Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s culture, strategy, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Padel is getting serious money. A €20M investment just put Germany’s biggest padel operator at a valuation north of €65M. And apparently, tokenized padel real estate is a thing now, too.

Meanwhile, two of the top men’s duos swapped partners, and word is spreading about a couple at the top of the sport who’ve been keeping things a lot more low-key than their ranking suggests…

Also in this issue:
— The overhead you forgot to use
— Ten courts, three states, one week
— Pros divide and conquer across the world

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Now Open

• Lobb’s Padel just opened in The Woodlands, TX (30 miles north of downtown Houston) with five indoor courts, alongside a full wellness area with sauna and cold plunge, a café, pro shop, and coaching. The club is pitching itself as more than a place to play, with open plays, leagues, clinics, and social events.

  

• Vitesse Padel just opened in Gray, TN (part of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol area in the Northeast corner of the state), bringing the region its first-ever padel facility with two outdoor courts. Founded by former Dutch pro soccer player Michael Louter alongside Vitesse Soccer Academy, the family-run facility is betting that padel’s accessibility and social appeal can translate from Europe and LatAm to the local market, with a mission centered on introducing the sport to the local community.

  

• Padel Social has opened its permanent home in Bethesda, MD (7 miles outside downtown Washington, DC) with three lighted outdoor courts. The club will feature a clubhouse with a pro shop, food & beverage options, and social space.

  

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Austin Padel Center just broke ground on its permanent flagship location.

• Remember PURE Pickleball & Padel, the upcoming facility expected to be the world’s largest indoor pickleball & padel venue? The project is now the first real-estate investment tokenized by Caliber, a Scottsdale-based alternative asset manager, giving investors the option to hold a digital ownership certificate tied to the underlying real estate and operating business.

📈 Up Your Game 

The Overhead You Forgot to Use

So, you see a lob coming over your head and immediately start scrambling backward, trying to get underneath it so you can hit your trusty bandeja.

But what if the better move is to not move at all?

In this 7-minute video, Coach Sandy from The Padel School explains the gancho, a deceptively simple overhead that (right-handed) players use to handle lobs coming over their left shoulder while quickly regaining the net.

Just like the bandeja, the gancho keeps your opponents pinned deep, forces a difficult ball, and gets you back to the net. The difference is that you hit it directly over your head rather than moving to the side of the ball (like in a traditional bandeja).

For right-side players, this shot particularly matters because when a lob comes over your left shoulder, you’d have to move toward the center of the court to properly set up a bandeja… which (1) takes you out of position, and (2) leaves a ton of space for your opponents to attack.

And with the gancho, you can make contact higher and closer to the net, meaning you don’t have to give up your critical net position.

The target should be the opponent’s back corner, ideally involving the glass or fence. Your gancho will likely bounce higher than your bandeja (because of the higher contact), so using the glass or fence helps kill the ball and make it harder to defend.

Lastly, contact the ball slightly in front of you with a relatively straight arm, and drive through it in a downward direction. So step in, save yourself a few steps with the gancho, and get your ass back to the net. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

Big Money Comes for German Padel (🇩🇪🇫🇷)

If you haven’t heard of PadelCity, it’s a name you should know now. Based in Munich, they’re a padel club operator founded in 2022 that’s become one of the biggest players in German padel at 24 clubs, 190 courts, and ~300K active players in its community. Backers include German soccer legends Hansi Flick, Mats Hummels, and Joshua Kimmich.

Last week, publicly-listed Compagnie des Alpes (“CDA”) bought 33.9% of PadelCity for €20M. Based in Paris, CDA is a leisure company that runs ski resorts and theme parks, and owns Urban Group, France’s biggest operator of recreational padel and soccer facilities. They also locked in call options to go to ~75% by 2028 and full ownership by 2030. Of the €20M, €12M went in as fresh capital and €8M bought out existing shareholders, valuing PadelCity north of €65M.

This is a pretty big deal, as Germany’s padel scene has been almost entirely independent single-site clubs, and PadelCity is currently the largest padel operator in the country. Compare that to Spain, for example, where BamVolea already operates 14 clubs and 250+ courts and calls itself the “largest padel club network in the world.”

Zooming out, Playtomic’s 2026 industry report classifies Germany (along with the UK and Ireland) as a “Hotspot” market, meaning that player demand and willingness to pay are already strong, but club and court infrastructure hasn’t caught up yet. So I think it’s fair to say that CDA is aiming to close that gap.

• Side bar, Playtomic considers 🇺🇸 as a “Diamond in the Rough” alongside India and Australia (i.e., early-stage and fragmented, with demand still irregular and price-sensitive).

Point being, if this move pays off for CDA, expect other strategics (i.e., ski resort groups, gym chains, and sports private equity funds) to look at this ecosystem gap the same way.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

From LA & Mumbai, With Love [In the Air] (🇺🇸🇮🇳🇮🇹)

While the Premier Padel circuit takes a quick break for the dog days of summer, some players scattered to Los Angeles for the second round of the Pro Padel League season, while others went to Mumbai for Season 4 of India’s annual World Padel League.

• Los Angeles saw DC Matrix’s Ara Martínez and Marina Guinart claim the women’s title and Mexico Waves’ David Gala and Maximiliano Arce take the men’s crown, with both finals decided in super tie-breaks. And Jamie Foxx even showed up as a special guest for the coin toss. Off-court, the LA Beat hosted a star-studded showcase at a Beverly Hills private court.

• Meanwhile in Mumbai, the Game Changers Lions captured their first-ever WPL title, beating the Aussie Mavericks Jaguars in the Season 4 Final. World No. 2s Bea González / Paula Josemaría, plus Federico Mourino / Teodoro Zapata and Gonzalo Alfonso / Sanyo Gutiérrez all delivered wins for the Lions, who also edged the Vedanta Leopards in the Semifinal.

And off-court, interesting happenings have occurred regarding partnerships at the top of the pro circuit, both professionally and romantically…

• Within the men’s circuit, Coki Nieto and Mike Yanguas are back together, while Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz are officially joining forces.

• No. 1 Arturo Coello said he’d love to finish his career alongside his longtime partner, Agustín Tapia… a pretty ambitious dream given how much can change within pro padel.

• And speaking of Tapia, apparently he and Marta Ortega have been keeping an extremely low-key relationship. Add “padel’s secret power couple” to the list of things I didn’t expect to be writing about when I started this newsletter…

Looking ahead, padel is making its debut as a medal sport at the quadrennial Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy, starting this Saturday. 88 athletes from 18 countries will compete across men’s, women’s and mixed doubles, marking another step in padel’s push into major multisport events, including the Olympics. Spain brings a stacked squad, while Italy, Portugal, and France are among the other medal contenders.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Marketing Brew (part of prominent newsletter Morning Brew) just took a look at padel’s growing appeal to American brands. (🇺🇸)

• Our friends at Padel Nation might be onto something… are multi-sport clubs the future of padel’s sustained success in the US? (🇺🇸)

• Padel just took over the Sydney Opera House for the inaugural Padel Invitational, bringing together celebs, community players, tennis legends, and Premier Padel stars. (🇦🇺)

  • Speaking of, how much do you know about Aussie padel (# courts, # players, etc.)?

• The UK is getting its first-ever floating padel courts at Vibora Liverpool Waters. Guess we’ve officially run out of land? (🇬🇧)

• Rafa Nadal Academy plans to open its first Southeast Asian center in Indonesia in 2028, focusing on tennis and padel. (🇮🇩)

• The Generali Hexagon Cup will make Madrid its inaugural event and 2027 season opener in an attempt to carve out a permanent place in the pro padel calendar. (🇪🇸)

• Community musings:

  • When is it time for you to actually pick a side? Team left, or team right?

  • Are the pros getting away with illegal serves? It’s such a hard-to-police rule that can give taller players an arguably unfair advantage.

  • Does Chingo’s diamond racket even make sense given his control-heavy game? Or is the “diamond = power, round = control” thesis a massive oversimplification?

🤩 Cool Court of the Week

📍 Los Angeles, CA, 🇺🇸
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• The UK Is a Siren Song for US Padel

• Has Padel Become Too Fast?

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s culture, strategy, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Coming fresh off the London P1, the UK is scaling fast with more courts, bigger tournaments, and hundreds of thousands of bookings. Sounds great, right?

Welp… there’s a catch. And the US is already showing some of the same warning signs.

Also in this issue:
— Agassi’s padel facility empire
— The proper time to play the chiquita
— Fourteen new courts hit AZ, CO, PA, & FL
— Premier Padel gets its youngest-ever titleist
— Two breakups, one “shitty partner”

…and plenty more. Dale che!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Now Open

• Padeland is having its Grand Opening in downtown Chandler, AZ (24 miles outside Phoenix) on August 13, featuring three indoor padel courts and seven indoor pickleball courts. The 35,000-square-foot facility will feature a restaurant & bar, on-site brewery, coffee shop, coworking space, pro shop, sauna & cold plunges, strength-training area, and outdoor terrace.

  

• Arenna Denver is set to hold its Grand Opening on August 15 in Denver, CO’s Sun Valley neighborhood (just 2 miles from downtown), with six indoor courts featuring 32-foot clear heights. The club will also offer a pro shop, social lounge, juice bar, fitness area, co-working space, lockers, cold plunge, and showers.

  

• In Lafayette Hill, PA (13 miles outside Philadelphia), Green Valley Country Club just added two outdoor courts (built by MejorSet) to its racquet-sports mix at its 182-acre property. The move gives members another amenity alongside the club’s golf, tennis, pool, dining, and fitness offerings.

  

• Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, FL has officially opened three outdoor padel courts, becoming the first country club in Southwest Florida to offer padel exclusively to its members. The club is also rolling out “Intro to Padel” classes with a dedicated instructor.

  

On the Down-Low 🤫

• The Club at Midtown, a private recreation club redeveloping a former racquet & swim club in Wilmington, NC, is considering replacing six of its ten approved outdoor pickleball courts with three padel courts.

Get smarter about padel! Subscribe here.

📈 Up Your Game 

The Proper Time to Play the Chiquita

You’re somewhere around the back of the court, see your opponent standing a few meters off the net, and think: “This is it. Time for the chiquita.”

You feather one in. It bounces too close to the net, your opponent lets it bounce, and suddenly you’re stuck watching them take control of the point.

But ooof… you played a chiquita because you *could*, not because you *should*.

Fortunately, Coach Mauri Andrini explains the shot incredibly well in this 8-minute video:

1. The chiquita is a transition shot, not an attack. Its job is to force your opponent to volley from below net height, giving you the opportunity to move forward and take the net yourself.

2. When placing the ball, get it to land ~6.5-9.5 feet (2-3 meters) behind the net, coming in at ~4-10 inches (10-25cm) above the net… close enough that your opponent has to volley, but not so close that you’re taking a huge risk by hitting over the net. And once you hit it, go forward immediately.

3. Not every ball is a chiquita ball. If you’re stretched wide, playing crosscourt, or your opponent has a big angle available, a chiquita can make your position worse. You’re giving them an easy passing lane while you’re still far from the net. Instead, use the lob to push them back and open up the court.

4. Harder isn’t always better. If your opponent is moving backward, sure, speed it up. But if they’re already positioned at the net, a softer chiquita into the space around their body can be much more uncomfortable than trying to blast the ball through them.

TLDR, get the ball low to make them volley up, and move forward. Oh and most importantly, earn the right to play it. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

Is 🇬🇧 Becoming a Warning for 🇺🇸 Padel?

As an American, I’ve become increasingly interested in the UK padel market. It’s English-speaking, culturally similar, and (while clearly more mature) still early enough that its successes + mistakes offer a useful preview of what could be coming Stateside.

This week’s inaugural Premier Padel P1 in London offered a particularly useful snapshot:

• Organizers claimed ~20,000 spectators, although “sold out” claims are also worth treating skeptically; ticket vendors and promoters have a tendency to stretch that term, and photos from the quarterfinals look noticeably different from the final. Regardless, attendance appeared to far exceed that of this year’s second-annual Miami P1.

• The Olympia venue was undeniably several echelons above the single hall used inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. Premier Padel co-chief executive David Serrahima is already promising a “bigger and better” London edition in 2027.

• On the competitive player base, wildcard Christian Medina Murphy was the only UK player to reach the Round of 32, while no US player advanced beyond the Round of 64 in Miami.

Meanwhile, at the recreational level:

• UK Playtomic bookings have allegedly outpaced Spain’s every month since February 2026, reaching 595,511 in July versus 418,034 in Spain. But major caveat… having spent a solid chunk of my summer in Madrid, I’ve learned locals regularly bypass Playtomic due to its additional “brokerage fees” via underground WhatsApp groups.

• The UK is experiencing some of the same backlash we see in the US. This week alone, complaints have emerged around opaque or expensive pricing, alongside criticism that private padel facilities are replacing integral community spaces. Meanwhile, female participation is trailing significantly, gear costs can run £500-800/year for a serious player, and noise complaints are blocking new clubs in multiple cities.

  • Put it all together, and the market’s trajectory could easily lean toward one defined by private capital, premium pricing, and growing conflict over public space—all of which could sabotage long-term growth.

Watching the UK as a fast-scaling, slightly more mature “test case” is critical. At the end of the day, more courts, bigger tournaments, and rising participation won’t automatically produce a healthy ecosystem. Fortunately for 🇺🇸, there’s still time to learn from the UK’s growing pains and chart a different course.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

One Record, Two Breakups (🇬🇧🇺🇸🇮🇳)

The London P1 closed the first half of the Premier Padel season with two *very* different finals. On the men’s side, Coello / Tapia reclaimed the title over Chingalán in a three-setter (6-3, 5-7, 7-5) to lock in their eighth of the year. Highlights here. On the women’s side, Calvo / Fernandez upset No. 1s Brea / Triay 7-5, 6-3… and at 18 years and 1 month, Calvo became the youngest-ever Premier Padel titleist, breaking Andrea Ustero’s record by 20 days. Highlights here.

The tournament also broke up two men’s pairs. Stupaczuk / Yanguas ended their second stint together after another early exit; word on tour is Stupaczuk teams with Maxi Arce next, while Yanguas reunites with Coki Nieto, who just split from Jon Sanz after an underwhelming run. Both new pairings are expected to debut at the Madrid P1 in September. Elsewhere in the men’s draw, childhood friends Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero, coming fresh off a Pretoria P1 final, crashed out in the Round of 32, with Leal calling Guerrero a “shitty partner.” Yikes…

The Premier Padel circuit takes another break. Until it resumes, many of the pros will scatter this week: some to India’s World Padel League, returning to Mumbai for its fourth season, while others to Los Angeles for the Pro Padel League at Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Andre Agassi’s sports-entertainment company is setting its sights on the padel facility market, planning to pursue acquisitions, partnerships, and franchising opportunities across international markets… with Germany and Australia first in line. It’s still early days, with no deals signed yet. (🇺🇸🇩🇪🇦🇹)

• Barcelona-based NOX Sport has become the exclusive padel equipment partner of the Orlando-based Racquet Sports Professionals Association. (🇪🇸🇺🇸)

• With Team USA already qualified for the 2026 FIP World Cup in both the men’s and women’s draws, attention now turns to the remaining qualifiers. Madrid is set to determine four European berths in late September, with South America and Africa-Asia still to come before the 32-team field is finalized for Doha. (🌎🇪🇸)

• Birla Open Minds, one of India’s larger school networks, is partnering with the country’s Padel Tennis Federation to introduce padel and pickleball courts and structured programming across its campuses. (🇮🇳)

• Padel continues to show up in niche corners of the world, even outside Africa’s biggest cities! The sport has officially landed in Abuja, Nigeria’s hospitality scene, with the Transcorp Hilton adding courts to its amenities. (🇳🇬)

• Community musings:

  • Early 40s players: what’s the sweet spot for games per week?

  • Should players struggling to generate power hit the gym or fix their technique? Turns out, might be the latter...

  • Is the ball in or out if it lands exactly between the court and the area outside the door?

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Bali, 🇮🇩
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Has Padel Become Too Fast?

• Americanization, Plagiarism(?), and Celeb Beef

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • POV: The Only 🇺🇸 at the World’s Largest-Ever Padel Tournament

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

This week belonged to the underdogs.

Team USA locked up World Cup qualification. Two childhood friends came within one point of completing one of the biggest Cinderella runs we’ve ever seen on the Premier Padel tour. And now, everyone’s arguing whether padel is becoming too fast for its own good.

We’ve got all that below.

Also in this issue:
— The bajada mistake almost everyone’s making
— Fifteen new courts, four states, one week
— The club facing $370K fraud allegations
— Are ball pressurizers even worth it?

…and plenty more. Take it to the glass!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

• Diablo Padel is targeting a 2027 opening in metro San Francisco’s East Bay with four indoor, climate-controlled courts, a recovery lounge, coaching, leagues, DJ nights, and other community-focused programming. Founder Angel Tramontin (a former LinkedIn product leader and recent UC Berkeley MBA grad) says the club is built around people are craving authentic, in-person communities in an increasingly digital world.

  

• Epic Padel has acquired Midlothian Tennis Club outside Richmond, VA, marking its third location as the company continues its nationwide expansion strategy. The facility’s existing 16 tennis courts (four indoor, 12 outdoor) will be gradually transformed into Epic Athletic Club, with the first four outdoor padel courts slated to open by Q1 2027, alongside upgraded amenities and enhanced food-and-beverage offerings.

  

Now Open

• Sportika Woodlands Indoor Padel just opened in Magnolia, TX (within greater Houston), adding six indoor courts to “America’s second padel city.” The facility is offering professional coaching, private lessons, and clinics for players of all levels.

  

• South Beach Racquet Club is now home to Hilton Head Island, SC’s first publicly accessible padel court, installed atop an existing tennis court by Off the Glass and Wakit Padel, with plans to keep the temporary installation in place for at least six months. Ideally, the court will serve as a catalyst for broader adoption across Hilton Head’s renowned network of country clubs and tennis facilities, with community events and professional exhibitions already planned.

  

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• In preparation for the Pro Padel League’s Los Angeles event next week, the Los Angeles Beat is partnering with The Los Angeles Padel Club to host a youth development day, giving local junior players the chance to train alongside the pros.

📈 Up Your Game 

Fix Your Bajada

According to Dutch coach Sven Boele at Otro Nivel Padel, most players miss the bajada because they rush to the ball, then keep moving while they hit it.

In this 16-minute video, he makes it very clear: Sprint first. Stop second. Swing last. Let’s break it down further, shall we?

1. As soon as you recognize the lob, run back at full speed.

2. But once the ball hits the back glass, imagine someone hit the pause button.

   1. During this time, plant your feet, get balanced, and only then attack the ball.

3. When finally making contact, it’s important to do so as high and as early as possible.

And alas, regarding placement: most of your best bajadas should go through the middle, forcing your opponents to decide who’s taking it. It’s much lower risk for you… and surprisingly awkward for them.

Master these steps, and you’ll win far more points without changing your stroke. Suerte che!

