StarVie

Heritage

StarVie dates from 2002. The brand's own account describes more than two decades spent on padel alone. According to a Spanish padel blog, two padel enthusiasts started it, with early sales concentrated in Barcelona and rackets initially imported rather than made in-house.

The same source reports that in 2008 StarVie was bought by a group that organised padel tournaments, which moved the business to Madrid and changed its suppliers. After investing around 500,000 euros in two industrial units in Azuqueca de Henares, in the province of Guadalajara, the company launched its first self-made collection in 2012.

Making rackets in Spain became the core of the brand's identity. StarVie opened its own factory in Azuqueca de Henares in 2013. Press reports describe production that is more than 95 per cent manual, with EVA rubber cores, tubular frames and carbon faces moulded in aluminium moulds. Decals are applied by hand using water transfer, and the brand states that its raw materials come from European suppliers.

Growth followed. When StarVie marked its 15th anniversary in 2017 with a limited R 8.3 Carbon Soft racket, it reported making 18,000 rackets in 2016 on revenue of 2.5 million euros. At that point it sponsored six players in the World Padel Tour top 20, among them Mapi and Majo Sánchez Alayeto and Carolina Navarro.

StarVie also invested in young players. In 2019 it signed seven young professionals, including Jesús Moya, Íñigo Zaratiegui and Mario del Castillo, alongside established names such as Matías Díaz and Franco Stupaczuk. Bea González joined the brand at 15 and stayed for seven years. Stupaczuk's signature model, the Raptor, remains in the range today.

Demand rose sharply after 2020. CEO Jorge Gómez de la Vega said the factory made 30,000 rackets in 2020 and about 62,000 in 2021, with a 700 square metre extension planned to reach roughly 100,000 in 2022. At that time the brand was selling in 46 countries, with Northern Europe, Italy and Latin America as its main markets. In 2023 ASICS became StarVie's technical partner and outfitted its players, including Bea González, Coki Nieto and Javi Garrido.

From 2022 several leading players left, including Stupaczuk, Momo González and, in early 2024, Bea González. The brand turned to other projects in the meantime. It opened its factory to public tours in 2024, describing it as the largest of its kind in Europe, and began producing padel courts with Global Padel Court.

In 2025 Jorge Gómez de la Vega stepped down after 17 years and Alejandro Fernández-Cid Alegre was appointed CEO. The 2026 collection launched under the line Break the Rules, with former tennis professional Álex Corretja as brand ambassador.

In January 2026 StarVie returned to professional padel by signing Sanyo Gutiérrez, a former world number one, followed by Tamara Icardo. In March 2026 it became main sponsor of the amateur circuit PADEL XP in Spain. The 2027 collection, presented in September 2026, has 12 rackets and brings back signature models: the Eternal for Gutiérrez and the Tritón T-One for Icardo.