🎙️ ALBORAN SOCIAL CLUB PODCAST | Episode 2: Jethro Binns | Live on court at Padel4All Lockleaze, Bristol

Welcome to episode two of the Alborán Social Club podcast, filmed on court at Padel4All in Lockleaze, Bristol. This month we're joined by Jethro Binns, co-founder of Padel Levels, for a deep dive into one of the biggest questions in UK padel right now: do we have a levels and ratings problem?

Jethro's path into padel is anything but conventional, a former professional squash player (peaked at #86 in the world), he built Squash Levels into the trusted global rating system for squash before bringing that experience into padel via Level Tech and Padel Levels. We talk about:

His transition from squash to padel (including ripping a nail off on his first session)
Why the Padel World Summit in Barcelona matters, and what changed between his first and second year attending
The "27% worse" article that crystallised the problem with existing rating scales
Why he sees Playtomic, PadelMates and Nettla as booking platforms with ratings "bolted on," not real ratings platforms
How Padel Levels' algorithm compares actual results to expected outcomes rather than just rewarding wins
The unique challenges of rating a doubles sport, cold starts, and messy match data
The story behind Level Tech's £360k Innovate UK grant (a ~1.5% success rate program)
Ongoing conversations with the LTA and FIP about becoming an official national/global rating standard
Where AI and camera tracking could take padel ratings next

Find Padel Levels at padellevels.io, and follow them on Instagram and LinkedIn.

#padel #JethroBinns #PadelLevels #AlboranSocialClub #PadelBusiness #barcelona #podcast #sportsbusiness #padelcommunity