🌍 International Happenings  

Team USA Men’s *and* Women’s ➡️ Padel World Cup

As we gear up for the FIP World Cup in Doha (🇶🇦) this November, regional qualifiers are currently taking place around the globe. For Team USA, that meant traveling to Toronto this past weekend for the North and Central America qualifier. The Americans faced Canada and Mexico in a round-robin, with two men’s World Cup berths and one women’s berth up for grabs. (To note, each “tie” is a best-of-three-pairs matchup… a national team fields three doubles pairs, and whichever side wins more of those three matches wins the “tie.”)

For the first time in two years, both Team USA’s men’s and women’s teams qualified for the World Cup.

On the men’s side, Team USA opened with a clean 3-0 sweep of Canada. Mexico kept pace and qualified alongside them, while Canada was eliminated from men’s contention by the second day.

Given that only one spot was available on the women’s side, the competition carried higher stakes. USA opened with a 3-0 win over Mexico, then had to beat Canada outright in the final tie to close it out, since anything less would have handed the spot to Mexico on points. They came up clutch, sweeping Canada 3-0 as well.

Both squads now head to the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha from November 2-7.

Meanwhile, the qualification process moves to Asunción, Paraguay, from August 20-22 for the South American qualifiers, followed by the European and combined Africa-Asia qualifying rounds to complete the 32-team World Cup field.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

“What Have We Just Witnessed?” (🇿🇦)

The Pretoria P1 (the tour’s first-ever stop in South Africa) delivered tons of drama, highlighted by seventh-seeded childhood friends Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal. The duo took down Lebrón / Augsburger in the Quarterfinals upon saving six match points, then proceeded to end No. 1 Coello / Tapia’s absurd run of 27 straight finals by grinding out a 7-5, 7-5 win in the Semis. In the Final against No. 2 Chingalán, the duo even held a championship point in the third set tiebreak before sadly falling 6-2, 5-7, 7-6. Highlights here.

• Looking back, Guerrero / Leal’s insane run sparked an intense debate among fans: are fewer lobs the new meta? After repeatedly attacking from the back with flat, heavy groundstrokes, maybe this new tactic is the move now...

And on the women’s side, teenagers Fernandez / Calvo, playing their first tournament together, upset (and dismantled) No. 2s Josemaría / González in the Semis 6-1, 6-4 before pushing No. 1s Brea / Triay to a third-set tiebreak in the Final before (also) sadly falling 6-2, 6-7, 7-6. Highlights here.

Pretoria’s altitude also reignited padel’s speed debate. Paquito Navarro was blunt about the courts turning nearly every point into a smash-fest, even with a lower-pressure ball introduced for the event. Coki Nieto (whose game leans on patience and long exchanges), contrarily argued that adapting to faster conditions is simply part of the sport’s evolution. Either way, it’s worth debating how much of padel’s identity is getting traded away for spectacle.

Next up this week is the London P1… the tour’s first-ever UK event.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• On August 15-16, a pop-up padel court will sit in front of the Sydney Opera House, with legends like Martín Di Nenno, Alejandra Salazar, and Pat Rafter set to headline the inaugural Padel Invitational. (🇦🇺)

• Tennis legend (& wife of Andre Agassi) Steffi Graf has partnered with European supermarket giant Lidl to launch an FIP-approved racket and ball collection for under €60. (🇩🇪)

• French sporting goods giant Decathlon will serve as the official retail partner for the London P1. (🇫🇷🇬🇧)

• LevelTech, a startup that transformed squash rankings, just raised over $670,000 to bring its player-rating platform to padel. (🇬🇧)

• We all know Miami is America’s padel capital. But any guesses what Ireland’s is? (🇮🇪)

• Uh oh… US men’s No. 6 padel player is facing multiple criminal charges after allegedly destroying merchandise and threatening employees at a Miami sports shop. (🇺🇸🇺🇾)

• What’s even more awkward, Swedish padel company Ascaro Padel is facing fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering allegations in Indonesia after investors accused it of misusing ~$370,000 meant for a new club. (🇸🇪🇮🇩)

• An all-girls private school in England won approval to build three padel courts, with plans to open them to students, staff, families, and the wider community. (🇬🇧)

• Players debate: are ball pressurizers worth the investment?

🤩 Cool Court of the Week

📍 Koh Chang, 🇹🇭
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Americanization, Plagiarism(?), and Celeb Beef

• Coach Salaries. Global Alliances. Creepy Men.

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Drake loves padel so much, he hosted Tapia, Lebrón, and Kevin Durant at a New Jersey mansion, quietly previewing Nike’s entry into the sport… despite the internet crying “plagiarism.”

And new clubs are popping up from El Paso to the Hamptons, while Premier Padel is breaking new ground in South Africa.

Also in this issue:
— Why anticipation > speed
— The t-shirt that re-ignited NBA beef
— “Mandated to play padel”

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

• A new dedicated padel club is under construction on the east side of El Paso, TX. The $400,000 project will transform a vacant lot into a facility with three padel courts and office space. A name or opening date have not yet been announced.

  

Now Open

• The Faraway Sag Harbor just opened in New York’s Hamptons, bringing a new bookable padel court to the 67-room waterfront hotel. Following a $66.5 million redevelopment of the former Baron’s Cove, the luxury destination pairs padel with a heated outdoor pool, spa, fitness center, and Amalfi Coast-inspired restaurant.

  

• Miami’s padel scene continues to expand with The Gables Padel, which just opened in the city’s Flagami neighborhood. The club features eight padel courts and is centered around creating a community-focused destination.

  

• American padel franchise Padel Haus has officially opened its third New York City location and sixth location nationwide, located within Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. The club features five indoor courts with 35-foot ceilings, locker rooms with rain showers, a members’ lounge, pro shop, and the brand’s signature Juice Haus. The club wasted no time establishing itself as a tournament destination, hosting its grand opening on July 23 before welcoming a USA Padel major just one day later.

  

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Ballers’ flagship location in Philadelphia, PA was featured in a Wall Street Journal article covering “the push to make padel the next pickleball.”

• Deuces Padel Club just kicked off its soft opening in Laredo, TX.

📈 Up Your Game 

Wanna Feel Faster? Quit Trying to Run Faster.

Truth is, the biggest improvements in padel usually have less to do with how fast you can run, and more to do with when you move.

In this 8.5-minute video, Coach Sandy from The Padel School explains that court speed has two components: (1) physical movement and (2) anticipation. Most amateur players focus almost exclusively on the first while overlooking the second.

Start with the split step. It’s a tiny hop onto the balls of your feet right as your opponent makes contact with the ball. That’s it!

The pros are almost never flat-footed. Even when the ball is headed to their partner, they’re still light on their toes, ready for anything.

Anticipation is also key. As soon as you hit a shot, be sure to recover into position and narrow down what your opponents are most likely to do next.

For example:

• Hit a strong serve? A quality lob becomes much less likely.

• If your opponent consistently lobs from the middle, start preparing your overhead before they even make contact.

The more patterns you recognize, the less you’ll rely on pure athleticism. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

Americanization, Plagiarism(?), and Celeb Beef

If you needed proof this sport is becoming more Americanized, look no further than a New Jersey estate. Top hip-hop artist Drake hosted a second annual NOCTA Manor retreat that pulled together an odd, telling guest list: world No. 1 Agustín Tapia, Juan Lebrón, and NBA stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, all on a padel court in front of a bunch of cameras.

Let’s not kid ourselves here… this was much more of a business meeting than a hangout. As part of Nike’s nonchalant move into padel—which we’ve been documenting over the last ~3 months—the Oregon-based brand showed off a trio of models (Command, Attack, Balance) at the event, with Tapia (who’s still contracted to NOX through 2028) as the presumed centerpiece of a future ambassador deal. Nothing was officially launched, but nothing was officially denied either.

But without missing a beat, the internet pointed out that the Command, Attack, and Balance bear an uncanny resemblance to existing Drop Shot molds (i.e., bridge shapes, and drilling patterns as three of the brand’s models. Rebadged production runs aren’t new in racket sports, but “Nike innovation” and “borrowed Spanish mold” don’t sit well together in the same headline, and I think it’s worth highlighting.

To end on a funny note, an interesting t-shirt came out of Drake’s event, referencing Lebrón’s surname at the expense of NBA legend LeBron James (who Drake currently has beef with).

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

Pregamin’ Pretoria. New Ball, New Team. (🇿🇦)

Premier Padel makes history this week with its first-ever stop in South Africa at the Pretoria P1. And men’s No. 1s Coello / Tapia arrive gunning for a sixth straight title after sweeping Rome, Valencia, Valladolid, Bordeaux, and Málaga. Here’s where you can watch it.

The bigger story might be the ball. At nearly 4,400 feet (1,340 meters), Pretoria sits high enough that the thin air turns every smash into a potential rocket. Organizers are countering with the Bullpadel Premium Pro High Altitude, a lower-internal-pressure ball designed to tame the bounce without killing rallies outright. It’s a lesson learned the hard way… Mexico City 2021 tried pressureless balls at altitude and got the opposite problem, with seven-minute rallies and exhausted players.

On the partnership front, Sofia Araújo and Marta Ortega are back together. This is their third go-around after two stints that produced four titles combined. Neither has won a title in 2026 yet... awkwardly, their ex-partners (Calvo, Fernández) have now paired up with each other.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Exploding Topics (a trend-tracking platform that discovers growing products, startups, and industry shifts before they go mainstream) flagged “padel balls” this week after search interest surged 1,560% over the past five years. (🇺🇸🇬🇧🇸🇬🇿🇦🇭🇰)

• The FIP has awarded the 2027 Euro Padel Cup to the Netherlands and the 2029 edition to Germany, often considered two of Europe’s fastest-growing padel markets. (🇳🇱🇩🇪)

• Pakistan’s national cricketers will now have to earn their court time… literally. The Pakistan Cricket Board has made padel a mandatory part of training camps, in effort to sharpen its players’ agility, reflexes, and fielding. (🇵🇰)

• Argentine padel GOAT Fernando “Bela” Belasteguín has unveiled plans for a €5 million Bela Padel Center in Andorra, further expanding his club empire… just nine weeks after announcing a new location in the Buenos Aires suburbs. (🇦🇩)

• Mercedes-Benz has signed on as title sponsor of the Indian Padel Tour’s 19-event 2026-27 season. (🇮🇳)

• Crew Clothing has upgraded its investment in the UK’s Pro Am Padel Tour, becoming its exclusive performance apparel partner. (🇬🇧)

• Players debate: How does one beat the notoriously pesky lefty/righty combo?

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Riyadh, 🇸🇦
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Coach Salaries. Global Alliances. Creepy Men.

• The Rolex Effect

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • POV: The Only 🇺🇸 at the World’s Largest-Ever Padel Tournament

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

A new industry report suggests top padel coaches are earning up to 40% more than their pickleball counterparts. And apparently unopened padel balls lose over 20% of their pressure just sitting on a shelf.

Meanwhile, Fanatics is taking over Premier Padel’s retail business, and the Olympic groundwork keeps falling into place. But not everything trending is positive… one growing community concern might be holding part of the player base back.

Also in this issue:
— How to quit getting cooked by the víbora
— The coastal American court boom continues
— NBA stars make a pro padel cameo

…and plenty more. Vamos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

• Backed by the Mouratoglou brand, M Padel is launching a Malden, MA location in late 2026. The club will feature eight courts (7 indoor, 1 outdoor), a strength and conditioning gym, and locker rooms with saunas + showers. The club will provide private lessons, clinics, and court rentals for members and non-members.

  

• Tempe, AZ-based franchise Conquer Padel just signed a lease for its first Jacksonville, FL location, bringing the city its first dedicated indoor padel facility. The club will feature five courts with 30-foot ceilings, plus a full fitness gym, recovery area with saunas and cryotherapy, coffee and smoothie bar, full-service bar, pro shop, member lounges, corporate event space, and mezzanine viewing area. Opening details are expected as construction progresses.

  

Now Open

• Bay Area franchise Bay Padel officially opened its newest location in downtown San Jose, marking its fourth club in the metro area. The 28,000-square-foot facility features six padel courts and offers a recovery lounge, cold plunge, sauna, locker rooms, juice bar, and outdoor warm-up area. The club is also launching clinics, intro sessions, open play, leagues, and tournaments.

  

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Park Padel is hosting an FIP Promises tournament at their South San Francisco, CA location from August 28-30, bringing international competition to the West Coast for the first time this year.

• Down in Los Angeles, Padel Up is hosting a Rally for Venezuela community fundraiser after last month’s devastating earthquakes.

• Further south, Padel N9NE in San Diego is hosting beloved UK-based coach and YouTube educator Sandy Farquharson of The Padel School from August 19-23 for a series of clinics, a club social, and an exhibition match.

📈 Up Your Game 

Defend a Víbora Properly, for Once!

Let’s be honest. Your lob wasn’t the strongest. Now your opponent is loading up for an offensive overhead, so you instinctively charge forward expecting a hard smash.

…except it’s a víbora. And now the ball kicks off the glass with nasty sidespin and dies behind you. RIP.

In this 5min video, Coach Sandy from The Padel School proposes a two-step solution.

1. Instead of reacting to the overhead, start reading the contact.

   1. If your opponent contacts the ball high and out in front, expect a flatter smash. But if they strike it slightly to the side with a brushing motion, anticipate the slice and stay patient.

2. Position yourself in one of two ways:

   1. Stay back and let the glass do the work, defending after the rebound, OR

   2. Step forward with intent and block the ball before it reaches the glass, stealing time from your opponent.

But whatever you do, commit ASAP and don’t get caught halfway between the two.

One final takeaway: you’re not gonna master this in match play. Build a simple drill where a partner feeds a lob and alternates víboras, allowing you to practice both defensive options until the decision becomes automatic. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

Cross-Border Partnerships Reach the Sport

Three cross-border deals were inked this week across the governance and retail infrastructure fronts, and they’re all worth a look.

First, the International Padel Federation became a World Anti-Doping Agency code signatory, closing a two-year process with the International Testing Agency. This puts padel’s anti-doping framework on the same footing as most major international sports, which further strengthens padel’s long-term Olympic aspirations.

And in an effort to outsource commercialization, Premier Padel handed its retail and licensing operation to NYC-based Fanatics, the same company running merch for the NFL, NBA, and F1. Fanatics will take over e-commerce, wholesale, and in-venue retail starting at the Barcelona Finals in December, with a London pop-up in August to test the model.

And finally in North America, Montreal-based lifestyle brand Psycho Bunny, which operates nearly 150 retail stores, officially entered the US padel market by signing on as the official uniform partner for USA Padel’s men’s, women’s, and junior national teams.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

Dynasty in the Making, feat. NBA Bigshots (🇪🇸)

The Málaga P1 ended with both world’s No. 1 pairs standing atop the podium.

On the women’s side, Brea / Triay outlasted Josemaría / González (a Málaga native) in an instant classic, winning 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 after more than three hours of play. The victory marked their fourth title of the season and first P1 crown since Rome, while snapping a five-match losing streak against the No. 2s, claiming their 13th title together.

On the men’s side, Coello / Tapia dismantled Lebrón / Augsburger 6-2, 6-2 in just 53 minutes, extending their winning streak to five consecutive titles and defending last year’s Málaga title. Lebrón and Augsburger appeared to have little left in the tank after surviving a grueling semifinal against No. 2s Chingotto / Galán.

Beyond the action on court, NBA legend (+ frequent local player in San Antonio) Manu Ginóbili and fellow Argentine ex-NBA star Pepe Sánchez were in attendance. And following the tournament, the Spanish pros made sure to celebrate their country’s World Cup victory.

Looking ahead, Premier Padel Tour heads into its final stop before the summer break, with inaugural P1 events in Pretoria and London up next.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Per a IAPPF compensation report, head pickleball coaches can earn up to $200,000 annually, while comparable padel roles command a 15-40% pay premium due to a shortage of qualified coaches. (🇺🇸)

  • Side note—if you’re a facility owner or operator, the IAPPF is also collecting data for its first industry benchmark report, which you can contribute to via a confidential survey here.

• Per a newly-released report on the Irish padel scene, search interest is up 23x in five years, and €5M has been committed to building 300 new courts by 2027. (🇮🇪)

• Pittsburgh-based brand GAMMA Sports has officially entered padel, launching a product line featuring five racquets, balls, and accessories. (🇺🇸)

• Padel has earned a spot in the 2027 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia. (🇲🇾)

• Community musings:

  • Are creepy men discouraging women from playing padel?

  • Supported by detailed charts, a player tracked the pressure loss of unopened balls over a month across different brands and retailers… and found they typically lost >22% of their pressure without ever being hit.

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Ho Chi Minh, 🇻🇳
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• The Rolex Effect

• Padel’s Latest Divorce

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

Another great week witnessing padel’s accelerating momentum Stateside. Huge thanks to Pro Padel League and Mink Padel for having me back in NYC. From the nail-biting matches at an iconic Midtown venue to the inclusive, community-driven culture in Harlem, there’s tons to be excited about. If you’re reading this, you’re still early ;)

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Padel has a watch problem now. Three luxury brands have signed on, and one just made history with a woman.

The US also continues to get in on the pro action. The Pro Padel League launched its season in NYC featuring ten franchises, a Kalshi deal, and some good ol’ grassroots community building.

Also in this issue:
— Why playing better players won’t magically make you better
— Miami activations and Canadian academies
— Lululemon drops another padel breadcrumb
— Racket brand resurrection theatrics

…and plenty more. Dale campeón!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

No new court openings this week, but last week, we were graced with ten courts coming to two opposite regions, plus an official soft-opening!

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Until September 15, Miami-based Padel X is running a pop-up “summer club” in Miami Beach featuring World Cup watch parties and beginner sessions supported by NOX and Playtomic.

• Also in Miami, Reserve Padel brought together Premier Padel, FIFA, and the FIP for an activation featuring football legends John Terry, Ashley Cole, Marco Materazzi, and global sports executives.

• Our friends up north are getting busy too… Toronto’s District Padel & Pickleball Club partnered with M3 Padel Academy, the Spanish training powerhouse behind 15 World No. 1 players, 243 international titles, and 1,100+ students worldwide, to launch its first 🇨🇦 academy.

  Subscribe now

📈 Up Your Game 

You Don’t Need to Play Better Players to Improve

Ok sure, playing stronger opponents is valuable.

But per this 7.5 minute video from The Padel School, here’s the catch: playing better players raises your level during the match, but doesn’t automatically raise your level as a player.

Tactically, playing better players will undoubtedly expose bad shot selection, poor positioning, and moments where you’re giving away free points. They force you to understand why you’re making certain decisions.

But technically, playing better players won’t solve the problem. After all, technique requires repetition. A higher-level player might simply end the rally before you get enough reps. A training partner, ball machine, or even a slightly lower-level opponent can actually give you more opportunities to build better habits.

And if you want to improve mentally, compete! The pressure of a tournament, the nerves when you’re expected to win, and the frustration after mistakes are where mental toughness is developed.

