Over 100 registered for SLPL player draft
Over 100 players have registered for next weekend’s player auction of the inaugural Sri Lanka Padel League (SLPL), which will get underway from June 20 at the Padel House located within the CR&FC premises in Longden Place. With the number of teams being extended from six to eight, 64 players will stand a chance to feature themselves in the country’s first-ever padel league, based on the demand of the franchises.
Each of the eight teams of the SLPL will be eligible to rake in players either through draft or auction within a total purse of Rs 150,000 to form their full squad, to eight players or more. Players have been classified into two categories – the Pro Division where national-level or internationally ranked players, and the Intermediate Division where club-level players and emerging talent are slotted in.
Karin Wijeratne explaining facts of the inaugural SLPL
Pro Division players will be picked through a draft on a fixed price of Rs. 30,000 while the Intermediate players will be picked through a bidding auction beginning from a base price of Rs. 10,000. Teams should have a minimum of four players and a maximum of eight to field players across the three categories – Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Doubles.
“But if a team wishes to have players more than the maximum number of eight that will be up to the franchise, however they must stick within the total purse,” noted Karin Wijeratne, Director of Eventistry Sports, the organisers of SLPL.
Originally planned with six teams, the inaugural SLPL will now feature eight franchises with the high demand from stakeholders who have shown keen interest to become part of the three-day league. Accordingly the teams that have been finalised are Colombo Aces, Kandy Tuskers, Ella Archers, Yala Rangers, Trinco Titans, Galle Fort Mariners, Unawatuna Makaras and The Recovery Room – Arugam Bay.
Colombo Aces are jointly owned by Viren Beruwalage, Ranga Wimalasuriya and Saurika Livindu while Kandy Tuskers is solely owned by Punsala Raddella. Dulan Gomis & Co owns Ella Archers while Rajeev Rajapakse and Shamal Perera jointly hold the ownership of Yala Rangers. Similarly Trinco Titans are owned by Hardy Jamaldeen and Shafras Riluwan while Galle Fort Mariners are solely owned by Oliver Scarr. Shanki Dandeniya holds the ownership of Unawatuna Makaras while The Recovery Room – Arugam Bay, another interesting franchise, is jointly owned by Rukmal Cooray, Vidusha de Silva, Tharindra and Sankha Atukorale.
“It will be interesting to see how the inaugural player draft and auction work out. I’m sure it will be as exciting as the upcoming SLPL at the Vault by Playtrix on May 24 when franchises battle it out to pull in players of their choices. The player draft and auction will also be streamed live for those who are interested to be part of it, but cannot be there in person next Saturday from 5:00pm,” explained an overwhelmed Wijeratne.
Padel, a rapidly growing racquet sport in Sri Lanka, is a hybrid of tennis, squash, and even table tennis. Many prominent international padel players, including former WTA Tour professionals Roberta Vinci and Lara Arruabarrena, began their careers in tennis. Though the sport originated in Mexico in 1969 and grew gradually over decades, it surged in global popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic due to its compatibility with health protocols such as limited physical contact.
“We believe Sri Lanka is ready for a new kind of sport—fast-paced, energetic, and most importantly, community-driven. These were the core motivations behind the creation of the SLPL,” went on to explain Wijeratne.
Padel arrived in Sri Lanka a few years ago, and in February 2024, with the launch of the country’s first official court—Padel House—in Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo. The venue hosted Sri Lanka’s inaugural padel tournament on June 19 the same year. Since then, Padel House has expanded its operations to CR&FC in Longden Place, offering a total of four fully-fledged courts in Colombo.
Eventistry Sports has scheduled the inaugural SLPL to be held at the Padel House courts at CR&FC, Malalasekara Mawatha, on June 21, 22, and 23. The launch of the SLPL was formally announced at a press conference held at Playtrix, Colombo City Centre, in the presence of sponsors and potential franchise owners on April 3.