Pep is Power
Pep Stonor did not set out to change sport, but once she picked up a padel racquet, she never looked back. What began as a hit with friends became a full-scale commitment to making the sport more accessible for women of all ages.
By Glorious
Photography By Heiko Prigge
You can tell when someone has found their thing. They light up when they talk about it. They speak faster, more freely, their words spilling over with stories and joy. That is what happens when Pep Stonor talks about padel. You feel it straight away. This is not just a hobby or a bit of cardio. It is purpose, connection and confidence, wrapped up in one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.
When Sweaty Betty tasked Glorious to help create a campaign for their Power Collection, they asked us to find women across a range of sports who represented strength in its broadest sense. Not just physical ability, but confidence, individuality and community. We had met Pep before and knew immediately she had to be part of it. She is warm, funny, clear-sighted and quietly driven – someone who lifts others up just by doing what she does.
Pep didn’t hesitate. Chic, composed and with her signature perfectly coiffed bob, she stepped into the studio with quiet energy and clear purpose. The result? Power in every frame.
Pep’s own journey into padel didn’t begin in a glossy campaign moment or with a strategic business plan. It started, like it did for so many, during the quiet monotony of lockdown. She had always been sporty, growing up in a classic Australian household where sport was part of life. Cricket, swimming, tennis, touch rugby, netball – you name it, she played it. Now based in the UK, she went on to compete in netball and tennis at University level. But like many women, adult life brought changes. Team sport faded into the background. Fitness became something to fit around work and family.
Then came the pandemic. “Like the rest of us, I was tired of running and walking up and down my road by myself!” she laughs. So when her local sports club, Stoke Park, reopened and offered a roll-up padel session, she gave it a go. “I loved it straight away and became addicted to wanting to learn more!” she says. “I also wanted to compete early on, which was strange, because although I played tennis when I was older, I never really loved tennis competitions as a junior.” This time, though, something clicked. Padel was not just another sport to squeeze into an already busy life. It became a space to thrive, to connect, to push herself again.
And it was fun!
Today, Pep is the founder of Empower Padel, a fast-growing movement designed to support women and girls to take up, stay in or return to team sport through padel. The idea was sparked by her own experiences, but it has grown into something far bigger than she imagined. “Founding Empower Padel has been hugely rewarding. I am genuinely fulfilled knowing that every day I am working to engage and inspire more women,” she says. “I want women everywhere to enjoy the mental and physical benefits that a lifelong love of sport brings.”
The growth of padel has mirrored Pep’s own evolution, both as a businesswoman and as an individual. After years of doing what so many women do, replacing team sport with solitary workouts and short bursts of exercise that fit around work and family, she rediscovered the joy of playing with others. “Playing padel regularly has been enormous for my self-confidence. Over time I have become stronger physically and also met an amazing community of players all over the world.”
Team sport, she says, offers something that individual training never quite matches. “It’s a well-known fact that if you commit to going to the gym with a friend the night before, you are much more likely to go. Social connection is number one for well-being, and playing sport with friends has been a huge boost to my confidence.”
community
Her love of learning and the drive to improve keep her coming back. “Although padel is easy to take up, it is difficult to master,” she says. “Some of the skills, such as hitting the ball off the wall, take time to learn. I enjoy challenging myself to get better. I’m still on that journey.” And she is not on it alone. Thanks to brilliant coaching and an expanding community, Pep is helping build something that reaches far beyond the court.
In 2022, that journey took a serious turn. Pep was selected to play for the Australian Vets team, a huge honour that came with pressure. “There were only six women in the team so I needed to be able to play. Four months out from the competition, I pulled my calf muscle. It was a huge challenge,” she says. With the help of physios and strength coaches, she made it back. It was a turning point, a moment where she pushed through doubt and injury and reconnected with her own strength.
There is no performance without community, and Empower Padel is built on the belief that shared experience is transformative. “Essential to Empower Padel is our team of women who want to lift each other up and help each other realise their best potential,” she says. “We are a movement and a great community. That’s powerful.”