A good rule of thumb:

• 25% of your time → play below your level to work on technique, confidence, and consistency

• 50% of your time → play at your level to test your skills in realistic match situations

• 25% of your time → play above your level to challenge your tactics and decision-making

This way, you’ll build a game that works against everyone. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

Padel’s Watch Wave Reaches the Women’s Game (🇨🇭)

2026 is becoming the year luxury watchmakers officially put padel on their wrists. We started the year in January with Rolex making its first-ever move into padel, signing men’s No. 1 Arturo Coello to a brand roster that includes Federer and Tiger Woods. It was a pretty bold bet, as Rolex typically waits until a sport looks structurally permanent before committing to an athlete. And it rarely signs anyone this early in their career arc (with Carlos Alcaraz serving as an interesting comp).

Four months later, Audemars Piguet followed, backing Agustín Tapia (the other men’s No. 1) and becoming the official timekeeper of the entire Premier Padel tour.

Now it’s July, and Swiss watchmaker Gerald Charles has entered the game, signing Gemma Triay — one half of the women’s No. 1 pairing and one of padel’s loudest advocates for prize-money and visibility parity. Her deal is the first of its kind on the women’s side, arriving six months after the men’s wave started.

Padel continues to join tennis and golf as a sport where dominant women are drawing luxury-watch attention (Sabalenka has an Audemars Piguet deal, Serena Williams had one for years).

My open questions are (1) whether padel’s version of that trend moves faster than tennis did, and (2) how luxury brand deals will continue to stack up between men’s and women’s players.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

The North American Circuit’s Big Apple Kickoff (🇺🇸)

In Midtown Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom, the Pro Padel League kicked off its 2026 season (which I had the pleasure of attending) with four days of action featuring all 10 franchises and over 50 of the world’s top players. On court, the DC Matrix’s Iñigo Jofre and Alex Arroyo captured the men’s title while the San Diego Stingrays’ Claudia Jensen and Veronica Virseda claimed the women’s crown.

Off court, following last week’s broadcast partnership announcement with CNBC, the league announced a multiyear deal with the popular prediction market Kalshi. It also doubled down on grassroots growth by hosting a youth clinic at Mink Padel in Harlem in partnership with local community organizations.

Pregamin’ the Málaga P1 (🇪🇸)

This week, attention shifts to the Premier Padel Málaga P1. Men’s No. 1s Coello / Tapia arrive looking for a fifth consecutive title, while hometown favorite Bea González returns to defend her Málaga crown alongside fellow women’s No. 2 Paula Josemaría.

Beyond the title races, Málaga marks the debut of several new women's partnerships. It also serves as the final event for a number of men's pairings before an even bigger reshuffling begins at the Pretoria P1 in two weeks.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Doha has been awarded hosting rights for two consecutive editions of the FIP World Cup in 2026 and 2028. The event features a record €1.2M prize pool in 2026, rising to €1.35M in 2028. (🇶🇦)

• Following its March collaboration with Tempe, AZ-based franchise Conquer Padel, Vancouver-based Lululemon just launched a pop-up padel court at a busy UK shopping destination. (🇨🇦🇬🇧)

• The US Junior National Team battled through the Pan American Junior Circuit in Colombia, gaining valuable experience ahead of October’s Finals in San Diego… and one American pair stormed back with three straight playoff wins to close the tournament on a high. (🇺🇸🇨🇴)

• Once an undisputed padel racket king recently sported by top-10 pros, Varlion is attempting a resurrection… but this revival comes with a family feud, competing brands, and an ongoing legal battle. (🇪🇸)

• European Deaf Padel and the International Padel Media Association have teamed up to bring greater visibility to deaf athletes, starting with the European Deaf Padel Circuit Sevilla 2026. (🇪🇺🇪🇸)

• The first FISU World University Championship brought student-athletes from 20 nations to Málaga, where Spain and Italy emerged victorious. (🇪🇸🇮🇹)

• Mixed doubles: yay or nay? 🤔

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Málaga, 🇪🇸
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Padel’s Latest Divorce

• The Kids Aren’t Alright

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • POV: The Only 🇺🇸 at the World’s Largest-Ever Padel Tournament

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

Before we dive into this week’s edition, I want to take a moment to remember Fernando Alarcón and his daughter, Sophie, who tragically passed away in Florida at the end of June.

An Argentinian immigrant, Fernando was a pioneer of American padel, a former Team USA player and coach, and the founder of Miami’s Ultra Padel Club. He spent decades laying the foundation for the sport in the US. Sophie was following in his footsteps as one of the country’s brightest junior talents, proudly representing Team USA on the international stage.

While I never had the chance to know Fernando personally, the overwhelming outpouring of love and stories from across the padel community makes it clear how deeply he impacted the lives of so many. My thoughts are with the Alarcón family and everyone who knew and loved them. May their memories be eternal. 💔🕊️

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week 

CNBC officially made padel a cable-news sport Stateside, the world’s No. 1 pair got dethroned by opponents who’d lost to them nine straight times, and we have an unexpected breakup on the loose.

And in metro NYC, private padel just got embedded inside a public park, while two continents are leading by example in women’s padel.

Also in this issue:
— There lob hacks you had no idea about
— American cruise line joins the padel party
— Top global players return to 🇺🇸 since the Miami P1
— The “right side leftie” debate

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Now Open

• Over in metro NYC, Roslyn Padel just opened, making it one of the first notable US examples of a private padel operator embedded within a public park system. The opening brings four outdoor courts powered by Reserve Padel, with court bookings now available through Playtomic. Beyond standard court time, the club is launching clinics, open play, and community-focused programming. Its grand opening featured live music, wellness activations, food, and “Beat the Pro” competitions.

  

• In West Jordan, UT (part of metro Salt Lake City), Padel Park is having its grand opening this week, featuring six indoor courts and 40-foot ceilings. The facility pairs competitive play with a social lounge, pro shop, and built-in recovery space.

  

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Over in San Jose, CA, Bay Padel is having their official soft-opening on July 11, featuting six outdoor courts.

• Per insider sources, Cube Chicago Padel now has nationwide soccer facility operator Sofive as its new owner.

• Unfortunately, after two years, Orlando Padel Club Indoor is closing its doors.

• In Richmond, VA, Padel Plant broke USA Padel’s 100-level attendance record via its first-ever Virginia Padel Open.

  Subscribe now

📈 Up Your Game 

Stop Treating the Lob Like a Bailout Shot

POV: you’re pinned at the back of the court, scrambling just to stay in the rally, so you throw up a desperate lob and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, if you’re under heavy pressure, your lob will most likely be too short, too slow, or too predictable… giving your opponents an easy bandeja, víbora, or smash.

In this 9-minute video, coach Mauri says one of the biggest misconceptions in padel is thinking the lob is a defensive shot. Rather, the best lobs are offensive weapons.

That said, play your lob when you have time, balance, and control instead of survival mode.

A few other gems worth noting:
— Power comes from your legs (not your arm). Think low to high and let your whole body lift the ball.
— Prepare early. If you only show your racket at the last second, your opponents immediately know a lob is coming.
— Not all lobs are created equal. Against players with great overheads, use a faster, flatter lob that rushes their preparation. Against others, go higher and deeper to force an awkward bandeja.
— Depth matters. A lob that reaches the back glass is far more likely to force a defensive overhead than one that lands short.

TLDR, aside from being an “escape hatch,” the lob is often the shot that lets you take control of the point. Master it, and you’ll spend a lot less time defending... and a lot more time owning the net. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

Two Continents Closing the Same Gap (🇬🇧,🇰🇪)

Two unconnected data points landed this week, and together they're pretty interesting and help better connect the dots on the sport’s trajectory.

Across the UK, Padelstars (one of the country’s largest padel operators, with close to 15 locations) launched She Rallies, a free women-only taster series running every Friday in July across its clubs. Per COO Jeevan Gill, if operators don’t actively intervene now, the sport calcifies into a male-dominated one… just like plenty of racket sports did before it.

In Nairobi, coach Cherryl Fouasso started a successful ladies’ clinic at Padel Point for ~$11 a session to combat what she’s been seeing across local tournaments, with 70+ men registering against <20 women. Her ladies’ clinic (capped at four women per session) has moved 150+ players from beginner to intermediate.

From an operator POV, women are structurally underrepresented in padel registration numbers everywhere the sport is young (cough, cough, 🇺🇸). Whoever can build the onboarding infrastructure first (i.e., dedicated sessions, small cohorts, sense of “belonging”) will own that demand before it becomes contested.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

A BIG Breakthrough + Unexpected Divorce (🇫🇷)

The Bordeaux P2 delivered two thrilling finals and another reminder of just how competitive the Premier Padel circuit has become.

On the women’s side, Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen captured their first title together (and Icardo’s first-ever Premier Padel crown). After knocking off the No. 2 seeds Josemaría / González in the semifinals, they upset world No. 1s Brea / Triay 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the final. Furthermore, Icardo and Jensen had entered the match 0-9 all-time against Brea and Triay. 🤯 The duo become the fourth different women’s pair to win a Premier Padel title this season. Highlights here.

The men’s final added another chapter to one of the sport’s defining rivalries. Coello / Tapia rallied from a set down to defeat Chingotto / Galán 5-7, 7-6, 6-2, extending their winning streak to four consecutive Premier Padel titles. After surviving a tightly contested second-set tiebreak, the world No. 1s pulled away in the decider to claim their 25th victory in 38 meetings against Chingalán. Highlights here.

Off-court, following their premature quarterfinal exit, Leo Augsburger’s flamboyantly outspoken agent, Lisandro Borges (who’s repeatedly accused all-time padel GOAT Fernando Belasteguín of doping), announced he was stepping down as Augsburger’s longtime agent, publicly criticizing Juan Lebrón (Leo Augsburger’s current playing partner) and calling his entourage “toxic.” Borges said he respected Augsburger’s decision to remain alongside Lebrón, but believed it was the wrong path for the young Argentine's career. Augsburger, however, responded with a heartfelt farewell, thanking Borges for five years together and writing, “Nobody will fill that place. Nobody could do it better than you.”

Looking ahead this week, we turn our attention to the much-anticipated Pro Padel League season debut in New York City, where the league also kicks off its new broadcast partnership with CNBC. If you’ll be there as well, hit me up!

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Miami-based Regent Seven Seas Cruises is rolling out a new “sports deck” aboard one of its ships, featuring padel, pickleball, and yoga zones. (🇺🇸)

• PadelXpo is officially launching as the UK’s first “all-in-one” 200+ brand padel trade show, with its first-ever event set for June 2027 in Birmingham. (🇬🇧)

• Namibia Padel Federation has officially launched, becoming the sport’s formal governing body in Namibia. The organization will roll out national rankings and school-based development. (🇳🇦)

• From July 1-12, APM Monaco is turning the terraces in front of the Casino de Monte-Carlo into a pop-up padel court. The initiative is backed by top F1 driver Charles Leclerc. (🇲🇨)

• The International Association of Padel and Pickleball Facilities is bringing padel education via an official partnership with the Athletic Business Show, one of North America’s largest gatherings for facility owners, architects, and parks & recreation leaders. (🇺🇸)

• Over in London, World Padel Network just announced a “Clash of the Coaches” tournament in early August, exclusively for instructors from across the UK and Europe. (🇬🇧,🇪🇺)

• Players debate: Is having a left-hander on the right side sneakily one of the biggest structural advantages in modern padel?

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Aspen, CO, 🇺🇸
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• The Kids Aren’t Alright

• What the Players Say vs. What Gets Announced

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • POV: The Only 🇺🇸 at the World’s Largest-Ever Padel Tournament

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

If you’re new here, you can join our community of padel-addicted subscribers receiving my weekly newsletter on what’s hot in 🇺🇸 & 🌎 padel + occasional editorials (like this one) by adding your email below.

Subscribe now

Most of you know the drill by now… every Tuesday, I break down what’s happening in the global padel space from a US POV.

But I also do my fair share of padel travel. I was at the Miami P1 back in March, and that piece landed well enough that when I found myself at the Buenos Aires P1 in mid-May (apparently — per the media registration desk — as the only 🇺🇸 in attendance), I knew I had to write this one too.

Overall, Miami showed me where US padel is, while Buenos Aires showed me where it can be. Both are part of the Premier Padel tour featuring the same players and practically identical prize money, but the sport is embedded in Argentine social life in a way it isn’t Stateside… yet. In the US, padel still feels like something trying to convince you it matters.

Last thing I’ll quickly say, I’m an American who loves this sport and wants it to win at home. Think of this piece as a “here’s what they do right, here’s what we should steal” field report, written by someone who loved being immersed in the havoc, mate, cumbia, puffer coats, and a fan section with drums, horns, and zero interest in letting the poor chair umpire get a word in. I froze my ass off and caught a nasty chest cold, yet would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Anyway, here are my observations from the highest-attended padel tournament ever held:

It’s a completely different atmosphere.

Mate was the stadium’s unofficial sponsor. Hot water, thermoses, yerba, and bombillas were everywhere… I’d estimate ~85% of groups had mate with them. There were official refill stands (~$3 USD per top-up) with super long lines, and signs on trash cans specifically asking people not to dump yerba waste in them. I haven’t seen a beverage and a sporting event this fused anywhere else.

The rampant whistling was also new to me. Miami crowds murmured at tense moments, while Buenos Aires whistled and shouted. I started tracking when it happened and confirmed the pattern with the group next to me: “cuando hay momentos picantes”… aka when things get spicy (i.e., a contentious umpire call, a borderline-intentional body shot, a sloppy unforced error, or players debating something at the net). See what I mean?

In the Spanish-speaking world, padel has its own celebrity fan culture. Argentine rapper/singer Milo J pulled up and hung out with Agustín Tapia, the same way Carlos Alcaraz cameo’d with Arturo Coello in Miami less than seven weeks earlier. This feels like the padel equivalent of celebrities appearing courtside at an NBA game. I can't help but wonder if that ever becomes normal in the English-speaking world. (And no, Derek Jeter and Jimmy Butler don’t count.)

Even the technical glitches felt more communal. The scoreboard went black periodically; the crowd booed, then erupted ~10 minutes later when it came back. Outside noise was a real problem too… food stands blasted music mid-point, players complained to the umpire, and spectators were visibly annoyed. I expected a “mature” market like Buenos Aires to run tighter than newbie Miami, but it didn't. Doesn't matter… the crowd still had a blast.

There’s a gigantic infrastructure gap.

Estadio Mary Terán de Weiss is a covered, open-air stadium (so no outside wind, but no heating & cooling either) with a ceiling around 140 feet. I thought the ~45-foot ceiling at the Miami Beach Convention Center was somewhat(?) adequate (though I witnessed the ball clip the ceiling at one point in a women’s round of 32 match), until I watched players here rip lobs 70+ feet up without a second thought. Watch the 8:50 mark of this men’s Round of 16 match, for example, and look how long the ball hangs. The whole rhythm of the point is slower, more deliberate, and requires more geometry to (re)cover. Like it or not, seems like we’ve accidentally embraced low ceilings as a distinguished hallmark of American padel. 🤷‍♂️

The attendee profiles were different too. In Miami, the majority of fans were active padel players and/or those who worked in the space. In Buenos Aires, I talked to tons of people who straight up don’t play. They came for the same reason many Americans who’ve never played baseball still go to MLB games. Clearly, the sport has crossed the barrier from “niche enthusiast product” to “general sports entertainment” in Argentina.

And just like how I’d turn on ESPN to watch an NBA game back home in the States, I can turn on ESPN in Argentina and find Premier Padel. Commentators, match breakdowns, post-match analysis, everything. Meanwhile in the US, our coverage is fragmented across Red Bull, YouTube, and tour-owned platforms that mostly reach people already inside the ecosystem in a “if you know, you know” kinda way. Until padel lands on a major US broadcast network, the fan base will keep recruiting almost exclusively from people who already play.

That gap showed up in the stands too. A Tuesday afternoon Round of 64 here had more people and energy than plenty of the later rounds I watched in Miami, and enough fans to fill Miami’s entire Center Court.

The semifinals drew a world-record 16,920 spectators—more than the final itself—likely thanks to cheaper tickets, a four-match slate instead of two, and more time for the atmosphere to build.

And to my astonishment, the majority of random locals I talked to had no idea the tournament was happening that week. Unlike Miami, they at least knew what padel is, but their reactions were usually somewhere between “they have events like this here?” and “wait, the pros are in town?” Even in one of the most mature padel markets on earth, the gap between people who play and people who follow the pro circuit seems almost as wide as it is in the US. 🤯 However, to give Buenos Aires credit, they installed a pop-up court directly beneath the city’s iconic Obelisco with people playing on it throughout the days leading up. Naturally, tons of folks stopped and watched. If us Americans are looking for a playbook move to steal for future Miami (or other US city) P1s, this is definitely one.

The women get real love here.

In Miami, I noted an uncomfortable crowd gap between men’s and women’s matches (~2-2.5x more fans in the stands for the men). Buenos Aires was a completely different story, with essentially full crowd parity. As a disclaimer, I’d say slightly more bodies were in seats for the men’s matches, but I think that’s a function of tournament scheduling and infamous Argentine punctuality (or rather, lack thereof). Women’s matches always came first; by the time the men started, more people had trickled in. Regardless, I think the difference is negligible and can tell you firsthand the spirit and enthusiasm of the crowd never changed.

Point being, the women’s matches drew huge crowds, noise, and passion. Fellow Argentine (and women’s No. 1) Delfi Brea, in particular, had a paparazzi-like following. Fans were waving signs and sporting Delfi masks, while Bullpadel made Delfi stickers (see below). The US isn’t there yet, but ojalá soon.

The next generation is already built in.

Kids were everywhere, and it was by design. Here, local youth padel schools and federations receive free or heavily subsidized group access. One regional push alone, for example, brought 620 kids across 21 padel schools to a single day of the tournament. This is the perfect playbook for how the long-term fan pipeline takes care of itself. Miami, take notes.

They had how many racket brands?

I walked through a seemingly endless tent of padel racket brands and shot an Instagram reel documenting every brand represented. I’ll let you go watch it and count yourself. TLDR, unless you’re a household name like Bullpadel, Nox, Babolat, Siux, Head, etc., capturing market share must be a steep uphill battle.

Here are additional ideas I'd steal for a US event.

A couple of these you've already read about above, such as the pop-up Obelisco court and youth subsidization. Some extras worth spelling out explicitly:

• Silent sponsor graphics instead of looping commercials. Buenos Aires had no commercials through the quarterfinals, and even at the semis and finals, sponsor messaging ran as silent on-screen graphics. Qatar Airways (the main sponsor) still got their point across without being a buzzkill, and the event “breathed” more as a result. Meanwhile, Miami had four sponsor commercials on a loud, repeating loop each day that are now practically tattooed into my brain.

• Better VIP seating. This is admittedly pretty petty, but Buenos Aires VIP boxes had couches, tables, and footrests. Miami’s contained four rows of un-cushioned seats.

  

Here’s where you should sit.

