George Horne is keeping his eye firmly on the ball - on and off the pitch - with the Glasgow Warriors star investing in the fastest growing sport in the world. 

Padel has received exponential growth across the last few years with the racquet sport - a combination of tennis and squash - now played by an estimated 30 million people worldwide. David Beckham, Roger Federer and Lionel Messi are amongst sporting greatness to fall in love with the sport and Horne is aiming to accelerate the growth of the game in Scotland. 

Horne was among eight Scotland internationals to invest a combined €500,000 into Smash Padel to help the club operator open seven new sites in 2024. 

George Horne is one of eight Scotland internationals - along with his brother Pete - who investedGeorge Horne is one of eight Scotland internationals - along with his brother Pete - who invested (Image: SNS Group) “It came about after a few of us started playing a little bit a couple of years back and really enjoyed it,” Horne admitted.

“We thought there was nothing really going on in Scotland in terms of places to play. There were a few sites opened up in Edinburgh and stuff.  So we kind of thought we’d maybe try and start something, and an opportunity came up with Smash Padel. 

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"They did a round of investing and a few of us thought ‘Why not give it a go?’ They had a trial site in Bicester Village - I think that has been going really well. And then they’ve got planning permission to open up more courts in Surrey, Cardiff, and other places as well. The news that has been fed down to us as investors is it’s going pretty positively. The growth of the game, first of all in Europe and now in the UK, has been massive. So hopefully it continues.

“We played a lot of tennis growing up, and you kind of struggle with mobility there as you get a bit older. Whereas padel is a bit more accessible for people that are a bit older, so yeah, it’s maybe something that I’ll pick up a bit more.

"But I think my first port of call will be the golf course, to be honest. I think my handicap just now is officially about eight. We don’t play that often. We put in our rounds on the app nowadays. I’d say it’s probably more like a 10 or 12.”

Glasgow are currently in South Africa for their URC double-header against the Sharks and the Stormers.  While it will be an intense two weeks before the break for the Autumn internationals, there could be some time for a padel tournament but it might prove difficult to beat Warriors head coach Franco Smith. 

“I think Franco is quite a good player,” Horne revealed.

George Horne with Glasgow head coach Franco SmithGeorge Horne with Glasgow head coach Franco Smith (Image: SNS) “I’ve never played with him, but it’s quite back in Italy when he was coaching there, and back home in South Africa.

“I’m sure the coaches will be playing [in South Africa], so if they need a spare man I’ll put my hand up. I don’t know if we’ll have much time - it’s going to be a busy two weeks. I’ve not played much. I played on my holidays - me and my brother got into it quite a lot - we played a bit of doubles up at Newlands on the south side.”