The UK Is a Siren Song for US Padel
El Remate #43 | What's hot in 🇺🇸 & 🌎 padel | August 4-11, 2026
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 weekComing 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 OpeningsNow 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.
📈 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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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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:
📌 Hot take editorials:
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See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾
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