Robert Lewandowski becomes the latest sports star to join the inaugural Hexagon Cup... as Barcelona star insists he wants to 'take my passion for padel tennis to the next level'

Barcelona star Roberto Lewandowski has become the latest sports icon to sign up for next year's inaugural Hexagon Cup, the competition's organisers have confirmed.

The Hexagon Cup, a brand-new padel tournament launched by the founders behind Formula E, Extreme E, and E1, revealed that Lewandowski's team would join Spanish padel stars Alejandra Salazar and Paquito Navarro, who were initially unveiled as the competition's first team.

Sitting outside of the padel tour's calendar, the Hexagon Cup will be contested by six franchise teams, each with three playing pairs made up of the top men's, women's, and next-gen players.

Speaking on Lewandowski's decision to join, Hexagon Cup founder Enrique Buenaventura said: 'Welcome Robert Lewandowski and the RL9 Team to the Hexagon Cup family. 

'With this exciting addition, we reinforce the nature of this tournament as a global event which attracts great personalities from other sporting disciplines. 

'Our mission is to attract the best personalities and players in the world, provide the most inclusive platform to support emerging talent and grow the padel fan base around the world, so having Robert Lewandowski and his team demonstrates that padel is an inclusive sport that transcends borders'. 

Lewandowski, meanwhile, explained his decision to enroll in the Hexagon Cup, saying, 'Padel is the biggest sport in Spain after football and since living and playing here, I've caught the padel fever.

'As I look to the future, I can see many opportunities. Padel will grow even more around the world. I heard about the Hexagon Cup and loved the concept of attracting Team Owners from different sports. 

'This is my chance to take my passion for sport to the next level. The creation of the RL9 team is an exciting move for me. 

'I'm thrilled to be joining the padel community, and I'm now committed to signing the best players and creating what I hope will be a championship winning team!'

Lewandowski's enrolment in the competition comes just weeks after Rafa Nadal's Academy Team powered by Richard Mille also confirmed their participation.

DMG Ventures last month announced its investment in the team padel tennis tournament, which is set to take place at the Madrid Arena in January and February of next year and boast a €1million (£860,000) prize fund.

The racket sport is often described as a mixture of tennis and squash, and played between doubles pairs, usually in a glass-walled court a third of the size as a lawn tennis court. 

It has attracted a legion of famous fans that have helped boost its international profile, including David Beckham, Andy Murray, Cristiano Ronaldo, and a raft of Formula One drivers.

Red Bull team-principal Christian Horner shared that three-time world champion Max Verstappen had blown off steam after his disappointing finish at the Singapore Grand Prix in September by beating his engineer at padel.