I rotated through virtually every section of the central court stadium over the course of the week, which gave me a pretty clear picture of the viewing experience from each angle. Imo, if you’re close to the court, sit behind the back glass. You get the players’ perspective, you’re not looking through the metal cage (or reja, rather), and the intimacy is unmatched. If you’re farther up, sit on the side; the elevated, horizontal view of the full court gives you a much fuller POV.

You gotta go.

And look, I thought Miami was fun, and I still highly recommend. But seeing the sport in its native habitat is a different kind of education. You understand the context and learn a couple things you can bring back to your local club. You meet folks you’d never cross paths with otherwise. And it creates one hell of a story you’ll have for the rest of your life. As an American who made the pilgrimage, I see Buenos Aires as a “north star” or reminder that the next decade of American padel will require a different kind of infrastructure than the exclusive model most US clubs are currently defaulting to.

I can and will do this again. If you ever want to tag along, hit me up!

— Aris

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• The Kids Aren’t Alright

• What the Players Say vs. What Gets Announced

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! 🤝 And if you have any feedback or news to share, just respond to this email :)

Hasta pronto & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

The Eastern Time Zone is fillin’ in. And the king won a title in his hometown, then his partner turned around and called the conditions “not pretty padel.”

Meanwhile, we’re in the midst of a youth development K-curve. Oh, and a cartel lieutenant thought padel was worth blowing his cover for.

Also in this issue:
— Why “hero smash syndrome” keeps you donating points
— Looks like the UK’s biggest padel problem is similar to ours
— Municipal padel continues its gradual trickle into the US
— What does proper warm-up etiquette look like?

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

• Per our friends at Padel Nation, Arena Club is bringing two indoor padel courts to Chattanooga, TN, alongside 12 pickleball courts, a fitness center, rooftop plunge pool, upscale dining, and social spaces. It's a fitting development for a region that was home to one of America's oldest padel courts before it was recently demolished, giving East Tennessee a fresh opportunity to reclaim its place on the American padel map.

  

Now Open

• In metro Detroit, the city of Southgate, MI has officially opened a municipal racquet sports complex featuring one outdoor padel court (for now, given strong municipal interest to add more 😏), alongside six pickleball courts and two tennis courts. The $1.5 million facility also includes lighting, permanent shade structures, and spectator seating. This announcement comes shortly after another municipal court addition in the Texas panhandle.

  

• NY/NJ-based Nicol has officially opened three outdoor padel courts in Fort Monmouth, NJ, marking the next phase of its growing racquet sports community. Founded by former World No. 1 squash player Peter Nicol, the club blends squash, pickleball, and padel, with additional outdoor amenities still under construction.

  

📈 Up Your Game 

Coello Teaches (in English!) How to Avoid “Hero Smash Syndrome”

Just like you and me, even World No. 1 Arturo Coello has fallen victim to trying to force a sexy smash winner when the smart play is still available.

In this 5-minute video, Coello (whose English is quite good!) explains the importance of choosing the right lob to “kill.”

If and when you do decide to go for a smash, first decide the type of outcome you want, which is either (1) a controlled “por tres” setup, or (2) a true winner attempt.

Second, as you go for that smash:

• Remember that contact point is king! Whatever you do, do NOT meet the ball low or drifting. You want it at the highest, cleanest point you can reach to give you optimal control, direction, and (of course) power.

• Rather than watching the lob and hitting squarely “at” it, rotate so your body is already aligned with where you want the ball to end up.

• Legs (not arms) are the engine that generate controlled depth and angle. Thus, no flat feet!

• A “70%” smash aimed correctly is more lethal than a “100%” attempt that comes off the glass and resets the point. Direction > power.

TLDR, think critically about which ball is genuinely worth smashing. And when you do decide to pull the trigger, be smart about how you execute. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

The Widening Youth Development Gap

The Rafa Nadal Academy just launched a full annual youth padel residency program incorporating an academic curriculum, on-site nutrition, and sport psychology. Based in Mallorca, 🇪🇸, it’s the first program at that scale to treat padel development the way elite tennis has been treated for decades.

An equivalent doesn’t currently exist in 🇺🇸. Right now, the closest thing is Mouratoglou Academy in Zephyrhills, FL, with a year-round tennis-focused boarding school, with five padel courts. They might be gradually looking to replicate their model for padel… but for now, it’s just an amenity inside a tennis academy. And similarly, the internationally-renowned IMG Academy in nearby Bradenton, FL only has padel integrated as a complementary off-court activity and cross-training sport. You also have USPA-endorsed coaching certification programs like RB Padel Academy and Premier Padel’s new global clinics platform tied to tour stops.

What's strange is that similar infrastructure already exists. Mouratoglou, IMG, and dozens of smaller tennis academies have the courts, the boarding, the coaching systems, and junior pipelines. Why hasn’t adding padel-primary development become a bigger trend? Is there still not enough incentive yet?

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

Hometown Hero Delivers a Killer Finish (🇪🇸)

The Premier Padel Tour wrapped up the Valladolid P2 with a pair of emotional victories. On the men’s side, world No. 1s Coello / Tapia continued their dominant run, defeating rivals Chingotto / Galán 6-4, 6-3 to claim their fifth title of the season and third consecutive championship. The victory carried extra significance for Coello, a Valladolid native, who celebrated the trophy alongside family and friends in the iconic Plaza Mayor. Highlights here.

• Despite the win, Tapia offered an interesting critique of the tournament conditions. With soaring temperatures causing the ball to fly (thus causing points to end quickly), he argued that the ultra-fast court speed took away from the sport's tactical side, calling it “not pretty padel.”

On the women’s side, González / Josemaría returned to the winner’s circle with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 dub over Sánchez / Ustero. After seeing their five-tournament winning streak snapped in Rome, González and Josemaría responded in style to capture their sixth title of the season. Highlights here.

With Valladolid now in the books, the tour wastes no time shifting its attention to the Bordeaux P2.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• After 30+ years as the “United States Padel Association,” the US’ national governing body just officially rebranded as USA Padel. The move signals a new era for American padel, with leadership teasing major partnerships, new programs, and platform investments as rapid growth continues. (🇺🇸)

• The 2026 UK Padel Report just came out, highlighting the sport’s nationwide bottleneck: turning “trial players” into habitual ones through better pricing and venue design. With peak-hour courts averaging ~£42/hr, but players’ willingness to pay clustering far lower, operators now face a clear tension between commercial returns and building a sustainable, mass participation sport. This sounds eerily familiar to what we have Stateside… (🇬🇧)

• Premier Padel just launched its own podcast (in Spanish), dubbed “Bandeja de Premier Padel,” with the first episode released this past week. (🌎)

• Four of America's top collegiate players will represent the US at the 2026 FISU World University Padel Championship in Málaga. Suerte! (🇺🇸,🇪🇸)

• Just in time for the fourth, Babolat is launching a USA-exclusive “red, white, and blue” racket collection. (🇺🇸)

• An organized crime group lieutenant resurfaced in plain sight within Dubai’s competitive padel circuit. Guess hiding takes a back seat when the addiction’s calling 🤷‍♂️ (🇮🇪,🇦🇪)

• Turns out, Lionel Messi has confirmed his favorite sport outside of soccer is padel. (🇦🇷)

• Players debate: what is proper warm-up etiquette?

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 La Massana, 🇦🇩
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• What the Players Say vs. What Gets Announced

• Nike Wants Padel’s Best Player. But He’s Already Taken(?)

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

The World No. 1 openly wants to wear the Swoosh. Closer to home, Brooklyn is getting a padel venue with a rooftop. Plus, women’s padel growth… real, or just PR?

Also in this issue:
— How to optimally read tricky serves
— Alcaraz makes another cameo
— Venue drama on the pro circuit
— Miami is the US padel capital, but what about the UK?

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

• In Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, BK Padel just signed a 10-year lease for 38,000 square feet, with the space split across a ground floor, mezzanine, and (notably) a rooftop that could make this one of the few padel venues in NYC with outdoor play. The deal repositions a long-vacant retail building into what brokers described as a “large-scale, nontraditional retail space.” BK Padel has no public website yet, so court count and opening timeline are still unconfirmed.

  

  Subscribe now

📈 Up Your Game 

What Good Players Do Against Tricky Serves

Turns out, there’s no such thing as an unreturnable serve.

In this <10 minute video, Coach Sandy from The Padel School (who is now a key voice on the Premier Padel tour) says most players struggle with spin serves because they react to the bounce instead of reading the spin before it happens.

There are only three types of spin you need to understand:

• Slice: The ball stays low after the glass

• Topspin: The ball kicks higher after the glass

• Sidespin: The ball changes direction after the bounce

The key is to watch your opponent’s racket path. If they’re brushing down, slice. If they’re brushing up, topspin. If they’re coming across the ball, sidespin.

Once you identify the spin, your positioning becomes much easier:

• Slice: Move closer to the glass because the ball will stay low.

• Topspin: Give yourself more space because the ball will jump higher.

• Sidespin: Anticipate the change in angle instead of letting it surprise you.

However… reading the spin is only half the equation. You still need a split step as your opponent makes contact, early preparation, good footwork, and a solid continental grip. Leaning forward as you anticipate the serve can also do wonders.

Lastly, remember that the pros rarely hit outright aces. So next time you face an opponent with a tricky serve, know that you’re fully capable of hitting a great return!

🌍 International Happenings  

One Pro’s Reality vs. One Region’s PR (🌎🇨🇭🇶🇦)

A few weeks ago, I casually asked a a friend on the women’s Premier Padel circuit about her favorite and least favorite destinations to play. She didn’t hesitate to tell me her least favorite, which was “anywhere in the Middle East.” While fans there come in droves for the men, it’s practically crickets for the women.

So it was interesting timing when last week, Qatar Sports Investments brought women’s padel to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. There, QSI Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi called for every girl to have access to sport. And on behalf of the International Padel Players Association (an association that promotes the development of women’s padel worldwide, currently led by world No. 1 Gemma Triay), Maria Teixidor highlighted the progress the women’s game has made (i.e., equal prize money at 90% of tournaments, world-class venues, same facilities as the men).

All true. And even Al-Khelaïfi himself admitted that economic sustainability for the women’s game is “still a long way from being achieved.”

But after seeing this, I candidly can’t help but wonder if this is genuine progress or a well-staged photo op. Maybe it’s some of both. Either way, it’s worth tracking whether Premier Padel stops in the Middle East (and elsewhere) start filling stands for the women, not whether a room can get filled in Geneva.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

Reserve Cup Marbella Wraps In Style (🇪🇸)

The second edition of the exhibition-filled Reserve Cup Marbella concluded at Puente Romano, with Team Sierra Blanca Estates crowned champions across a $700K prize pool. The headline match featured Alejandro Galán and Leo Augsburger, the “all-natural-backhand experiment,” making their debut as a pair. They jumped out to a 6-1 lead against Arturo Coello and Javi Garrido before completely unraveling, ultimately losing the super tie-break 10-5. Highlights here.

Coello (MVP) and Lara Arruabarrena (MVP) took the individual honors. The tournament also debuted a women’s draw this year, which landed well. At the awards ceremony, Marbella’s Deputy Mayor announced the event is locked in through 2030.

Carlos Alcaraz showed up too. Still rehabbing his wrist (he’ll miss Wimbledon), the world tennis No. 2 spent Thursday courtside next to Reserve founder Wayne Boich

Pregamin’ the Valladolid P2, feat. the Elephant in the Plaza (🇪🇸)

Premier Padel heads to Valladolid this week, where Coello / Tapia return to defend their title in Coello’s hometown across a ~€265K prize pool.

Off-court, things are a bit awkward… local political groups are publicly opposing the event’s use of the 16th-century Plaza Mayor as the venue, citing heritage impact, four weeks of disruption for setup/teardown, and a €1M public subsidy for one week of competition.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Last week, reports suggested Nike was targeting Agustín Tapia as the face of its planned entry into padel. This week, NOX, Tapia's current sponsor, acknowledged that Nike approached the World No. 1, while Tapia himself called the prospect of joining the Swoosh “a dream.” (🇺🇸🇪🇸🇦🇷)

• As padel scales across North America, Bounce Padel Courts, a court manufacturer and installer, has partnered with global sports surface supplier Mondo to integrate performance turf into its North American installations. (🇨🇦🇮🇹)

• It’s pretty clear that Miami is the US’ padel capital. But what about in the UK? With 38 clubs and 145 courts, this city punches well above its weight. (🇬🇧)

• Dealing with chronic blisters? Players discuss surprisingly practical fixes here.

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Valparaíso, 🇨🇱
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Nike Wants Padel’s Best Player. But He’s Already Taken(?)

• Watching Tapia vs. Being Tapia

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Nike is finally entering the sport, with a 2027 launch on the table… and its first signature target is reportedly none other than world No. 1 Agustín Tapia. But what about Tapia’s deal with NOX?

We’ve got the full story below.

Also in this issue:
— FIP rewrote the 2027 rulebook, and American players caught a break
— Stop hitting bandejas that bounce like beach balls
— Handshake & future teammate drama
— Publicly funded courts finally hit the US!

…and plenty more. Game, set, let’s go!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

• Down in Wellington, FL (66 miles north of Miami), R&B Sports Center is developing a private, invitation-only sports and wellness campus. Slated to open in 2027, the project will feature padel courts alongside tennis facilities (including an indoor clay court), plus recovery amenities, a music studio, café, martial arts space, skate ramps, and a pump track. Founded by renowned tennis coaches Betsy Nagelsen McCormack and Rodrigo Nascimento, the club hopes to emphasize youth development, mentorship, and creating pathways for aspiring athletes.

  

Now Open

• Austin, TX-based Padel39 just held the grand opening for its long-anticipated East Austin flagship location, officially becoming the largest padel club in Texas (yeehaw!). The facility brings 12 outdoor padel courts (including four covered courts and a dedicated singles/training court) to one of 🇺🇸's fastest-growing padel markets, while combining padel with fitness, wellness, and food & beverage offerings.

  

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• It’s no secret padel’s biggest problem in the US is accessibility, not demand. That gap is part of what gives the sport its “elitist” perception in our country. But fortunately, in Amarillo, TX, publicly funded courts, nonprofit leadership, and community-first programming are now offering a very different blueprint for how the sport can scale. America is finally starting to copy the European blueprint, and the future is looking bright!

  Subscribe now

📈 Up Your Game 

Stop Hitting Bouncy Bandejas

I’ve been noticing this a lot with my game recently, but I constantly find my bandejas hitting the opponent’s glass and popping up like a beach ball, suddenly teeing up an attacking shot for them. 🤦‍♂️

In this 8-minute video, coach Sandy from The Padel School indicates the problem is usually insufficient movement that happens before the swing.

Most rec players watch the lob instead of reacting to it. They see the ball go up, admire its flight for a second too long, and then start shuffling backward with tiny steps. By the time they arrive, they’re late, cramped, and forced to contact the ball behind their body.

The result is an open racket face, an upward swing path, and a bandeja that sits up begging to be punished.

THE FIX: move before you think you need to.

• As soon as you recognize the lob, split step, pivot, and use a few explosive crossover steps to get behind the ball.

• Your goal is to create enough space so you can strike it comfortably in front of your body.

  • Once you’re there, remember this: “High racket, low finish.”

• Start with the racket above the ball, let it travel slightly downward through contact, and keep the trajectory relatively flat. Add a touch of slice and you’ll produce the kind of low-skidding bandeja that buys time to reclaim the net.

Suerte a todos!

🌍 International Happenings  

A New Rulebook, With 🇺🇸 Players In Mind

During the Italy Major in Rome, FIP and Premier Padel came up with a package of changes for 2027, which were officially announced this week.

Before we break this down, you (rightfully) might be asking why these rules seem so fickle when organized pro padel has already been around for 21 years. What you might not know, however, is that over these 21 years, pro padel has been rebuilt three times:

• Pro Padel Tour (2005-12)

• World Padel Tour (2013-23)

• And now, the FIP-governed Premier Padel (2024-present)

  • Within this current era, we’re only in year three. And unlike these prior two eras, padel is seeing rampant worldwide player & fan growth, which significantly complicates things. So yes, we’re in a new stage of “infancy,” hence these frequent regulatory changes.

So with that all said, here’s what’s coming in 2027 for the pro circuit:

1. The world’s best players can no longer “play down” in FIP’s lower tiers (Gold, Silver, Bronze) to (1) pick up extra ranking points and/or (2) stay sharp between Premier Padel stops… those tiers now belong to players still climbing the ladder.

   1. This is a big deal for rising 🇺🇸 players, as the CUPRA FIP Tour only arrived in the US for the first time in October 2025 (FIP Bronze Austin, followed weeks later by FIP Silver San Diego… then Miami got its own FIP Bronze debut this past May). The USPA is now recruiting more US clubs to host FIP events off the back of that momentum.

      1. Point being, these entry-level events are exactly where an American player starts building FIP ranking points. Until next year, a top-20 pro from Spain or Argentina can parachute into one of these and torch an American tournament by knocking out the top locals in round one.

2. FIP is trimming the number of ranking-based tournaments from 22 to 21. Players pleaded for this to ease travel and boost recovery. However, almost everyone else in the room (i.e., promoters, broadcasters, commercial partners) wanted the opposite, arguing padel needs more exposure in new markets to support its Olympic push. 😬 TBD on how this one holds up…

3. To offset the decrease in ranking-based tournaments, FIP increased the ranking points awarded for early-round exits across the board. At the Majors, for example, a round-of-32 finish now earns 50 points instead of 35.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

Women’s Upsets & Men’s Drama Hit the Valencia P1

On the men’s side, Coello / Tapia made it four titles on the season, but this one came the hard way. Down 5-1 in the deciding tiebreak against No. 2 Chingalán, the world No. 1s clawed back to win 6-7, 6-1, 7-6. Coello called it his 50th career title; Tapia credited the run to the work they’ve put in since Buenos Aires, after which we had significant concerns about his health and performance. Highlights here.

Things got tense in the semis, when Galán refused to shake Lebrón's hand after a heated on-court exchange mid-match. Now, just days later, the tour heads to the Reserve Cup in Marbella (June 18-20), where Galán will temporarily partner with Lebrón's regular teammate, Leo Augsburger (a player Galán had his own skirmish with a few months back). The exhibition at Puente Romano also features a new women's division headlined by World No. 1 Delfi Brea.

On the women’s side, No. 3s Sánchez / Ustero avenged their Rome finals loss, beating No. 4s Fernández / Araújo 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 for their second title of the year. However, what’s worth noting is who didn’t make the final. No. 2s González / Josemaría (winners of five straight titles, a record no women’s pair had hit before) were knocked out in the quarters by Ortega / Calvo, who’d lost to them four times this season. Meanwhile, No. 1s and Italy Major Champions Triay / Brea, got knocked out in the semifinals by Sánchez / Ustero, ending their steak of 13 consecutive finals. Highlights here.

