NYC’s Showdown, Doha Drama & London Calling
El Remate #1
Welcome to the 1st 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 weekTapia & Chingotto light up Manhattan while Sánchez & Ustero steal the show 🗽
Asia Padel Cup brings flair, legends, and serious bragging rights ⚡️
Team USA tops Great Britain in the first Anglo American Padel Cup 🏆
Oakley Capital backs NOX, and Lucra gamifies your local court 💸
From recycled padel balls in South Africa to tennis turf wars in Glasgow 🌍
Cool court of the week and community discussion 🎾
Enjoy the read! 💛
🏆 Tournament Roundup 🎾 Tapia & Chingotto Light Up NYC as Sanchez & Ustero Steal the Show (🇺🇸)
New York City got its first real taste of padel drama, and it did *not* disappoint. Agustín Tapia and Fede Chingotto (usually rivals on the Premier circuit 😬) teamed up Avengers-style to win the men’s title for Miami Padel Club, dazzling crowds with the kind of chemistry that makes you wonder why they ever play apart. Their 7-6, 6-3 win over the San Diego Stingrays’ Bergamini and Bautista capped a week of clean wins and even cleaner winners.
On the women’s side, Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero of the New York Atlantics shocked everyone by knocking out favorites Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea of the Flowrida Goats before cruising to a 6-2, 7-5 victory in the final. Safe to say their “just-for-fun” pairing turned into a full-blown power duo… someone call their agents. 🤳
Team-wise, the Atlantics claimed bragging rights at home, edging out the Stingrays by just two points. Between the packed stands, skyline selfies, and smashes echoing off Manhattan’s glass courts, it’s official: padel has arrived Stateside, and it’s got New York swagger. 🗽
🎌 Asia Padel Cup Heats Up in Doha (🇶🇦)
After a wild round of qualifiers at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex, the FIP Asia Padel Cup has locked in its Final 8… and let’s just say, the lineup’s got range. From Kuwait and Pakistan cruising through with 3-0 sweeps, to Lebanon squeaking past Kazakhstan, Asia-Pacific showed its growing padel scene is worth the hype.
Australia’s bringing the star power, with none other than Pat Rafter (yes, that Pat Rafter, the mulleted serve-and-volley tennis legend) now rocking a padel racket for Team Oz. Meanwhile, Thailand, Indonesia, UAE, and Saudi Arabia all punched their tickets on the women’s side, setting up a seriously international showdown.
The main draw kicks off today (October 20) in Doha, complete with an opening ceremony that probably includes more flair than your local club finals night. Eight nations, one goal: bragging rights across the region and (probably) more importantly, a few thousand new followers on Instagram.
🎯 Team USA Takes London + the First-Ever Anglo American Padel Cup (🇬🇧)
Stars, stripes, and smashes: Team USA beat Great Britain 53-43 in the first-ever Anglo American Padel Cup at Padel Hub North London, snagging bragging rights in what’s already being called the UK’s biggest international padel event to date. After 48 matches across men’s, women’s, and mixed divisions, the Americans sealed the deal in the penultimate showdown.
The tournament, co-founded by Ben Nichols of Padel 22, had some serious backing including Playtomic, Babolat, and Virgin Hotels Shoreditch. And with 400,000+ active players and ~900 courts now across Britain, padel’s growth there is looking less like a trend and more like a takeover. 📈
Now, with one unified global tour post–World Padel Tour and Premier Padel merger, the sport’s entering its globalization era — and this event might be a taste of what’s coming. Nichols even spilled more on The Game Plan podcast, so if you want to hear how padel plans to conquer the world, keep your headphones ready. 🎧
🌍 International Padel Scene 💸 Oakley Capital Takes a Swing at NOX (🇪🇸)
Big money just joined the padel party (again). London-based Oakley Capital has scooped up a majority stake in Spanish racket powerhouse NOX, betting big on the sport’s booming global momentum. The deal, led through Oakley’s FTSE 250-listed fund, keeps founder Jesús Ballvé and GPF Partners holding a “significant minority”…enough to keep swinging from the baseline. 🎾
While details are hush-hush, Oakley confirmed ~£9 million came from its Origin Fund II, known for backing high-growth consumer and lifestyle plays. Translation: they see padel not just as a sport, but as a lifestyle brand in the making.
