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! 📧
🔍 Topics we’ll cover this weekThe UAE recruited five Spanish-born pros to strengthen its national team, only for all five to be ruled ineligible at the 2026 World Cup. The result? A drop from fifth place in 2024 to dead last in 2026. So where do you draw the line between national representation and professional recruitment?
Plus, Spain’s World Cup dynasty continues… but perhaps not for much longer.
Also in this issue:
— The five adjustments tennis players need to make for padel
— More courts for Connecticut and a Texas-sized fundraiser
— How Team USA stacked up against the world
— The billion-euro business behind Spanish padel
…and plenty more. Dale campeón!
🇺🇸 Court Openings & Additional Club BuzzThe Mysterious Connecticut Expansion + A Milestone Fundraiser
Connecticut looks to be getting another padel club, while Padel39 (East) in Austin, TX hosted the fifth annual Padel 4 Parkinson’s fundraiser, featuring Americano tournaments and salsa dancing.
📈 Up Your Game Stop Playing Tennis on a Padel Court
Bad news, tennis players. That beautiful forehand, monster backhand, and instinct to attack every ball are 1,000% holding you back on the padel court.
Fortunately, Coach Alba of Underdog Padel breaks down the five biggest adjustments tennis players need to make when transitioning to padel. Think shorter swings, fewer forced winners, getting comfortable with the back glass, and learning why the net is your best friend.
Your tennis background is still a nice advantage… you just need to learn how to use it differently.
➡️ Read the five biggest adjustments
🥇 World Cup Recap: Everything You Need to KnowSpain Still Runs the World… But Not For Long? (🇶🇦)
Spain swept both titles in Doha, beating Argentina in the men’s and women’s finals. No huge surprises there. Spain’s men needed a last-match decider, while its women extended their dynasty to seven consecutive titles. Argentina has now finished runner-up to Spain in seven straight editions (oof).
Behind the usual suspects, France stormed into the women’s semifinals, and Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands all reached their first-ever men’s World Cup quarter-finals. Even Indonesia made a historic run to the women’s quarter-finals.
As for Team USA? The women finished 11th, improving four places from 2024, while the men landed in 13th for the second consecutive edition. Nice to see there’s been some movement…
🌍 International Happenings The Big Nationality Debate (🇦🇪🇪🇸)
Five Spanish pros, one national team, and a pretty awkward World Cup downgrade.
The UAE went from fifth place in 2024 to dead last in 2026 after five Spanish-born recruits were ruled ineligible. Yikes.
From FIFA’s ancestry rules to FIBA’s naturalization limits, international sport has different ideas about who gets to represent whom. Throw in player paychecks, geopolitical influence, and padel’s Olympic ambitions, and things get a little lot more complicated.
So where does the line get drawn between representing a country vs. being hired to represent one?
🏆 Pro Padel Roundup The Road to Barcelona (and Beyond) (🇦🇪🇪🇸)
The Dubai P1 is underway, but Chingotto / Galán are missing (again) due to a right-hand injury on Galán’s side. But feat not, Chingalán fans… despite Galán’s injury + amidst a recent recurrence of early tournament exits, the duo is sticking together for 2027.
Meanwhile, the Premier Padel Finals in Barcelona are gearing up to take a crack at breaking the all-time attendance record, which was already hit earlier this year. Plenty to keep tabs on as the season winds down.
🎯 Quick Hits A new deep dive explores how sponsorships, equipment, infrastructure, and the wider commercial ecosystem have turned Spanish padel into a billion-euro business in its own right. (🇪🇸)
Italy’s tennis and padel federation (FITP) is investing over $1.1 million in the next generation of players, with plans to establish 40 regional development hubs in 2027, expanding on its existing network of 751 recognized padel schools. (🇮🇹)
The FIP is expanding its coaching certifications, developing common training standards, and launching a research initiative as it looks to professionalize the game and bring more structure to padel’s global growth. (🌎)
Dubai-based Courtside Media Network, whose mission is to turn court glass, fences, and nets into advertising inventory, says its partnership pipeline now covers nearly 200 courts (out of ~1,000 in the UAE). (🇦🇪)
American padel journalist Scott Matulis just sat down with HEAD and Penn to explain the differences between tennis and padel balls, including their construction, pressure, felt, and flight characteristics. (🇺🇸)
Padel tournaments are multiplying in France, but are players actually getting their money’s worth? Higher entry fees, shorter matches, and increasingly diluted draws seem to be making amateur competition a pricier proposition. (🇫🇷)
Community debates:
Something stinks, and it’s not your backhand ;) How are players cleaning their sweaty wrist straps… assuming that’s even a thing?
What should players do about recurring blisters?
Do you love padel, but feel like it’s destroying your arm?
🤩 Cool Court of the Week📍 Surigao del Norte, 🇵🇭
More info here!
Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:
📌 Hot take editorials:
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See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