And Alas… Nike Is *Finally* Entering Padel

The Oregon-based brand is finally making its long-rumored entry into padel, targeting a 2027 launch… and Tapia is the centerpiece signing they’re chasing. Nike scouts were reportedly on the ground in Buenos Aires and Rome this season. Tapia’s current deal with NOX runs through 2028 with a steep buyout, so any move likely waits… but a three-way arrangement (i.e., NOX racket, Nike apparel/footwear) isn’t off the table. 👀

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Our friends at Padel Nation released a guest article from Eric Loftus (who serves on the board of the American Sports Builders Association, among many other things) questioning the legality of outdoor padel courts in the US. (🇺🇸)

• Padel is coming back to the Hamptons in Bridgehampton, NY for a Pro-Am charity showdown in early August, blending competition with poolside luxury. The event drives impact through The Brady Hunter Foundation, funding animal rescue, child welfare, and environmental initiatives. (🇺🇸)

• The United States Padel Association has declared October as “national padel month” in an effort to take padel from rapid infrastructure expansion into scalable player adoption at the community level. (🇺🇸)

• Padel Belgium has officially joined the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee. With this addition, the Belgian Olympic Committee now represents 86 national sports federations. (🇧🇪)

• Spicy debate: Should players be allowed to wipe sweaty hands on the glass between points? While some call it unhygienic and distracting, others argue it’s standard practice, and even used at the pro level without controversy.

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Santiago de los Caballeros, 🇩🇴
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Watching Tapia vs. Being Tapia

• Proceed With Caution

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Utah just got its first all-in-one racquet sports destination, while Chicago-native Pope Leo XIV caught the padel bug.

Meanwhile, most of the UK’s 1M+ players can’t name a single top-10 pro. But neither can most American players. Is padel building a player base while neglecting a fanbase?

Also in this issue:
— Why you’re too chicken to bury the weak ball
— Premier Padel’s longest match ever (+ what happened the next day)
— Headed to Paris this summer?
— Free padel courts to schools… could be a genius play

…and plenty more. Dale campeón!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Now Open

• Just weeks after announcing its arrival, Utah City Racquet Club is officially opening its doors this Saturday (June 13) in Vineyard, UT (40-minute drive from Salt Lake City). Operated by LA-based LVBL, the facility brings together four padel courts, six pickleball courts, and two tennis courts in what the club describes as “Utah’s first all-in-one racquet sports destination.” The grand opening will feature free community programming for all levels, Wilson demo racquets, live music, and giveaways.

  

📈 Up Your Game 

Why Didn’t You Just Finish the Point Already?

You’ve worked your way to the net. Your opponents are scrambling and send back a weak ball. But then... nothing happens because you play it safe, they recover, and suddenly you’re defending again :(

This <9-minute video from our friends at The Padel School details five ways to convert more of those opportunities into points:

1. Use the middle to create space. Instead of forcing low-percentage winners into the corners, play controlled volleys through the middle. When both opponents move toward the same ball, gaps open up elsewhere on the court.

2. Anticipate before the ball arrives. Pay closer attention to your opponents’ body position and racket preparation. If they’re stretched low, expect a defensive lob. If they’re scrambling, start preparing for the next attack before they even make contact.

3. Keep your feet alive. Instead of admiring your setup shot, stay on your toes, split-step, and move forward aggressively when a weak reply is coming. The extra meter you take away can be the difference between pressure and a reset.

4. Hit down on attacking shots. Whether it’s a volley, vibora, or overhead, the goal is making the ball stay low after the bounce (NOT maximum power). Players who contact from above the ball and work downward create much more difficult shots to defend.

5. Commit to your decision. Half-committed shots are often worse than the wrong shot. Select your shot and fully commit.

Overall, as your level rises, finishing points actually requires more patience. Even the pros may need 30+ shots to create the opening they’re looking for. Your job is to recognize the opportunities you’ve already created and capitalize when they finally arrive.

🌍 International Happenings  

Can Pro Padel Build a Major Fanbase?

Per a Q&A with UK Padel’s CEO that dropped this week, most of the UK’s 1M+ players can’t name a single top-10 pro. As an American, I don’t think much of the US’ purported 1M+ players can either.

Easy to blame the language barrier. But many players and operators I’ve spoken with across Spain and Argentina say it’s a similar dynamic, even in their own countries. One line I heard recently sums it up:

“No one wants to watch Tapia. They want to be Tapia.”

Will padel’s viewership ceiling look a lot like pickleball’s, which has been floundering for years despite massive player growth? (More on this here and here.)

In North America, the Pro Padel League’s franchise format is the most serious attempt I’ve seen to crack this. Mixed pairings across ranking levels create genuine uncertainty, such that you can’t just pencil in Chingalán and move on. This’ll be worth watching, as the season opens July 9 in New York City.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

Rome Restores the Hierarchy (🇮🇹)

On both the men’s and women’s sides, the world No. 1 pairs arrived at the Italy Major carrying unusual baggage. Coello / Tapia had lost four straight matches to No. 2 Chingalán, while Brea / Triay had lost five consecutive finals to No. 2 Josemaría / González. By Sunday night, both storylines were over.

In the women’s final, Brea / Triay defeated Sánchez / Ustero 6-1, 7-5 to defend their Rome crown from last year. But the scoreline doesn’t tell the full story... Sánchez / Ustero entered the match <24 hours removed from a grueling 4-hour, 12-minute semifinal… the longest match in Premier Padel history (highlights here). Highlights from final here.

In yet another chapter of the sport’s biggest rivalry on the men’s side, Chingalán were chasing a third consecutive Rome title. Instead, Coello / Tapia produced one of their cleanest performances of the season to capture their first title since Cancún, winning 7-5, 7-6 behind a superior winners-to-errors ratio (58 winners, 21 unforced errors). Mind you, this all follows our deep concerns regarding Tapia’s health. Highlights here.

Finally, another milestone came from Giulia Dal Pozzo, who became the first Italian woman to reach a Major semifinal.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Chicago native Pope Leo XIV welcomed FIP President Luigi Carraro and pro veteran Paquito Navarro at the Vatican during the Italy Major. (🇻🇦)

• Headed to Paris this summer? You can now play padel beneath the Eiffel Tower. The city’s 4PADEL Gustave court returns for its longest run, operating through September. (🇫🇷)

• Irish operator Padel 100 is offering schools free padel courts, then monetizing public bookings outside school hours and sharing revenue back with the schools. (🇮🇪)

• Players debate: honestly, why is beer so popular right after a game?

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Dar es Salaam, 🇹🇿
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Proceed With Caution

• Well That Escalated Quickly

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

This last week, I was in Barcelona for the Padel World Summit (which was, I think, the first time I've seen the global supply chain in one space). Court builders, AI cameras, booking software, ball re-pressurizers, and everything in-between. There’s clearly a lot of hype around the sport, with the ecosystem filling in fast. The event boasted 7,208 professional attendees (up 20% vs. 2025), and 140 exhibitors from 30+ countries.

Also, huge thanks to my friends Jamie & Charlie at World Padel Network & Vibra Travel (respectively) for hosting a kickass event at the renowned Bela Center! Anyway, onward with the weekly rundown.

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

The 2026 Playtomic Global Padel Report just dropped, but proceed with caution.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Time Zone is getting showered with fresh courts, while American youth finally hop in on the action. And the No. 1s have their backs against the wall headed into Rome.

Also in this issue:
— Diligencing America’s true padel appetite
— Your backhand gets therapy
— Pro loopholes get exposed
— European soccer’s padel love affair
— Is padel elitist?

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

• DUS Padel is bringing a premium, wellness-focused approach to West Palm Beach, FL with a new 26,000-square-foot indoor facility. The club will feature five courts, an organic café, recovery amenities including saunas and cold plunges, and the first official NOX Pro Shop in the US. The founders are positioning it as a true “third place” where members can play, recover, work, socialize, and attend events under one roof. Construction is underway!

  

• Aside from clubs, we’ve seen padel pop up in US hotels, country clubs, residences, and now… offices! One of Manhattan’s most ambitious developments is set to include the only regulation-size padel court inside an office building. The planned 46-story, 850,000-square-foot tower will be just one block from Grand Central. The padel court will be part of a luxury wellness center featuring a tenant-only fitness club and spa-quality locker rooms. The project’s opening timeline has not yet been announced.

  

Now Open

• In metro Miami, North Bay Village, FL is opening the Brent W. Latham Community Center this Thursday. Developed in partnership with the Argentine Football Association, the site includes two padel courts alongside four pickleball courts, a 11v11 soccer field, and several multi-purpose athletic zones.

  

• Club Padel Newtown just opened outside Cincinnati in Newtown, OH, marking the metro area’s first dedicated outdoor padel facility in a region otherwise dominated by indoor and hybrid padel-pickleball setups. The club features four panoramic outdoor courts, alongside a full clubhouse with locker rooms, lounge space, and a pro shop. The club is rolling out leagues, clinics, junior programs, and tournaments, with booking already live via Playtomic.

  

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• SLC Padel Club owner Pedro Bautista brought padel directly to local K-8 recess periods, introducing hundreds of kids to the sport.

• A proposed temporary padel court at Rolling Hills Country Club has been pulled into the broader pickleball noise litigation saga in Wilton, CT, triggering a required public hearing as officials move to avoid inconsistent treatment across similar racquet-sport cases.

• Padel Pals in Mesa, AZ is hosting an indoor, climate-controlled summer camp for children ages 6-12.

📈 Up Your Game 

The Backhand: From Weakness to Weapon

Not sure about y’all, but my backhand sucks, and this 10-minute video was a game-changer. I (desperately) took some detailed notes, breaking it down into four areas where players often struggle:

• Mistake #1: You’re leading with the grip

  • Tennis players especially, listen up! Most players prepare the backhand by putting the face of the racket toward the side fence instead of pointing it at the net. As a result, you end up generating power with your wrist instead of your arm… which means inconsistency, unintentional slice, and if you keep it up long enough, a nasty wrist injury.

    • The fix: racket face toward the net from the start, wrist fully locked, push forward with your arm and shoulder. (The wrist is not invited to this party.)

• Mistake #2: You’re lifting too early

  • After contact, the racket goes up too fast instead of following through in the direction of the net. The shot bleeds pace, picks up unwanted topspin, and lands shorter than you intended (aka, right in your opponent’s wheelhouse).

    • The fix: imagine your racket traveling along the white net tape after contact. Push forward (not upward).

• Mistake #3: Your feet are square

  • Hitting with both feet on the same line robs you of body weight transfer. You end up muscling the ball with your arm alone, which is both weak and imprecise.

    • The fix: left foot back (for righties), body slightly open. That hip rotation is where your power actually lives.

• Mistake #4: Your racket preparation height is wrong

  • Preparing above ball level creates slice, while preparing below it creates topspin. Neither is what you want on a clean backhand drive.

    • The fix: You want the racket meeting the ball at the same height it arrives (i.e., flat contact, full control). When executed correctly, the ball jumps off the racket with less effort and goes exactly where you wanted it.

While you can get away with these mistakes at low speed, the faster the ball comes, the more your backhand weaknesses are exposed. As a final note, start with mistake #1; the others are downstream of it. Suerte che!

🌍 International Happenings  

Wake Up Bro, We Just Got More Global Data! Here’s My Blunt Take.

So the 2026 Playtomic Global Padel Report (co-produced with my former employer Strategy&) dropped this week (which you can access here). If you follow this space, reading this is a must, but please take everything with a grain of salt! Many investors last year were hyper-skeptic on a few stats, notably the “92% player retention” metric.

Globally, the headline numbers include nearly 5,000 new clubs and 8,000 new courts added in 2025, bringing 🌎 totals to 20,900+ clubs, 58,300 courts, and 19.4 million players. 🇺🇸 is classified as a “Diamond in the Rough” (i.e., early stage, high potential, adding 250 clubs and 330 courts in 2025).

Here’s where I get cautious, especially given my international playing POV. The report heavily pushes a “Third Space” thesis (e.g., saunas, cold plunges, recovery zones). To me, that model makes sense for a narrow slice of operators. Sure, if you’re in a cosmopolitan (semi-)urban center with 3-4 courts and high rent, stacking amenities is a survival mechanism. But I feel like we’re like we’re using this as a universal blueprint nationwide, which can get hella misleading.

I came across a great Reddit thread this week, debating whether padel clubs are over-indexing on wellness. The top-voted comment was: “The main driver is always community, not amenities… My coach is there… they run 24 leagues… [and] that club just becomes your second home.” Community and programming seem to be where the money is, much more so than cold plunges.

• Another idea-inducing comment I read: someone mentioned their club just has a pool table. People stick around, grab a beer / smoothie, and play a game or three after their match. I love this idea because it’s low cost, there’s no operational complexity, it doesn’t take up much space, and it builds the kind of community culture many US clubs are desperately missing.

To me, while there’s 100% a need for luxury padel, most US clubs would be better off prioritizing tight leagues, tournaments, and beginner clinics at prices people can afford to play 3x+ a week to actually get good, rather than chasing a “wellness” arms race that inflates prices, shrinks the addressable market, and slows adoption… especially amid a declining US consumer market.

Lastly, I’ll also flag that per the report, the US leads the global market pricing-wise at “€92 per average booking” (which seems to suggest per court reservation, not per-player). Virtually every American club runs on a membership model, meaning players are paying a fixed monthly fee on top of court fees. This isn’t broken down in a per-session booking figure. To me, the real all-in cost for a court reservation in the US seems substantially higher than €92 suggests. In mature markets like Spain and Italy, membership models are rare, and clubs compete openly on court price + quality alone. That’s a very different business model, so broadly comparing these booking prices across countries without providing the methodology raises more questions than answers.

Overall, the direction is right and there’s certainly growth, but please proceed cautiously. There’s tons of marketing that overhypes this sport as an asset class, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

Pregamin’ the Italy Major

The Premier Padel tour shifts to Rome this week, where the BNL Italy Major kicks off this week at the iconic Foro Italico.

On the men’s side, all eyes remain on the battle between flailing world No. 1s Coello / Tapia and the red-hot No. 2s Galán / Chingotto, who have already collected five titles this season and won the last two Rome finals. Another major storyline is the long-awaited reunion of Navarro / Di Nenno. Once one of padel’s most beloved partnerships, the pair reunites after Di Nenno’s difficult start to the season, with the Argentine already saying he believes Paquito can help bring back his best level.

The women’s draw may be harder to predict. While Triay / Brea enter as the top-ranked pair, Josemaría / González have won the last five tournaments on the calendar, repeatedly defeating the world No. 1s and arriving in Rome with enormous momentum.

Some Albanian Drama

While Premier Padel paused, several top players took advantage of the FIP Platinum Albania to chase valuable ranking points and match reps ahead of Rome. Stupaczuk / Yanguas captured the title, earning their first trophy of the season heading into the Italy Major. Despite the world No. 3 pair lifting the trophy, social media pointed to visible frustration and uneven on-court chemistry during key moments.

Meanwhile, Iñigo Jofre drew criticism after partnering with Hong Kong’s Lok Hei Jamie Yau, a player ranked outside the world’s top 900 who gained direct entry through the “combined ranking system.” The pairing reignited debate about loopholes in the FIP registration process, though Jofre defended the decision, insisting the duo had followed all rules.

Finally, if you’re a Premier Padel obsessionist like me and want more English-speaking intel on the pro scene, check out The Padel Report here!

🎯 Quick Hits 

• What does a mature 🇺🇸 padel market actually look like? Our friends at Padel Nation crunched the numbers and came to a provocative conclusion: America’s court ceiling may be far higher than skeptics think, but far lower than the industry’s loudest evangelists predict.

• Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme is proposing turning the club’s training complex into a massive sports and social hub with 40+ padel and tennis courts. (🇪🇸)

• Premier Padel and Red Bull have launched the sport’s first major mobile game, letting fans compete online, build clubs, and climb from local leagues to the Majors. (🌎)

• As Budapest prepared to host the UEFA Champions League Final, Premier Padel Chairman / Paris Saint-Germain President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi brought together figures from across the sports industry for a game of padel. (🇭🇺🇪🇺)

• Is padel elitist? While some players point to expensive gear, ranking apps, and finance-heavy club scenes, others argue it’s simply a fast-growing sport going through the same social stratification cycle as tennis, cycling, and golf.

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Vientiane, 🇱🇦
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Well That Escalated Quickly

• Record Crowds, Empty Courts

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

Greetings from Barcelona! 🇪🇸

I’m here for the Padel World Summit, a three-day trade event bringing together 140 exhibitors from 30+ countries across court construction, technology, retail, and investment.

I’ll be spending most of my time meeting builders in the space and getting a refined read on where the puck is headed globally. If you’re here too, let’s link!

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

A major tech hub is finally getting its first padel court, while a 130-year-old tennis institution just installed a few glass walls. And somewhere in between, a tour veteran called his current partner the best he’s ever had.

Meanwhile, and a Top-10 tennis pro just took a shot at the entire sport, but fear not… folks clapped back fast.

Also in this issue:
— The secret formula to winning with a weaker partner
— The No. 1s are this close to getting overthrown
— Tech M&A comes for padel
— Buenos Aires asks for seconds, but the money says nope
— When will the US get its first World Top 25 player?

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Coming Soon

Winter’s Over, But the Padel Avalanche Continues

More courts are landing in the Beehive State! Over in Vineyard, UT (40-minute drive from Salt Lake City), the new Utah City Racquet Club is coming next month inside the massive 700-acre “Utah City” urban development, bringing four padel courts, six pickleball courts, and two tennis courts. The club is positioning as a next-gen social hub blending padel, music, food, fitness, and community aimed squarely at younger players. Meanwhile, LA-based LVBL (known for blending racquet sports with social programming, music, and hospitality-style experiences) will operate the facility.

Now Open

Historic Landmark Gets a Glass Wall

This is a big one. Over in New York, NY, The West Side Tennis Club — founded in 1892 in Forest Hills, Queens, former home of the US Open, and one of the most storied racquet clubs in America — just installed its first padel court, a regulation Mundial from Padel Galis. The club already boasts nearly 40 tennis courts across all four surface types. The court is members-only through June, when guest access and programming open up.

Nearly Sold Out Upon Arrival

Poor Seattle, it waited forever for padel. Now the city can’t book courts fast enough. Jam Padel is opening the city’s first padel facility with a three-court pop-up in Bellevue’s Spring District, running a four-month activation right next to Meta’s campus. The club is rolling out free intro classes and limited founding memberships, with the pop-up acting as the first step toward a permanent Seattle footprint. Founder Pablo Arcuschin is already scouting long-term expansion, including a 25,000-square-foot space in the city’s Ballard neighborhood and plans for multiple additional locations across the region.

First Dedicated Spot in the State

Since our March preview, Foundry Padel has officially opened in Portland, OR’s Cathedral Park neighborhood, bringing Oregon its first dedicated padel facility. The 13,800 sq ft indoor club features four panoramic courts with ~45-foot ceilings, plus a café, pro shop, and mezzanine social spaces.