Ballvé said Oakley’s track record with premium sports brands will help “expand our global presence.” In plain English: expect more NOX rackets, more collabs, and probably a few influencers pretending they’ve always been padel pros. 💁♀️
🤑 Rally for Rewards: Lucra and No Strings Bring Gamification to Padel (🇬🇧)
Padel just got a tech upgrade. Lucra teamed up with stealthy, next-gen club concept No Strings to turn every rally into real-time rewards (e.g., cash, limited-edition gear, you name it). Think leaderboard battles, knockout tournaments, and friendly wagers, all handled in-app so you never have to touch a spreadsheet.
“This is the perfect launchpad for Lucra’s expansion into racket sports,” says Michael Madding, COO of Lucra. With computer-vision scoring baked into smart courts, even a casual Monday night game can feel like a $10,000 invitational streamed live by Saturday. 🎥 Dov Penzik, No Strings’ CEO, adds that it’s all about fostering local community and competition… after all, the future of padel is as much software as it is hardware.
Why this matters: venues see longer stays and more frequent visits, operators can configure prizes however they like, and Lucra handles all the boring compliance, payments, and risk management. The rollout is planned for the coming months, promising more social, rewarding, and competitive padel experiences for players everywhere. 🏆
What is Kith Ivy, the newest members-only club that will house New York City’s first Erewhon
🎯 Quick Hits🛝 Amazeballs Turns Padel Waste into Playgrounds for Kids (🇿🇦)
Now this is what we call a winning rally. South African non-profit Amazeballs is taking on two problems at once: the mountain of used padel and tennis balls piling up in landfills, and the shortage of playgrounds in under-resourced preschools. Their fix? Turning all that fuzzy yellow waste into eco-friendly playgrounds, furniture, and art. 👩🎨
The goal is simple but powerful: “turn waste into wonder.” Their first playground already benefits 120+ kids, and with community support, Amazeballs aims to bring that joy to preschools across South Africa. Proof that sometimes, giving old balls a second bounce can change a child’s world. ❤️
Amazeballs tackles playground shortages with upcycled padel balls
👑 Tennis vs. Padel: The Battle for Scotstoun (🇬🇧)
Looks like there’s a turf war brewing in Glasgow… and no, it’s not on Centre Court. British No. 1 Jack Draper and fellow Scot Jacob Fearnley are rallying against plans by Glasgow City Council to swap out two indoor tennis courts for shiny new padel courts. The council says it’s just keeping up with the craze; Tennis Scotland calls it “sabotaging youth development.” 🐸🍵
Padel fans might see this as progress. After all, it’s the world’s fastest-growing racquet sport with 30 million players. However, tennis purists aren’t exactly shouting “vamos.” Draper, Fearnley, and others (including Jamie Murray’s old coach Jonny O’Mara) warn that losing those courts could kill tour-level events and wipe £60k off Glasgow’s sports economy.
To sweeten the serve, Tennis Scotland even offered an interest-free loan to build a separate four-court padel complex so everyone can play nice. Whether Glasgow Life takes the deal or not, one thing’s clear: the line between tennis and padel just got a little fuzzier… and the volley for Scotland’s future is on. 👀
Tennis stars urge council not to turn facility into padel courts
🤩 Cool Padel Court of the Week📍 Tignes, 🇫🇷
More info here!
💬 Discussion Forum
For all you Playtomic hardos 🤓 out there: when you set up a match, the app forces you to choose either “competitive” or “friendly.” But what if you just want to play and don’t really care—competitive would be ideal, but you’d happily make it friendly if that’s what fills the slot?
For more 🌍 padel content, follow @padelyanqui on Instagram! 🤝
See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