Padel’s Hexagon Cup, the teams tournament backed by several global sporting stars, has strengthened its global visibility ahead of its third edition, securing a new broadcast partnership with Indian sport-focused platform FanCode.
Under the deal, FanCode will provide exclusive coverage of the 2026 Hexagon Cup being held in Madrid, Spain, from January 28 to February 1, which will feature eight franchise teams comprising male, female, and next-gen players to create unique pairings.
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The team’s have high-profile owners from sport and entertainment, including former tennis player Andy Murray and British boxer Anthony Joshua (AD/vantage Padel Team), soccer’s Robert Lewandowski (RL9 Padel Team) and Sergio Aguero (Kru Padel by Taktika), Formula 1 motor racing driver Pierre Gasly (X Padel), and Hollywood actor Eva Longoria (ElevenEleven).
The tournament’s new partnership with FanCode amid a rapid adoption of padel in urban India, with industry estimates suggesting close to one million Indians have played the sport, largely concentrated in cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Pune.
Tim Godfrey, strategic advisor for broadcast and media at Hexagon Cup, added: “India is one of the most exciting growth markets for padel right now, with strong momentum in participation and a rapidly emerging fan culture.
“Partnering with FanCode is a powerful step for the Hexagon Cup, allowing us to reach new audiences through a platform that truly understands how Indian sports fans consume content today.”
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By GlobalDataThe new rights deal comes days after international sports streaming platform DAZN was announced as the global broadcaster for the tournament.
Under that deal, DAZN will broadcast all matches of this year’s edition free-to-air, excluding the US, Central and South America, and India, live and on demand.
DAZN Group chief executive Shay Segev said: “Our long-term partnership with the Hexagon Cup shows what happens when a world-class event meets a truly global platform. With free-to-view access and enhanced coverage in Spain, DAZN brings scale, accessibility, and premium production that will accelerate the tournament’s international ambitions and introduce even more fans to padel.”
Ahead of this year’s edition, the competition secured international insurance heavyweight Generali Group as its title sponsor, with the tournament now officially named Generali Hexagon Cup.
Generali replaces French sports car manufacturer Alpine, which held the designation for last year’s tournament.
The new deal comes a month after tournament organizers announced the competition would expand into a whole worldwide circuit of events, having been first launched by Formula E and Extreme E founders Enrique Buenaventura, Simon Freer, Alejandro Agag, and Alberto Longo in 2024.
Up until this point, the Hexagon Cup has been a short single tournament taking place each year in Madrid, but that will now change, thanks to a partnership struck by the event's organizers with the International Padel Federation (FIP) governing body, and with worldwide sports and entertainment agency 54.
54, involved in the creation of the controversial and lucrative LIV Golf rebel series a few years ago, will invest in and partner with the Hexagon Cup to launch the Hexagon World Series.
This will become the first team padel series to be launched under the FIP's governance and will be integrated into the body's calendar.
It will take place alongside the existing Premier Padel circuit (played by pairs, not teams) and will add "multiple events per year across new international locations," the FIP has said.
Details around the new series will be unveiled next year, according to the governing body.
The sport's authorities are currently attempting to boost padel's chances of being included in the Olympic program and hope that this addition of a top-tier teams-based series is a step towards doing that.
Read: Globalization and professionalization the goal for Hexagon Cup in year two (2025).