📈 Up Your Game 

How to Win with a Weaker Partner

Like anyone else out there, you probably find yourself getting roped into playing with a weaker partner… again. It’s either too awkward to decline, or you’re unable to find stronger players to hit with. So you begrudgingly accept.

Mid-game, your mood shifts and your opponents notice it too. And you become rightfully frustrated that every important ball is now going straight to your partner (aka “the fridge”).

In this 12-minute video, this Coach Gonzalo from Padel Drive says this is one of the most misunderstood situations in padel because most players react emotionally (vs. strategically).

The hard pill to swallow is that if you constantly think you’re “stuck” with weaker partners, you might not be as strong as you think. Better players tend to get invited by better players. If that’s not happening consistently, there’s probably a gap in your own game too.

Still, mismatched pairings happen all the time. The key is understanding the three dynamics unfolding on court:

• Your opponents simplify the match by targeting your partner nonstop.

• You start overplaying because you feel pressure to “save” every point.

• Your partner either gets overwhelmed… or checks out completely because they assume you’ll carry them.

That combination creates the perfect recipe for frustration.

My notes on how to work around this:

1. Stop coaching mid-match

   1. Nothing destroys chemistry and mental toughness faster than technical advice during a game. No one is rebuilding their mechanics during a third-set tiebreak. Keep strategy simple and forget technique!

   2. Instead, give them one simple objective, like “lob the red shirt” or “target the middle at net.”

2. The faster you emotionally accept that your partner will see 70% of the balls, the less frustrated you become. Remember, this sport is incredibly mental.

3. Don’t become a superhero

   1. Ex) You finally touch the ball after four straight rallies to your partner… and immediately try to hit a spectacular winner. Now you’re missing too.

      1. Ironically, you’re contributing to the collapse you’re blaming your partner for.

4. Balance patience with intensity

   1. On one end of the spectrum, if you get frustrated, your stress level spikes and your decision-making deteriorates.

   2. On the other end, if you mentally disengage because rallies aren’t coming to you, your intensity drops too low and you become passive and lazy.

   3. Thus, the sweet spot is controlled intensity.

      1. Even when your partner is playing every ball, stay active by split-stepping and tracking the point. Stay engaged physically + mentally so when the ball does finally come to you, you’re ready to make a clean, strategic decision.

5. Assuming you and your partner are both right-handed, optimize your influence on the match by playing on the left side. It’ll allow you to:

   1. control more overheads

   2. cover the middle more aggressively

6. Tell the your partner to play more down the line

   1. If your partner constantly plays crosscourt, opponents can keep recycling the ball right back to them endlessly.

   2. Down-the-line shots naturally redirect the rally crosscourt toward you, allowing the stronger player to intercept more balls and take over more space.

7. Body language > words… do not be passive-aggressive when they miss a shot!

   1. While pressure from opponents is manageable, pressure from your own teammate is what breaks players. Once they feel judged, the snowball starts.

8. Take your sweet time by slowing the match down when momentum flips

   1. Take longer breaks between games to reset emotionally. Consider discussing one tactical adjustment.

   2. Momentum in padel is very real, especially at the club/recreational level where confidence swings are massive.

Suerte! 🍀

🌍 International Happenings  

How Real Is the Tennis vs. Padel Rivalry?

In an interview this week, World No. 10 tennis player Alexander Bublik (🇷🇺🇰🇿) was asked about doubles specialists on tour. His answer escalated quickly:

“If you can’t play singles, you play doubles. If you can’t play doubles, you play padel. It’s as simple as that.”

Former padel world No. 1 Pablo Lima responded on Instagram within hours: “If you don’t know what you’re talking about… it’s better not to speak.” Sanyo Gutiérrez, currently active on tour, called it “very harsh” and said it diminishes every padel player’s merit.

Side-note, he also told reporters back in 2023 that he hates tennis with all his heart and only plays for the money. So he’s no stranger to provocativity.

For what it's worth, I’ve spent essentially my whole life playing tennis (which I’ll never stop) and I've never felt like I had to choose. They're different games that scratch different itches. Tennis is more technically demanding, padel is more chess-like and social. The only “rivalry” is the one that happens when you're trying to schedule both into the same week.

And look, he’s not entirely wrong. Tennis is technically harder to pick up given the bigger court, additional spin variation, and the serve alone taking years to develop.

The thing is, Bublik is confusing difficulty with value which is where he loses me. Padel has its own strategic depth, its own physical demands, and a social culture tennis has, respectfully, never come close to replicating.

The market doesn’t lie either. The Buenos Aires P1 drew nearly 17,000 spectators for the semifinals. And now padel will also feature as a full medal sport in September at the 2026 South American Games in Santa Fe, Argentina. (🇦🇷)

At least padel is interesting enough to be worth insulting...

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup

The Dust Hasn’t Fully Settled from Buenos Aires

So Wait, How Close Are the Rankings?

Chingalán’s victory over World No. 1s Coello / Tapia at the Buenos Aires P1 now has the rankings math moving in their favor.

To quickly explain, FIP rankings run on a rolling window. Points you earned at an event last year expire when that same event rolls around again. So while Coello and Tapia had strong results in Paraguay and Argentina in 2025, those points have since disappeared from their total, narrowing the gap between them and Chingalán (aka the No. 2s). The current gap is under 3,000 points (essentially one tournament result separating the Top 2).

The catch is that the same logic cuts both ways. Chingalán won the upcoming Italy Major last year, which means their Rome points expire after this tournament too. So at best they tread water and wait for the calendar to do the rest.

Off the court post-Buenos Aires, Galán said Chingotto is “the best partner I’ve ever had” (recall he played alongside Juan Lebrón for four years). “If I’m reaching my best level, it’s thanks to him.”

On the women’s side, a similar chase is playing out. Triay / Brea still lead the FIP rankings, but Bea González arrives in Rome in a uniquely favorable position because she isn’t defending nearly as many points as her rivals. A deep run for González and Josemaría, combined with an early exit for Triay / Brea, would give Bea the world number one ranking for the first time in her career. Be on the lookout.

Argentina Wants More, But Money…

The Buenos Aires P1 drew nearly 17,000 spectators, setting a new attendance record for a padel match. Spaniard veteran Paquito Navarro took to social media immediately after his quarterfinal exit to call for more events in the country: “We’ll fill any venue. Next year we want another tournament.” Asociación Pádel Argentino president Santiago Brito echoed the sentiment, openly questioning why Argentina only gets one date when the appetite is clearly there.

But in reality, a Major in Buenos Aires (aka Belasteguín’s dream scenario) is, per Brito himself, “not viable.” Prize money nearly doubles, costs follow, and the player field is identical to a P1. The numbers don’t close. Even a P2 in other Argentine cities like Córdoba or Mendoza remains a Premier Padel decision (not Argentina’s) to make. And despite Brito’s cheeky idea to host the Premier Finals in Buenos Aires in December (aka summer in Argentina), Barcelona is (for now) a closed conversation.

Argentina clearly has unmatched passion, proven infrastructure, and an event that’s beginning to turn a profit after years of cost overruns. What it doesn’t have yet is leverage over a calendar that still gives South America “little bro” status. The fans definitely deserve better, but the economics aren’t there yet.

All Roads Lead to Rome

Looking ahead, the circuit heads to Foro Italico for the Italy Major — the first Major of the 2026 season (and the richest on the calendar), with a prize pool topping €1 million. Main draw action begins Tuesday, June 2, with the men’s and women’s finals set for Sunday, June 7.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• SportAI (🇳🇴) completed its acquisition of Padelytics (🇨🇭🇷🇸), signaling a push toward a unified, AI-driven platform across padel, tennis, and pickleball.

• France’s padel boom just hit a new milestone with 1.15M tournament entries and 7+ annual tournaments per player on average. (🇫🇷)

• The Padel Association of Canada and the Canadian Universities Padel League have joined forces to build a national collegiate pathway for the sport. (🇨🇦)

• NHL star Alex Ovechkin may be weighing retirement, but he’s still grinding through offseason workouts in Russia, including time on the padel court. (🇷🇺🇺🇸)

• An interesting piece just came out on how padel may be the next inefficiency-rich goldmine for American sports bettors. (🇺🇸)

• Padel GOAT Fernando Belasteguín is expanding his Spanish club empire to Argentina, bringing the Bela Padel Center project to the Buenos Aires suburbs. (🇦🇷)

• Lucía Sainz has resigned after six years as president of the women’s-focused International Padel Players Association, with world No. 1 Gemma Triay stepping in to lead the next chapter. The timing raises fresh questions around Sainz’s playing future. (🇪🇸🌎)

• Reddit’s padel community ran the math on when 🇺🇸 produces its first Top 25 player. TLDR, it ain’t gonna be anytime soon...

• This is how padel balls are made! 🤯

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Arzachena, 🇮🇹
More info here!

And finally, reader feedback :)

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Record Crowds, Empty Courts

• Pack Your Racket

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

Holy cow, what a week. I had the pleasure of covering Premier Padel for the second time, this time in one of the sport’s global capitals: Buenos Aires 🇦🇷. With 99% certainty I was the only 🇺🇸 there, I watched an unruly fan section (drums, horns, the works) repeatedly drown out an increasingly irritated chair umpire. I also froze my ass off and am now writing this through a wall of sniffles. I have zero regrets.

Curious how it all looked live? My on-the-ground content (so far) is up on Instagram, check it out here. Plenty more to come soon…

Onward!

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Padel just set an all-time attendance record in Buenos Aires. The same week, a New York club announced it’ll be closing its doors after less than a year.

Meanwhile, Premier Padel wrapped with a 77-minute demolition of the No. 1s, and something seems “off” with one of them.

Also in this issue:
— The side stance vs. open stance debate
— Utah gets stronger, a proposal hits Miami, and will padel come to Reno?
— Youth development gets a massive boost
— A rebellious operator’s association

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Club Openings

Now Open

Over in Orem, UT (40 minutes outside Salt Lake City), Padel Den officially opened its doors with five indoor courts, becoming the second dedicated padel club in the state. The club was founded by brothers Kyle and Parker Quinlan after a vacation discovery in Puerto Rico.

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Former University of Florida tennis player Trevor Taylor is trying to build Setra Padel, which would transform a Miami office park rooftop into a 7-court padel hub. However, Miami-Dade County says athletic facilities aren’t even allowed in the area, which is adjacent to Miami International Airport. Approval is currently pending…

• American padel isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Sadly, NYC-based Padel&’s Greenpoint location is shutting down on May 31 after just a year. Its Syosset location will remain open.

• Tempe, AZ-based Conquer Padel just tapped veteran entrepreneur David Burnett to lead multi-unit expansion in Reno, Seattle, and Chicago.

📈 Up Your Game  

Hmmm… Which Should You Use?

You’ve probably heard your pro repeatedly yell “turn sideways!” And while the side position still matters, many amateur players overuse it and end up feeling late, rushed, and out of position. In this 10-minute video, Coach Dani explains how understanding when to use the classic side stance vs. the modern open stance can completely change your efficiency in padel.

The side position is the traditional “turn your body sideways” setup. It’s fantastic for generating power because you can transfer your body weight forward into the shot.

• Many players feel more natural hitting aggressive overheads, bandejas, víboras, bajadas, and smashes from this stance.

• The side position also gives a very clean feeling of directional control, whereby your body alignment naturally guides the ball crosscourt or down the line.

However, there’s a catch: the side position costs time and energy.

• Every shot requires more footwork, more repositioning, and more recovery back to ready position afterward. And in today’s padel (where balls fly faster and exchanges are more chaotic) you often don’t have enough time to fully set your body.

• Not to mention, your body positioning can telegraph your intentions. If you fully turn crosscourt, experienced opponents can often read where you’re about to play before you even hit the ball.

➡️ That’s where the open stance becomes so valuable.

• In an open stance, you stay much more square to the court. Instead of heavily repositioning your feet, you rely more on shoulder rotation and racket preparation.

• As a result, you react and recover faster. Plus you save energy and become less predictable.

However (again), the catch here is lack of coordination. Relative to the side position, timing and racket face control matter more. If your mechanics are sloppy, the shot quickly falls apart.

At the end of the day, neither stance is “correct.” The best players learn to read the room and adapt their stance each shot based on time available, ball speed, court position, and physical fitness. Éxitos!

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup

New World Record, Tapia Concerns, + A Four-/Five-peat (🇦🇷)

First off, history was made at the Buenos Aires P1. The semifinals featured 16,920 fans packed into Parque Roca, which was a new all-time attendance record for professional padel. Funny enough, this new record eclipsed the previous mark at the same venue set just last year. No other venue outside 🇪🇸 and 🇦🇷 has cracked 13,000!

On the men’s side, Chingalán seem to be in the midst of a generational shift at the top. In the finals, they absolutely dominated World No. 1s Coello / Tapia 6-2, 6-1 in just 77 minutes. This is four straight final wins over them, and five titles in 2026 vs. two for “Tapiello.” Highlights here.

• To dive into this a bit further, something seems “off” with Tapia these days. What I’ve been hearing is an upper limb injury he’s been managing since at least 2024, which checks out given long stretches of diminished play, brief recoveries, then another dip.

• In Buenos Aires, on a slow court (given the cold climate, as this was a covered outdoor venue) that should have neutralized some of Chingalán’s physicality, Tapia barely attempted smashes. When he did, they were countered. His offensive contributions were described by many as “harmless” (i.e., weak viboras feeding Galán’s corner, zero offensive pressure, and body language that read as someone managing pain vs. competing to win). While no evident answers have emerged, only time will tell with two weeks off before the Italy Major.

On the women’s side, Josemaría / González claimed a fifth consecutive title (all five against Brea / Triay), which was a winning streak that has no precedent in women’s padel. While the No. 2s were able to take down the No. 1s in two straight sets, the game scores were definitely tighter than the men’s at 6-3, 7-5. Bea said it best in the press room: “Winning a tournament is so difficult that reaching five in a row is truly incredible.” Highlights here.

Meanwhile Off-Court…

• Women’s World No. 1 Delfi Brea joined Red Bull’s elite padel roster alongside Juan Lebrón, Ale Galán, and Bea González.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• WME Sports just signed four junior padel players, investing in the future of youth development within the sport (🇦🇷🇺🇸🇸🇪)

• British royalty Kate Middleton says she’s obsessed with padel, and even plays with her parents in their 70s (🇬🇧)

• France’s private padel clubs are no longer operating solo. Operators representing ~75% of the country’s facilities just formed the Association Nationale du Padel (ANP), creating what some insiders are calling a “counter-power” to the French Tennis Federation as the sport enters its next growth phase (🇫🇷)

• Padel’s UK gold rush is starting to look a little... frothy? The sport just crossed 1 million players in Britain, but operators are already warning that clueless “cowboy” investors are piling in chasing easy money (🇬🇧)

• UK real estate giant SEGRO just partnered with LTA to bankroll grassroots tennis and padel expansion across the UK. With British participation exploding from 15K players in 2019 to 860K+ in 2025, real estate for courts, programming, and ecosystem control is now more relevant than ever. (🇬🇧)

• Spicy player debates:

  • Should friends include you even if you’re the clear weak link (because “real friends help you improve”), or does competitive culture override social loyalty (because “court time is expensive”)?

  • If you’re experiencing wrist pain, do lightweight rackets save your arm, or are they the likely culprit?

  • Tennis vs. padel: friends or rivals? My opinion: friends.

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Kavála, 🇬🇷
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Pack Your Racket

• Is Nike about to enter padel?

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

The World No. 1s keep losing, and with the Buenos Aires P1 this week, the throne is officially in play. We’re heading courtside to cover it live.

And just in time for summer, padel tourism got a crucial infrastructure play. More on why it might be a billion-dollar vertical.

Also in this issue:
— The flip-flop shot that ends points
— Padel club meets dog park
— “We have to work for padel as a sport and not for money”
— Functional racket, or collector’s item?
— 30 illegal courts

…and plenty more. Nos vemos en La Ciudad de la Furia!

🇺🇸 Club Openings

Coming Soon

Acapulco Roots + Dog-Friendly

Punto Azul is bringing eight outdoor padel courts (3 of which will be covered) to the Oak Forest / Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston, TX. Founded by Acapulco native (the birthplace of padel 🇲🇽) Jose Castrejon, the club is rooted in importing the sport’s rich culture, with a focus on community, hospitality, and youth development through a dedicated academy. Rounded out by a fully dog-friendly layout, on-site café, workspaces, bar, gym, and locker rooms, the club is slated to open at the end of September 2026.

Now Open

Flagship Makes It Official

Over in Metro LA, Culver City, CA’s Chamber of Commerce officially welcomed Padel Up’s flagship location with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday. The club features three indoor courts with 30-foot ceilings, plus a lounge space, showers, lockers, cold plunge, and sauna. The event included complimentary coaching sessions, open play, food truck bites, hydration stations, and a raffle for a one-month membership.

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Per our friends at Padel Nation, after nearly two years in the making, Padel Haus’ Denver location is finally soft-opening this week, featuring five indoor courts, 25-foot ceilings, a high-end gym, co-working space, and its signature “Juice Haus.” An official grand opening weekend is slated for June 26 (more to come soon).

• Down in Westlake, FL, Xcel Padel teamed up with Love Serving Autism to bring the sport to kids of all abilities.

• Our friends up north are getting busy too… Toronto’s District Padel & Pickleball Club just opened, featuring a 55,000-square-foot facility with eight indoor padel courts. 🇨🇦

📈 Up Your Game 

The Chancletazo: Niche, Fun, & Highly Effective

If you didn’t already know this shot, add it to your arsenal now! The chancletazo is one of the cleanest ways to finish points, especially at an intermediate+ level.

In Spanish, “chancleta” = flip-flop. So a chancletazo is essentially smacking someone with a sandal… i.e., quick, sharp, and a little(?) disrespectful.

In padel terms, it’s an aggressive, controlled volley (not smash!) usually taken slightly above net height and designed to jam your opponent at the feet and end the point without needing raw power.

Mind you, it’s very much a setup-dependent play that only works if you build the point correctly. And just like a dejada (aka drop shot), the best players already know it’s coming before they hit it.

After watching this incredibly helpful 14-minute video (in Spanish, but with English subtitles), here are my notes below:

• Step 1: In order to “unlock” the chancletazo, you need to build the point first

  • The entire setup hinges on a deep, controlled backhand ball into the middle… leaning toward your opponent’s backhand side.

    • This is because from the right side of the court, your opponent’s natural shot after the glass is crosscourt (aka, they’re uncomfortable going parallel, their options get predictable, and their partner might overreach and “steal” the ball)

• Step 2: Position is key

  • Instead of casually drifting forward:

    • Get set early with an open stance

    • Keep the racket up and wrist firm, letting the shoulder and body drive the shot

    • Load off the front of the foot (heel slightly raised)

    • Take a small, intentional step forward into the ball

• Step 3: Hit flat and parallel (i.e., not cross-court), while aiming at the feet. Control > power!

