Serena's New Mission. Ranking Shake-Ups. A Threepeat.

El Remate #28 | What's hot in 🇺🇸 & 🌎 padel | April 21 - 28, 2026

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! 📧

🔍 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!

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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)

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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 🎾