Bill Gates Has Entered the Chat...
El Remate #8
Welcome to the 8th newsletter of El Remate: your weekly(ish) dose of everything happening in the fastest-growing racquet sport from a 🇺🇸 POV. From London to Buenos Aires to New York City to Madrid, we’re covering it all.
🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week🏆 Premier Padel Finals preview feat. Ari & Paula’s emotional farewell
⚽ Big-time footballer makes official padel debut
♻️ How recycling glass will feed your padel addiction
🦅 U.S. padel expansion madness
👩💻 SF techies ditch their careers for padel
Enjoy the read! 💛
🏆 Tournament Roundup 🥇 This Is It, Baby! All Eyes on the Season Finale Next Weekend (🇪🇸)
The Premier Padel Finals are landing in Barcelona. On the men’s side, recent Acapulco victors Tapia–Coello enter as the “try stopping us lol” favorites, while Galán–Chingotto look ready to crash the party with their well-oiled, metronome-level consistency. Meanwhile, Lebrón–Augsburger might be the most chaotic-good duo to hit BCN… don’t let them get hot. 🔥
For the women, Triay–Brea are the big bosses after a nine-title season, but the emotional storyline belongs to Ari & Paula, who are playing their last tournament together after dominating the sport since 2021. 🥺 Add rising stars like Bea González & Claudia Fernández, and we could easily see a weekend of plot twists. Perfect way to close the 2025 season.
The last dance in Barcelona: Your guide to the Premier Padel Finals 2025
🌍 International Padel Scene 🥊 Padel vs. Polio (🇺🇸x🇶🇦)
Bill Gates teamed up with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi (president of Premier Padel and PSG) to talk about how sport can move the needle on global health, especially in the fight against polio. What’s wild is how aligned their worlds actually are: Premier Padel has been backing the WHO Foundation, and obviously the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a huge name in global health philanthropy. 💰
To seal the moment, the two exchanged a symbolic racquet-themed gift. 🎁 But beneath the photo-ops, the reality is with its growing popularity and influence, padel can (and should) be used to solve key humanitarian issues by spreading awareness.
Bill Gates joins Nasser Al-Khelaïfi to talk about using sport to engage the world
⚽ Another Futbol Legend Moves into Padel (🇦🇷)
Carlos Tevez has officially entered the padel world as the face of Apache 32 clubs, signing on at the launch of Bullpadel’s new store just outside Buenos Aires. Fans got a first look at his signature limited-edition racquet.
With top pros like Delfi Brea and Paquito Navarro already connected to the initiative, Tevez is helping build a bridge between celebrity hype and genuine athletic culture in Argentina’s padel scene.
♻️ Padel Tickets for Your Empty Wine Bottles? (🇪🇸)
Only in Spain do you hand over a bag of empty wine bottles and the government responds with: “Here, have some padel tickets.” 😂 That’s the deal Barcelona is running with Ecovidrio and Premier Padel Barcelona P1: bring 1 kg of glass, walk away with entry to the big tournament this weekend.
In 🇺🇸, you recycle and maybe get a warmer-than-average feeling. In 🇪🇸, you recycle and get front-row access to the country’s national addiction. Honestly, respect.
Barcelona promotes a recycling initiative with tickets to the Premier Padel Barcelona
🦅 New US Facility LaunchesHoly 🐄, we have a ton this week! BIG things happening Stateside… LFG!
🧀 Move over Miami, Milwaukee’s in the House (🇺🇸)
Who would’ve thought: a second padel rec complex in Milwaukee, of all places, is now in the works. This time, it’s Epic Padel, the Arlington, VA startup that raised a $10M Seed round back in late September to drop courts across the U.S. They’re planting their first Wisconsin flag in a brand-new industrial building on the city’s northwest side.
Second padel recreational sports complex planned in Milwaukee
🥃 Bourbon ➡ Backspin (🇺🇸)
A local distillery owner just pulled a wild career crossover and is now building Club Padel, a brand-new facility rising on Cincinnati’s East Side where a dog park used to be.
Distillery owner opening racket sport facility at site on Cincinnati’s East Side
🤠 Hill Country Haven (🇺🇸)
Just outside Austin in Spicewood, TX, Pickleball Grove is dropping 15 total courts:
Three padel courts
Twelve pickleball (🙄) courts, four of which are designed for championship play
They’re also layering in certified coaching, PlaySight cameras 📹 on every court, and a mix of open play + a capped membership model. Doors open July 2026.
Pickleball Grove to bring 15 pickleball, padel courts to Spicewood
🌴 Florida Man Builds 12 New Padel Courts (🇺🇸)
The new Xcel Padel HQ just opened its 12-court, 80,000-sq-ft indoor mega-complex in West Palm Beach, drawing 350+ people. Inside, it’s a full-blown padel spa kingdom. You’ve got saunas, cold plunges, a full gym, yoga, PT, IV drips, and even a Mediterranean café (Olea & Bloom). 💆
What is padel? Largest club in U.S. opens in West Palm Beach
🎯 Quick HitsTech bros & gals rejoice! Tune into this story of how Jessica Talbert, Katie Lampert, and Neil Chainani ditched their comfy Silicon Valley tech gigs to launch Park Padel in the Bay Area. They started with public courts at the Embarcadero, then opened a flagship in South San Francisco with showers, ping-pong, and Hyperice recovery tools. The crew ambitious crew is planning ~100 courts over the next five years. 👩💻
Spoke to Texas-based operator Ruben Gonzalez Chapa last week, who literally swears by these padel socks (not an ad, no ulterior motives… just a friend wanting to provide a quality word-of-mouth recommendation). Check ‘em out here! 🧦
🤩 Cool Padel Court of the WeekUrban oasis padel in 📍 Buenos Aires, 🇦🇷
More info here!
Missed a recent issue? We’ve got you covered:
For more 🌍 padel content, 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 🎾
Great stuff man. Keep posting.