  • ❌ Crosscourt = more glass interaction = more time for your opponent

  • ✅ Parallel = cleaner path = faster, more direct pressure

  • This should be a 60% power shot, with a focus on precision. This way:

    • Your shot is still effective and you recover faster for the next ball

      • Worst-case scenario, if you don’t finish the point right away, it puts pressure on your opponent by forcing a weaker return shot

…and there you go. Happy flip-flopping! 🩴

🌍 International Happenings  

Padel Tourism Heats Up Heading into Summer

Three months ago, UK-based Padel Business Magazine dropped a killer insight report previewing the rise padel tourism, where more people are more designing their entire trips around padel. From coaching camps in Spain to wellness-heavy retreats in Bali and the Maldives, the model is evolving fast. Demand is clearly there, but now the big question mark (especially headed into summer—at least for our Northern Hemisphere readers) is supply and how well it’s packaged.

Enter Privé Padel, which just officialized a move to productize this trend. Its new “Privé Passport” is essentially a global matchmaking engine between padel players and premium travel experiences. We’re talking 40+ curated hotels across 15+ countries, bundled with perks (i.e., upgrades, late checkout, spa credits) and, more importantly, guaranteed access to padel… either on-site or via local club partnerships. And within this guaranteed access lies coaching, wellness, and destination immersion. To exemplify it even further, our friends at Padel Nation provided great coverage of Privé’s launch at Miami’s THesis Hotel.

Personally, I think padel is starting to follow the trajectory of golf as a global travel driver, but with a model that is (1) more accelerated and (2) better suited to modern behavior. Unlike tennis, which never quite translated into a true travel ecosystem despite its global footprint, padel—and to a lesser extent pickleball—naturally lends itself to group trips, repeat play, and social / community experiences. After all, padel provides:

• equipment that’s drastically easier to pack (vs. tennis & golf)

• a stronger international footprint (vs. pickleball)

• a better workout (vs. golf & pickleball).

As an American that’s played padel across 12 countries spanning 3 continents (more on that here), I’m extremely bullish on the sport’s tourism sector. If you’re heading somewhere this summer, pack your racket!

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup

Power Shift in Asunción (🇵🇾)

If you needed confirmation that the 2026 season is starting to tilt, the Premier Padel Asunción P2 just gave it to you loud and clear.

On the men’s side, No. 2 seeds Fede Chingotto / Ale Galán (“Chingalán”) took down Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello again (6-3, 7-5), marking their third straight win over the world No. 1s. While Tapia and Coello are undoubtedly still elite, cracks are starting to form.

On the women’s side, Paula Josemaría / Bea González keep winning. They once again beat Delfi Brea / Gemma Triay (4-6, 6-3, 6-3), extending their streak to four Premier Padel titles (Miami, Newgiza, Brussels, and now Asunción). Josemaría notched her 50th career title, while González somehow remains undefeated in Asunción across three different partners. Unfortunately, it seems like Brea has physical issues starting to loom, which could obviously matter a lot in the coming weeks.

Overall, the P2 in Asunción carried a €262K prize pool, split equally across men and women. Each champion walked away with €12,750, while early-round players also earned a check.

Looking into this week with the Buenos Aires P1 (which I’ll be attending), the stakes feel higher with both draws flirting with a genuine power shift at the top.

• In anticipation for the tournament, Bullpadel installed a pop-up court right next to the iconic Obelisco. Running for three days, the court will host open public experiences, influencers, and pro athletes.

Meanwhile, Some Premier Padel Scheduling Updates

Officially a one-year adjustment, the 2026 Premier Padel calendar has been reshuffled due to geopolitical disruptions, with the Qatar Major canceled and:

• Kuwait (October 26 - 31; initially a P1 tournament) stepping up as a Major tournament 🇰🇼

• Pretoria (July 26 - August 2; initially a P2 tournament) stepping up as a P1 tournament 🇿🇦

Each upgrade means more ranking points, more prize money, and a stronger field.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Audemars Piguet just joined Premier Padel as official timekeeper, doubling down with a bet on world No.1 Agustín Tapia (🇨🇭🇦🇷)

• Padel GOAT Fernando Belasteguín draws a line in the sand as padel’s boom turns into a business gold rush (🇦🇷🇪🇸🌎)

• Despite UK padel exploding, a structural tension is emerging between top-down ambition and the operators actually building the sport, per the LTA (🇬🇧)

• Just 13 weeks after releasing the BL.003 racket model, Lamborghini and Babolat have now dropped the BL.001 (🇮🇹🇫🇷)

• Sadly, open-air glass courts are killing thousands of birds each year (up to 135 per court). Fortunately, there may be a netting solution (🇪🇸)

• Interesting read on how European markets are now looking to adapt from Sweden’s 2020-24 padel boom and bust (🇸🇪🇪🇺)

• Padel expansion hits a political nerve in Malta, as 30 “illegal” courts get fast-tracked over archeological land, just days after promises of a public park (🇲🇹)

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Managua, 🇳🇮
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Is Nike about to enter padel?

• Serena’s New Mission. Ranking Shake-Ups. A Threepeat.

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent the last two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Leo Augsburger won a Premier Padel title in Belgium, then drove to a local club in Argentina to play a weekend tournament with his childhood friend.

Meanwhile, Tom Holland is hosting celebrity padel events in LA, Nike might be quietly circling the sport, and an Argentine soccer legend has apparently reinvented himself as a Miami padel sage.

Also in this issue:
— Get your serve up to speed
— Massive moves for women’s padel
— Draft day, feat. a franchise relocation
— The pro tour goes to South America
— A potential #2 US padel hub emerges, using “the Miami playbook”

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Club Openings

Coming Soon

🏄‍♂️ West Coast Eye Candy

What started as a side hustle is now turning into a calculated bet on becoming 🇺🇸’s #2 padel hub (watch out, Houston!). Vortex Padel is bringing 4 outdoor courts (amid a scenic backdrop), a pro shop, lounge, and a community-first atmosphere to Orange County (California). The aim is to expand to 2-3 additional clubs across OC and “follow the Miami playbook,” keeping players consistently within the Vortex ecosystem. Target opening is late 2026.

📈 Up Your Game 

Purify Your Serve

Unlike tennis, your serve in padel is a setup. However, most rec players completely misunderstand that. And our friend Sandy from The Padel School does a fantastic job breaking it down in this oldie-but-goodie five-minute video.

The much-less-sexy (but necessary) fix is to simply prioritize control. How so, you ask?

• Spin: Please, no heavy spin. Instead, use just enough slice. Think brushing slightly down the back of the ball to keep it low after the bounce and off the glass. Overdo it, and you lose control and make the rebound easier to read.

• Speed: Your serve should only be as fast as you can control. If adding pace kills your accuracy, you’re being reckless rather than aggressive.

• Placement > Power: There are two high-percentage targets that actually matter:

  • Into the side glass (early) → forces awkward timing and low contact

  • Down the T with slice → stretches your opponent and jams their positioning

• First vs. Second Serve: Yes, you have two serves… but that’s not a license to swing out of your shoes on the first and “just get it in” on the second. Your goal should be to build a serve where both deliveries are reliable and intentional.

At the end of the day, your serve is about forcing an uncomfortable first shot so you and your partner can control the point from the start. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

The Pro Scene is Reshaping Itself

The Pro Padel League had a busy week heading into its third full season. The North American association held its first-ever auction-style player draft in midtown Manhattan, with all ten ownership groups in attendance alongside league CEO Mike Dorfman. The draft wasn’t streamed live (and instead relied on social media coverage), but Dorfman hinted that a live broadcast product is the direction they’re heading.

• Meanwhile, the Matrix franchise is relocating from Arkansas to Washington, D.C. ahead of this 2026 season. The women-led ownership group cited D.C.’s international makeup as a key draw, with franchise founder Barbara Hudson pointing to the city’s global profile as a natural fit for a global sport. The PPL’s 2026 season opens in New York in July.

And finally, the pro game seems to be getting serious about female players (more on this here, per my firsthand experience at the Miami P1 in March):

1. World No. 1 Delfi Brea signed with LA-based WME Sports, one of the world’s most powerful sports agencies, which already has an established padel division and leverages its tennis infrastructure through IMG. The 26-year-old Argentine has accumulated 25 professional titles, including Premier Padel Major wins in Paris, Italy, and Qatar, and is currently running a 19-4 record with partner Gemma Triay in 2026.

2. Also, the Reserve Cup (known for its exclusivity, spectacle, and massive prize pool) is finally opening the door to women’s padel, with the Marbella edition in June set to include female matches for the first time. Confirmed participants include Bea González, Delfi Brea, Alejandra Salazar, and Marta Ortega.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup

Pregamin’ the Asunción P2 (🇵🇾)

Fresh off Brussels, the Premier Padel Tour is hopping continents for a back-to-back run, starting this week with the Asunción P2 and ending with the Buenos Aires P1 next week.

Ojo! Landmines are now everywhere in the men’s draw. “Loose cannons” Juan Lebrón / Leo Augsburger are freshly coming off their first title together from Brussels, so it’s up to the rest of the draw to keep their egos in check… Keep an eye on 17-year-old Paraguayan wildcard Facundo Dehnike, who could run straight into Franco Stupaczuk / Mike Yanguas. Meanwhile, “golden boys” Coello / Tapia are lurking for a bounce-back post-Brussels.

In the women’s draw, Paula Josemaría and Bea González are coming off a three-tournament heater. While the top 8 get a bye, they shouldn’t get comfortable. Josemaría / González could open against tricky duos like Castelló / Rufo, so watch for that.

You can tune into the tournament live here.

Meanwhile Off-Court…

Fresh off winning the Brussels P2, Leo Augsburger answered a call from a childhood friend and spent his week off playing in a local tournament in Posadas, Argentina… which they won, of course (lmao).

🎯 Quick Hits 

• A-List actor Tom Holland hosted a celebrity padel tournament in Los Angeles for his non-alcoholic beer brand, BERO (🇺🇸)

• Is Nike finally getting into padel? Leo Augsburger won the Brussels P2 wearing hard-court Nike tennis shoes, despite inking a landmark racket contract with Siux two weeks ago. This’ll be worth watching... (🇺🇸)

• Following his retirement, Argentine soccer star Gonzalo Higuaín has quietly become a padel regular and “mental coach” in Miami (🇦🇷🇺🇸)

• Pro padel celebrity lookalikes 😂

• Community musings:

  • Seems like it’s a clear consensus that you unconsciously adapt your level to your opponents…

  • How can you stay mentally strong when you feel like the weakest player?

  • Contrarily, when your partner melts down and your opponents smell blood, what should you do?

🤩 Cool Club of the Week 

📍 Punta del Este, 🇺🇾
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Serena’s New Mission. Ranking Shake-Ups. A Threepeat.

• “We’ve Forgotten How to Play Padel”

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! 🤝 And if you have any feedback or news to share, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent the last two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Staged or not, who cares? Serena Williams made a surprise cameo at a Miami area padel match… in a partnership to unofficially tackle one of the biggest issues plaguing US padel.

Meanwhile, a chaotic Brussels P2 shakes up the pecking order, and the global push toward Olympic legitimacy keeps gaining steam.

Also in this issue:
— Why your slice is unconsciously costing you
— A new top men’s duo emerges
— Which college is dominating the padel scene
— Should you be using different rackets for different seasons?

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Club Openings

No announcements this week, but last week, we were graced with a whopping 25+ courts coming to seven locations across five states… when it rains, it pours! ☔

📈 Up Your Game 

Why Slice Is Losing You Points

More slice = more control = more wins… yeah? Ehhh, not exactly.

Ultimately, slice is a tool that helps keep the ball low. And after all, low ball = opponent hitting up = you controlling the point.

But cuidado! When it comes to slicing, there’s only a specific time and place for it.

From the back of the court, slice is mostly useless because your opponent is at the net, so they’re volleying. Therefore, it’s unlikely your slice shot will bounce → no low skid → no advantage.

Even worse, your margin for success is minuscule. Plus, with a slightly open racket face, your ball floats and you get punished.

Diving deeper, here are my three takeaways from this helpful 10-min video:

1. Most players think slice = wrist. Nope!

   1. Slice comes from preparing above the ball and driving forward. Not chopping down, nor flicking your wrist (looking at y’all, pickleballers 🤨)

      1. When you rely on wrist, you lose control, depth, and consistency

2. Slice backfires with:

   1. Low balls at the net → You physically can’t slice well here, plus you’ll lift the ball, making it easy for your opponents to attack

   2. Fast exchanges → No time to prepare makes your slice break down. ‘Nuff said

   3. Opponents adding slice (don’t fight fire with fire!) → Trying to slice back = fighting spin physics. It’s much easier to go flat and push through

3. Fortunately, slice does win you points in these situations:

   1. At the net, when you’re above the ball → In other words, you’re attacking and slice keeps pressure on

   2. From the back, ONLY when the ball is above waist height → Now you can get over the ball and generate real backspin

TLDR: If you’re slicing everything, you’re playing lazy. Ideally, the goal is to hit the right shot, at the right time, for the right reason.

🌍 International Happenings  

Serena Shapes US Padel

American tennis GOAT Serena Williams just made her official padel debut, crashing a match at Reserve Padel as a last-minute fill-in. Tbh, it’s unclear how “organic” the whole thing was (the photos and video suggest it may have been somewhat staged), but either way, it marks yet another major name and brand stepping into padel… particularly in the still-emerging US market.

The stunt launched Heineken 0.0’s “Unexpected Doubles” campaign (with Premier Padel and Playtomic), promoting padel’s social fabric in a subtle effort to combat 🇺🇸’s rising “play-then-leave” culture.

Serena, for her part, is no stranger to the beverage world. This Heineken partnership aligns well with prior collaborations with Michelob ULTRA and Rémy Martin, as well as her ownership stake in Cincoro Tequila.

And as she’s begun to immerse herself more seriously in padel (after playing casually since ~2019), she’s already floated Coco Gauff as her ideal partner.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup

New Contenders, a Threepeat, & Touch of Class

Well That Was Unexpected… (🇧🇪)

The Brussels P2 was nothing short of phenomenal. It gave us a shake-up, (maybe?) a new contender, and a threepeat.

On the men’s side, “loose cannons” Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger captured their first title together, taking down both Chingotto / Galán in the Semifinal and Coello / Tapia in the Final. After dropping the first set in the Final, they flipped the switch and closed it out 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, finally breaking their losing pattern against the world’s most dominant duo. Highlights here.

Weirdly, the turning point might’ve come earlier than the Final. After their Semifinal win, “LeBurger” pointed to a seemingly small moment: a Galán double fault.

“That double fault helped us… it gave us much more confidence,” Augsburger said.

From there, you could see the shift: LeBurger started playing looser, more aggressive padel, while Chingalán were suddenly on the back foot.

Post-tournament, Lebrón acknowledged that sustaining this level is the real challenge. After all, the duo has only been together four months, with their time together being nothing short of a drama-filled roller coaster (more on that here and here).

Some fans saw LeBurger’s performance as a legit title shake-up if their egos stay in check. Others pointed out their inconsistency. There’s also a growing sentiment of relief at seeing someone (literally anyone) disrupt Coello / Tapia. There was also noise around Augsburger’s on-court demeanor, which came off as confidence to some, arrogance to others.

Meanwhile on the women’s side, dominance continues. Paula Josemaría and Bea González made it three titles in a row, taking down the World No. 1 pair of Gemma Triay (who was playing her 100th career final) and Delfi Brea in the Final 7-5, 6-2. Unlike Miami and Newgiza, this Final against Brea / Triay only lasted two sets and was much more controlled. Highlights here.

Off-Court Updates

• Just before the Brussels P2, the Laureus World Sports Awards took place in Madrid 🇪🇸, where Delfi Brea, Arturo Coello, and padel GOAT Fernando Belasteguín made appearances alongside the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Simone Biles.

• And just like that, Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno are officially back together. Their previous run nearly took them to World No. 1, and stylistically, they complement each other far better than their recent partnerships. The pair will debut at the Italy Major (starting June 1).

🎯 Quick Hits 

• The Pro Padel League locked in Padeltek as its official racket partner in an effort to double down on commercialization and infrastructure (🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽)

• Skechers is partnering with Madrid-based El Estudiante (the world’s largest club feat. 40 padel courts) to embed its brand directly into daily player experience and grassroots competition (🇪🇸)

• Padel took center stage at the European Parliament, further pushing toward Olympic legitimacy and institutional backing (🇪🇺)

• Hook ‘em! UT Austin swept both men’s and women’s titles at the first-ever USPA US Collegiate Padel Championships (🇺🇸)

• Community musings:

  • How does temperature affect your racket? And should you be using different rackets for different seasons?

  • Screaming during a match: justified or disrespect?

  • To prevent slow starts, what do top players do beforehand to “switch on” fast?

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Belgrade, 🇷🇸
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• “We’ve Forgotten How to Play Padel”

• Great Problems. Search Data. Regretful Decisions.

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! 🤝 And if you have any feedback or news to share, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent the last two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

Each week, I curate what matters in padel: new US club openings, technique tips, my takes on international headlines and pro drama, plus insider knowledge from the global circuit. Subscribe for weekly updates! 📧

Subscribe now

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

US padel just crossed one million players. Whether that number holds up to scrutiny is a different conversation. We have it below.

The Brussels P2 is live this week with Coello/Tapia returning to defend. And the PPL released an open letter, hoping to forever change the trajectory of pro padel in North America.

Also in this issue:
— Hella new court openings, from the waterfront to the cornfields to the desert
— The bandeja mistake costing you net position
— Top seeds get hit with an embarrassing upset
— Wait… who should we be warming up with?

…and plenty more. Seguimos!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

Now Open

• This Saturday, St. Pete Athletic is officially opening its new 18,000 sq ft expansion, introducing five padel courts alongside its existing racquet sports ecosystem. Based in St. Petersburg, FL, the club is rolling out a full launch week: preview nights, open play, clinics, and a grand opening tournament. 🌴

  

• Mesa Padel Club has officially opened in downtown Mesa, AZ (30-minute drive from downtown Phoenix), featuring four outdoor courts. Positioned as a more accessible entry point to a sport often labeled “exclusive,” the club offers clinics, rentals, a pro shop, and a lounge designed for players and spectators. 🌵

  

• Alas, Philadelphia-based Ballers just opened in Boston’s Seaport district. The 30,000-square-foot waterfront social complex features three outdoor padel courts (first outdoor in the city), five pickleball courts, a chef-driven food truck, and curated social spaces. The franchise is backed by names like Andre Agassi and Kim Clijsters. 🦞

  

Coming Soon

• PURE Pickleball & Padel has secured final building permits for a ~196,000 sq ft indoor pickleball and padel complex in Scottsdale, AZ, clearing the way for construction to begin. The facility will feature 40 pickleball courts, eight padel courts, and a 1,200-seat championship arena. If that’s not enough, it’s expected to become the largest indoor pickleball and padel venue in the world upon its 2027 opening. 🌵

  

• A former dine-in theater in Virginia Beach, VA is getting a second life as Padel Foundry, a purpose-built indoor padel and wellness hub slated to open in early 2027. The project is backed by a $6.3M acquisition. 🏖️

  

• Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, FL is bringing padel into the fold with a new three-court complex set to open in summer 2026. The facility will integrate leagues, clinics, and youth programming alongside its existing racquet offerings. 🐊

  

• Padel is coming to Fort Wayne Country Club, which is unveiling the first outdoor court in the state of Indiana, built by Off The Glass, the only fully vertically integrated US padel court manufacturing and installation company. 🌽

📈 Up Your Game 

Clean Up Your Bandeja

So the bandeja is one of the first overhead shots most players learn in padel, which is exactly why so many players think they already have it. In reality, it’s one of the most misunderstood shots in the game. To quickly refresh, its job is to keep control, apply pressure, and hold the net position.