You see this clearly in their work with schools, especially the “Introduction to Padel” initiative which brought 72 girls into the sport. The programme ran in partnership with The Hurlingham Foundation and was match-funded by Laureus Sport to offer weekly coaching to girls during PE. “I feel privileged to have had sport as a key part of my whole life. It shocks me that 46 percent of teenage girls drop out of sport altogether, and only 15 percent of girls globally are doing enough exercise,” she says, citing data from the Sweaty Betty Foundation. “Padel is such a great sport for girls to engage in and enjoy.”
That sense of joy and ease is key to Pep’s philosophy. She knows from experience that stepping onto court for the first time can be a huge leap. “I see this all the time just with the way women approach learning padel. Before they have even got onto court, they’ll say ‘I’m not good enough,’ ‘I’ve never played tennis,’ ‘I won’t know anyone,’” she explains. “That’s part of our job- to break down these barriers of years of gender inequity.”
Sport, she says, is never just about technique. It is about learning to trust your own ability, to show up, to give it a go. “It gives me so much joy to see a woman realise that she can play sport, especially when she has never had sport in her life before.”
She knows this personally. “Having children was a big shock and I probably struggled more than I realised at the time,” she reflects. “Having children is a privilege but also a huge responsibility. I probably just wasn’t prepared.” That season of life brought plenty of change, but also the slow realisation that all her past experiences in business, sport and charity had prepared her for something new. “Launching the business last year was a specific moment where I realised that everything I had done could have a big impact on other women and girls.”
Her approach to success now is gentler, more rooted. She has done the high-flying career. She has been Chair and Trustee of a London charity. She has founded a digital health start-up after going back to university in her forties. But Empower Padel is something else entirely. “It’s truly fulfilling to share my love of sport with women and girls. It’s about making a real impact on their lives.”
Running a business, raising a family, staying connected to the people around her. It is a lot. But Pep has found ways to keep burnout at bay. She is strict about mornings: pilates, weights and a walk with the dog before any phone scrolling. She does her focused work early, with the phone left in another room. Her evenings are for stretching, and her phone goes downstairs by 8pm. “All the routine goes out the window in school holidays, of course,” she laughs.
leadership
Through it all, Pep has stayed grounded in one belief: sport is for everyone. It does not matter how good you are, what you have done before, or how long it has been. If you are curious, that is enough. “We know that before a woman even steps onto a padel court for the first time, there are many barriers she will have overcome to get there,” she says. “Time, cost, caring responsibilities, confidence. All of it.”
She has seen how easily comparison creeps in, especially for women who did not grow up playing sport. “Gender inequity starts by age five, so when we meet women wanting to try padel, most are already comparing themselves to inbuilt bias,” she explains. “When they learn in an environment where they are celebrated for their own strengths and qualities, and the other women are cheering them on, there’s no holding them back.”
Her advice to newcomers is simple: bring a friend, find a free taster session, do not spend loads on kit, and ask for help. “Most women were introduced to the sport by a female friend. We know that finding someone to go with is key,” she says. “And remember to have fun!”
Fun might not be the word that comes to mind when you think of leadership, but for Pep, it is part of the package. She is chic, smart and serious about her mission, but not in a way that ever feels out of reach. She gets it. She laughs at herself. She is the kind of person you would want on your team, on or off court.
Because Pep is power. But more than that, Pep shares power. And she’s only just getting started!
Want to own your Power? Find out more about Sweaty Betty’s multi-workout Power collection here.
Find out more about Pep and Empower Padel here.
Pep wears”
Outfit 1 (Title Image): Power 6″ Colour Block Shorts in Navy Blue and Fuchsia Pink worn with the Breathe Easy Running Vest in Navy Blue, the Stamina Seamless Sports Bra in both Navy Blue and White, and topped off with the Swiftie Pace Cap in Camelia Pink.
Outfit 2:
Athlete Seamless Gym T-Shirt in Heather Purple paired with the Power Legging in Purple Meadow Print and finished with the Breathe Easy Running Vest in Navy Blue.
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