Forget Tinder: London App Helps Singles Find Love Through Sport

A NEW app launching in London, which an ex-F1 ace has invested £100,000 in, is betting that ‘lonely’ singles could find love in the place they least expect it – on a running track, tennis court or padel court.

PACER, dubbed ‘Sports Tinder’, helps Londoners find compatible people to train, compete and socialise with, matching users according to their favourite sports, ability, goals and availability.

Unlike conventional dating apps, users do not initially sign up looking for romance. Instead, they find people who share their passion for sport – with the potential for friendship, community or something more.

The launch comes as Londoners increasingly turn to organised sport and social clubs to meet people and expand their social circles. Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is among those to have playfully discussed the viral trend of running clubs becoming an alternative to traditional dating apps.

Research commissioned by the Greater London Authority estimates that around 700,000 Londoners feel lonely ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’, with younger adults particularly affected.

Behind the launch is former Formula One ace and Le Mans winner Alex Lynn, who has invested £100,000 in the business alongside founder Dylan Morris-Jones, 27.

Lynn, 32, spent two years as a Williams F1 test driver before winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020 and currently competes in the World Endurance Championship.

He said: “Sport has always been one of the best ways to meet people. You spend time together, you push each other and you naturally build a connection.

“When you’re living in a city like London, there are so many people around you, but it can still be surprisingly difficult to meet people you genuinely have something in common with.

“PACER makes that first step much easier. You might join because you want someone to train with, but if you meet someone you really click with, who knows where that can lead?”

The idea came from Morris-Jones after he moved to Chelsea following university and struggled to find a like-minded sporting community.

He said: “London is an incredible city, but it can also be incredibly lonely. You can have thousands of people around you every day and still struggle to make genuine connections.

“Sport changes that because you immediately have something in common. You’re not walking up to a stranger in a bar trying to think of something to say – you’re there because you both want to run, play tennis, cycle or hit a padel court.

“The primary purpose of the app is to find your sporting community. But if two people meet through sport and it develops into friendship, or something romantic, then that’s a natural consequence of putting compatible people together.”

Lynn added: “If PACER gets people off their phones and onto a running track, tennis court or padel court, that’s a brilliant thing. And if someone happens to find their person while they’re there, even better.”