This 12.5-minute video does an excellent deep-dive. My notes below:

Mistake #1: Dropping the elbow and hitting too low. That might feel natural if you’re coming from volley-heavy habits, but the bandeja usually comes off a lob, which means you need a higher contact point and more margin. If your elbow drops, the shot becomes riskier and suddenly a defensive overhead turns into a panic shot.

• The cure: Keep your elbow in line with your shoulder, or even a little higher. Make the movement obvious in practice, and record yourself if you have to (because what feels high enough often isn’t). The goal is to take the ball at the highest point you can comfortably reach so you buy yourself margin and control.

Mistake #2: Hitting too far in front. A lot of players rush the ball because they know the lob is coming, but they end up running faster than the shot and getting underneath nothing. That takes away body rotation, forces wristy contact, and makes the bandeja much harder to control.

• The cure: Run with the ball, not ahead of it. Stay active with your feet, make small adjustments, and line up the contact point as you go. It may feel awkward at first, but that’s usually what progress looks like in padel.

Mistake #3: Preparing too late and hitting too close to your body. If you wait until the ball is already on top of you, you lose time, space, and the ability to use rotation and momentum.

• The cure: Get the racket prepared as soon as the lob leaves your opponent’s racket, then move into position with your body already set.

Overall strategy, once the technique is cleaner: Aim for the corners and side glass, not the back wall, because the back wall gives your opponents an easier read and often lets them move forward. A good bandeja is deep, controlled, and… idk… annoying? Point is, it keeps them back and gives you time to stay at the net.

🌍 International Happenings  

Growing Pains Hit the USA

So two announcements landed in the same week, and together they tell an interesting story about where U.S. padel is and where it’s trying to go.

First, the Pro Padel League (which spans 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽) published an open letter from CEO Michael Dorfman that’s worth reading in full. In a nutshell, the league is proposing guaranteed multi-year contracts, covered tournament expenses, equal prize money for men and women, and a franchise model designed to build actual fan bases. In other words, they want to avoid the financial structure that’s plagued professional tennis for decades: in 2025 for example, roughly half of total ATP/WTA prize money went to just 20 players. PPL is explicitly trying to build something that doesn’t replicate that pyramid.

Second, the USPA announced that padel has crossed one million players in the United States, per the 2026 SFIA Topline Participation Report (the first time the survey has tracked the sport). Mind you, the SFIA report doesn't disclose its counting methodology… a gap worth noting, since “someone who picked up a racket once” and “someone who books courts monthly” are not the same market signal. Prominent figures in the space caught on by sharing constructive pushback (here and here).

That milestone is genuinely exciting. It’s also worth pausing on.

This isn’t a knock on the USPA, which has done tremendous work building infrastructure and competitive programming. It’s rather a question about methodology… one the industry should be asking openly, precisely because the stakes are getting higher. Look, we’re all on the same team here, and the instinct to celebrate is right. But the discipline to interrogate the numbers is what keeps the celebration honest to benefit current and future players, operators, and investors alike.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup

3-Hour Match, Toxic Upset, & Untimely Reset (🇪🇬🇧🇪)

Men’s: High Drama, Yet (Kinda) Predictable… Women’s: Low Drama, Yet Hella Unpredictable

The Newgiza P2 was an absolute fever dream, and my head is still spinning. On the men’s side, Fede Chingotto / Ale Galán once again showed why they’re the most reliable force on tour, dispatching Stupaczuk / Yanguas 6-4, 6-1 in the final. Highlights here. Galán said they’re “playing at a very high level,” a clear warning shot to world No. 1s Tapia / Coello, who sat this one out.

Meanwhile, “loose cannons” Juan Lebrón / Leo Augsburger made the news… again. Knocked out by a qualifying pair, they dropped the final set 6-🥯 in a match where momentum completely abandoned them. At one point, Lebrón openly admitted, “it seems like we’ve forgotten how to play padel,” Fans couldn’t stop saying how when things go wrong for this pair, they absolutely unravel.

• My theory: On paper, this partnership should work. Lebrón brings intensity, emotion, and experience; Augsburger brings raw power, youth, and upside. But I feel like they’re still searching for a shared identity. Lebrón tends to feed off energy and rhythm, while Augsburger’s more composed (sometimes borderline detached) demeanor doesn’t always provide that spark. Hence, a team that can look dangerous one set and completely lost the next.

• The timing makes it even more interesting. Augsburger just signed a massive 14-year deal with Siux, locking him in as a long-term face of the sport, which only raises the stakes around his on-court development. So now you’ve got a player being positioned as a future cornerstone… paired with one of the most volatile personalities on tour… producing wildly inconsistent results. That tension does not resolve easily.

The women’s final, meanwhile, was absolutely wild. Paula Josemaría / Bea González edged Delfi Brea / Gemma Triay in a 3-hour, 3-set war (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) that felt like it could swing every five minutes. There were 13 breaks of serve (seven in the third set alone 😧) and the rhythm of the match was basically nonexistent. Highlights here. Josemaría now quietly sits at 19 Premier Padel titles, and at this point, it’s less dominance and more sustained control over the entire field.

Overall, the real story out of Newgiza might’ve been the conditions. The outdoor court neutralized smashes almost entirely, forcing even the biggest hitters into more conservative patterns. The “super high lob” became the meta, with players realizing quickly that anything too flat or aggressive was getting punished.

Pregamin’ the Brussels P2

There’s barely time to process any of that, because this week, the tour has already moved to Brussels, with the storyline of top seeds Coello / Tapia returning to defend their title. On the women’s side, Josemaría / González and Brea / Triay continue to look inseparable, as the top of their draw has evolved into matchups decided by a handful of points.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Beyond the Newgiza P2, Egypt is locking in its status as Africa’s padel hub, with its squash-heavy sporting culture steadily fueling the talent pipeline. That momentum is now formalized: the FIP just confirmed both the 2026 Junior Africa Cup and 2027 Africa Cup. (🇪🇬)

• Buenos Aires will host the FIP Senior World Cup for the first time, marking its South American debut as the tournament expands to 32 national teams set across five age groups: 40+, 45+, 50+, 55+, and 60+. (🇦🇷)

• British tennis and padel’s grassroots took center stage at the 2026 LTA Awards, where volunteers, coaches, and clubs were honored for driving the sport’s growth across the UK. (🇬🇧)

• Community debates:

  • Do you warm up with your partner or opponents? Some players insist warming up with opponents is standard to scout weaknesses, while others argue it’s overrated and even misleading before match intensity kicks in.

    • My take: partners all day.

  • Hmm, seems like most players are stuck in a “matches-only” ecosystem where structured drilling is rare, expensive, or socially awkward to organize… is squeezing in 10–15 minute pre-match reps an acceptable solution?

🤩 Cool Court of the Week

📍 Cape Town, 🇿🇦
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Great Problems. Search Data. Regretful Decisions.

• The Partnership Tennis Hates. 1,000 Courts. Coachella.

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • I Went to a Premier Padel Tournament So You Don’t Have To (Jk, You Need to Go)

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! And if you have any feedback or news to share, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share

Bienvenidos a El Remate! I’m Aris, a padel-obsessed Missourian who spent the last two years living in Argentina and Spain to deeply understand the sport’s strategy, culture, and business. I’ve played and competed across 3 continents and 12 countries, and recently started documenting my journey on Instagram.

If you’re new here, you can join our community of padel-addicted subscribers receiving my weekly newsletter on what’s hot in 🇺🇸 & 🌎 padel + occasional editorials (like this one) by adding your email below.

Subscribe now

This one’s a bit different from the usual Tuesday rundown.

Miami Beach, no windows, neon lights, house music at 10am. Coello sitting in the bleachers like a regular person, Carlos Alcaraz two rows in front of me. And let’s not forget OnlyFans sponsorships. I watched every match from qualifiers to the final. In no specific order, here’s what I saw:

1) The pros are still just people.

Monday and Tuesday were the qualifier days. The big names hadn’t started playing yet, but there they were, chilling among the rest of us. On separate occasions, I saw Tino Libaak and Arturo Coello watching early-round matches in the bleachers with their respective girlfriends, completely mixed in with everyone else.

I remember when a match ended, people started leaving the stands and crowding around Coello for autographs and photos. He kindly obliged.

As much as I loved this, I sadly don’t know how much longer stuff like this will last. As padel grows (especially Stateside), the machinery of professional sports fame will start building the walls it always builds. Enjoy this era while it lasts.

2) Carlos Alcaraz showed up for the Round of 32.

He was in a VIP box for the Round of 32. I somehow — before he arrived — ended up in that same box (thank you, media pass privileges 🫡), and found myself sitting two rows directly behind him. A random yokel from Missouri, sitting behind one of the best tennis players alive, watching the best padel players alive. Yeesh… what am I doing here?

I feel that Alcaraz simply being there matters beyond the celebrity angle. Tennis and padel are in a complicated relationship: parallel cultures, overlapping fanbases, competing court time. Take it for what it is.

3) Lefty-righty pairs are everywhere.

As an upper-intermediate rec player (or 4.22 on Playtomic after playing for 5 weeks in Spain), I don’t often face lefty-righty pairs. At this tournament, they were everywhere, and I didn’t think that was a coincidence.

Here’s my theory / the tactical reality: hitting down the middle (aka, the lowest-error shot in padel) is taken for granted when both your opponents are righties. Against a lefty-righty pair, that same shot goes right into both forehands. Your safety valve now becomes their weapon.

Beyond that (and from my experience), your muscle memory is built around righty-righty patterns… i.e., where to lob, where to chiquita, which side has the weaker volley. A lefty flips the whole map. So at the professional level, this edge is deliberately cultivated. Watch for it… or “ojo,” as they say.

4) Angle shots are a first language.

At my level, I avoid steep angles. The margin for error drastically shrinks, and I can usually depend on consistency to win points while my opponent makes mistakes. At the P1 level, angles are the vernacular.

Watching literally everyone — from the Qualifiers to the Final — hit cross-court at angles that seem geometrically impossible from that position, and make it repeatedly, is a good reminder of how many shots you’re leaving off the table by playing safe. The pro game is purely a different game.

5) Women’s padel deserved a bigger crowd.

As a rough observational estimate, 2-2.5x more people were in the stands for men’s matches than women’s. Witnessing that gap was uncomfortable to watch.

Before anyone tries to stop me and tell me I’m “virtue signaling,” here’s my blunt take: women’s padel is a different style of padel, and in some ways a more instructive one. The points are longer. The rallies are more constructed. The defense-to-attack transitions are more deliberate. (Here’s the info to back it up.) If you’re trying to improve your own game, you will learn more per minute watching women’s padel than men’s padel, because the men’s game operates at a pace and power level that’s simply not replicable for most of us. Also, isn’t it just cool to see what each gender of the human body is capable of doing on a padel court?

I grew up ball-boying for World Team Tennis, which ran men’s and women’s in the same ticket, same crowd. The women got real love. Padel in the U.S. isn’t there yet. Ojalá it gets there.

6) Miami didn’t know this was happening.

I (very) naively went into the week expecting some ambient awareness of the tournament throughout the Miami area. Hotels with padel fans. Restaurants / bars mentioning the event. The general “Miami-is-excited-about-this” energy. My mental benchmark was Dallas during Texas-Oklahoma weekend, something I experienced firsthand every October in college. When both teams come to town for the Cotton Bowl, you feel it everywhere. With Miami being the unquestionable padel capital of the US, I assumed that meant the P1 would land similarly.

None of that existed. Outside the convention center in Miami Beach, this tournament might as well have been invisible. The city did not seem to know or care. Expos for other industries were going on at other halls adjacent to the tournament. Visitors were at their hotels, pools, or restaurants for entirely unrelated reasons. Heck, even at the men’s final (objectively the highest-attended match), there was still a handful of open seats.

Admittedly, I’m probably in the 0.0001% of Americans who follows pro padel closely enough for this to register as a surprise. Most of the people in those stands were Spanish speakers (and from my POV, most of those accents seemed to have come from Argentina, Spain, Mexico, and Colombia). After all, much of our country’s still-nascent padel culture runs through the Latin community, not through our broader sports mainstream. That’s fine, and honestly pretty cool. That’s the early-adopter phase of a sport’s growth in a new market. The question is whether the next five years look like exponential growth or plateau. I think exponential. But the proof is in the attendance numbers, and the attendance numbers in 2026 still have room to grow.

7) The box seats were a networking event with padel as the backdrop.

Not sure how I feel about this one, as someone who sat in both. In the main grandstands, people were locked in. In the VIP boxes, people were busy showing face — leaving mid-set, moving to different boxes, reappearing, disappearing. Even at the semi-finals, with the top-four seeded teams in the world on court, some boxes had half their occupants gone by the second set. Those tickets are expensive. The players on court are the best in the world. And people seem to be coming for completely ulterior motives.

I’m not judging anyone’s reason for being there. After all, I haven’t walked a mile in their shoes. Industry events are industry events. But it did produce a surreal visual: an electric match between top-ten players, watched by a fluctuating, half-engaged population of “very important” people. Worth keeping an eye on as the sport scales.

8) OnlyFans is sponsoring players, and I had many questions.

Two initial observations:

1. Over the course of the tournament, I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrow when seeing a handful of male and female players competing with the OnlyFans logo on the back of their shirt. I mean I get it, sponsorship money is sponsorship money, and padel players outside the top-20 are not earning life-changing prize purses.

2. Like no offense to the company, but what are they even trying to accomplish in padel, especially among brands like Babolat, Heineken, On, Rolex, Red Bull, Bullpadel, and Prada? What’s the conversion funnel? Just feels like a really expensive opportunity cost.

But after educating myself (while going down a 2-min rabbit hole), it started making a bit more sense… I guess. TLDR, the brand entered padel in 2024 to diversify its image beyond adult content, promote the “OnlyFans sports” sector, and provide athletes with direct funding and content monetization opportunities.

Regardless, I still think it’s kinda funny. No further comments…

9) The wiping-hands-on-glass habit is 🤢

I’ll admit this is very much a personal opinion, but I’ll let it rip anyway: every single player, at some point, wiped their sweaty-ass palms on the glass. I see this occasionally at club level, but at the pro level it’s constant and almost ritualistic.

Here’s my issue. I don’t care how often José comes onto the court, the glass is never clean. There’s always ball residue on it. Other players’ sweaty hands have been on it. If you wipe your hand on the glass and then regrip, you’re weakening your grip and adding foreign debris to your handle. Doesn’t a wristband solve this problem entirely? Maybe the pros know something I don’t, but until someone explains it to me, this one stays on the weird list.

10) It’s 2026 at the pro circuit. Why aren’t we using AI to call shots?

Each team gets two “challenges” per set. In the instance of a challenge, the match awkwardly pauses while the chair umpire reviews the replay as “The Pink Panther Theme” hums in the background. Genuinely funny. Also genuinely absurd.

I’m just kinda surprised at this still, given there have been dozens of press releases around AI line-call technology and how it’s “already transforming” racquet sports. None of that was in this building. The umpire’s word + two challenges per set is where we are. I assume this changes, I just don’t know when. For now, I guess 2018’s calling?

11) Some technical difficulties, and that’s okay.

The programming had some rough edges, and they weren’t hard to spot. At one point, Bad Bunny’s NUEVAYoL cut in over the PA while Coello was mid-serve (the point continued anyway). I remember something similar happening in one of the women’s quarterfinals. The scoreboard graphics glitched out a couple of times and occasionally failed to update the game score. And if you watched online, you’ve probably already heard complaints about streaming quality.

None of it killed the vibe. The energy inside the building never wavered. But this is not yet a precision operation, and it shows in the small stuff.

At the end of the day, this is purely an observation. They’re building six top-quality courts in five days inside a convention center hall that was doing something entirely different last week. Some friction is just baked in.

12) The better team won. Every time (almost).

The lone exception was the No. 1 seeds (both men’s and women’s) falling to the No. 2s in the final. Everything else tracked essentially perfectly to seeding throughout every round.

While the sport is beautiful to watch point-to-point, it’s highly predictable in aggregate. The same pairs keep winning, no matter how ugly. Each partner stabilizes one another. The bad patches get absorbed, so upsets are rare.

But if you’re watching padel for the craft, it’s extraordinary. Even in a lopsided match. Which leads me to…

13) Padel is objectively more fun to watch than tennis.

I’ve played and watched tennis my whole life. I will never stop playing and watching tennis.

But point-for-point, rally-for-rally, padel is a more engaging spectator sport. The walls create longer points with more reversals. Offense and defense flip back and forth constantly, with a lob resetting everything. You never fully know who’s winning a point until it ends. There’s no dead time between players shagging balls, because the enclosed court keeps things moving. And the atmosphere is uniquely intimate and buzzing.

In my humble opinion, tennis has padel beat on unpredictability of outcomes. Its sheer scale (i.e., five-set matches, four Grand Slams, 128-player draws, etc.) creates a kind of dramatic volatility padel simply hasn’t built (yet). Plus, singles produces more drama and more upsets. And the individual storyline of a player alone against another, with no partner being able to save you, carries a narrative weight that padel simply can’t replicate.

14) Miami P1 ≠ Premier Padel Tour

Last thing worth noting, which I had to remind myself: this (at least for now…) is the only Premier Padel tournament event on US soil. Everything I’ve described (i.e., crowd composition, atmosphere, awareness gap in the broader city, etc.) is specific to Miami, and Miami only. A P1 in Madrid, Buenos Aires, or Dubai is likely very different. To which degree I don’t know, but I sure as hell intend to find out. When I do, I’ll be reporting back. If you want to make a trip out of one of them, let me know. That idea is very much on the table.

TLDR: Go to one of these events. If you play, watching this level of padel in-person is one of the fastest ways to level up your game (it's pure osmosis). And even beyond that, it broadens your horizons. It's fun as hell either way. I'm already counting down to the next one.

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Great Problems. Search Data. Regretful Decisions.

• The Partnership Tennis Hates. 1,000 Courts. Coachella.

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

Thanks for reading! My promise: I’ll keep the newsletters coming, you share with a friend if you’re enjoying. Está bien? Forward to a friend.

For more on-the-ground 🌎 padel content from a 🇺🇸 POV, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! 🤝 And if you have any feedback or news to share, just respond to this email :)

Hasta pronto & keep smashing those volleys 🎾

Subscribe

Leave a comment

Share