across generations. Hear from: 🏆 Dan Tristao, multiple national champion and current no.2 player 🎙️ Charlie Brooks, multiple doubles na...

Ball Slaps goes international! 🇪🇸 In this special live episode, we head to Tavernes Blanques just outside Valencia for the 1Wall World Tour Spanish Open . Joined by co-host Christian Blackaby , we soak up the sunshine, the atmosphere, and the chaos of one of the most vibrant stops on the wallball circuit. We chat with: 🎙️ Shinan Zhang , captain of Team GB Women’s squad 🎙️ Chris Gavaghan , the voic...

This week we’ve got the legend himself — Dan Tristao . He’s the current no.1 in Rugby Fives and one of the greatest players the game’s ever seen. We chat about how he first got hooked, his cheekiest wins, favourite memories, and what actually goes into training at the very top. Plus, he takes on YOUR questions in classic Ball Slapping style. Big shots, big laughs, big Dan energy.

In this episode of Ball Slapping , Dan and Gareth sit down with Camden Riviere — the current World Number 1 and defending World Champion in Real Tennis (also known as Court Tennis or Royal Tennis or Jeu de Paume). Camden takes us deep inside one of the oldest, quirkiest, and most complex racket sports on the planet. From his early days in the U.S. to dominating courts around the world, we explore...

Welcome to the first ever episode of Ball Slapping —a podcast about the weird and wonderful world of ball sports where you hit things with your hands, a racket, or sometimes a frying pan. Dan Grant and Gareth Price dive into Fives, Wallball, and the chaos of Church Pelota. It’s niche. It’s nerdy. It slaps.