The Rolex Effect

El Remate #39 | What's hot in 🇺🇸 & 🌎 padel | July 7-14, 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 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! 📧

Another great week witnessing padel’s accelerating momentum Stateside. Huge thanks to Pro Padel League and Mink Padel for having me back in NYC. From the nail-biting matches at an iconic Midtown venue to the inclusive, community-driven culture in Harlem, there’s tons to be excited about. If you’re reading this, you’re still early ;)

🔍 Topics we’ll cover this week

Padel has a watch problem now. Three luxury brands have signed on, and one just made history with a woman.

The US also continues to get in on the pro action. The Pro Padel League launched its season in NYC featuring ten franchises, a Kalshi deal, and some good ol’ grassroots community building.

Also in this issue:
— Why playing better players won’t magically make you better
— Miami activations and Canadian academies
— Lululemon drops another padel breadcrumb
— Racket brand resurrection theatrics

…and plenty more. Dale campeón!

🇺🇸 Court Openings

No new court openings this week, but last week, we were graced with ten courts coming to two opposite regions, plus an official soft-opening!

Additional Club Buzz 🐝

• Until September 15, Miami-based Padel X is running a pop-up “summer club” in Miami Beach featuring World Cup watch parties and beginner sessions supported by NOX and Playtomic.

• Also in Miami, Reserve Padel brought together Premier Padel, FIFA, and the FIP for an activation featuring football legends John Terry, Ashley Cole, Marco Materazzi, and global sports executives.

• Our friends up north are getting busy too… Toronto’s District Padel & Pickleball Club partnered with M3 Padel Academy, the Spanish training powerhouse behind 15 World No. 1 players, 243 international titles, and 1,100+ students worldwide, to launch its first 🇨🇦 academy.

📈 Up Your Game 

You Don’t Need to Play Better Players to Improve

Ok sure, playing stronger opponents is valuable.

But per this 7.5 minute video from The Padel School, here’s the catch: playing better players raises your level during the match, but doesn’t automatically raise your level as a player.

Tactically, playing better players will undoubtedly expose bad shot selection, poor positioning, and moments where you’re giving away free points. They force you to understand why you’re making certain decisions.

But technically, playing better players won’t solve the problem. After all, technique requires repetition. A higher-level player might simply end the rally before you get enough reps. A training partner, ball machine, or even a slightly lower-level opponent can actually give you more opportunities to build better habits.

And if you want to improve mentally, compete! The pressure of a tournament, the nerves when you’re expected to win, and the frustration after mistakes are where mental toughness is developed.

A good rule of thumb:

• 25% of your time → play below your level to work on technique, confidence, and consistency

• 50% of your time → play at your level to test your skills in realistic match situations

• 25% of your time → play above your level to challenge your tactics and decision-making

This way, you’ll build a game that works against everyone. Suerte!

🌍 International Happenings  

Padel’s Watch Wave Reaches the Women’s Game (🇨🇭)

2026 is becoming the year luxury watchmakers officially put padel on their wrists. We started the year in January with Rolex making its first-ever move into padel, signing men’s No. 1 Arturo Coello to a brand roster that includes Federer and Tiger Woods. It was a pretty bold bet, as Rolex typically waits until a sport looks structurally permanent before committing to an athlete. And it rarely signs anyone this early in their career arc (with Carlos Alcaraz serving as an interesting comp).

Four months later, Audemars Piguet followed, backing Agustín Tapia (the other men’s No. 1) and becoming the official timekeeper of the entire Premier Padel tour.

Now it’s July, and Swiss watchmaker Gerald Charles has entered the game, signing Gemma Triay — one half of the women’s No. 1 pairing and one of padel’s loudest advocates for prize-money and visibility parity. Her deal is the first of its kind on the women’s side, arriving six months after the men’s wave started.

Padel continues to join tennis and golf as a sport where dominant women are drawing luxury-watch attention (Sabalenka has an Audemars Piguet deal, Serena Williams had one for years).

My open questions are (1) whether padel’s version of that trend moves faster than tennis did, and (2) how luxury brand deals will continue to stack up between men’s and women’s players.

🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 

The North American Circuit’s Big Apple Kickoff (🇺🇸)

In Midtown Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom, the Pro Padel League kicked off its 2026 season (which I had the pleasure of attending) with four days of action featuring all 10 franchises and over 50 of the world’s top players. On court, the DC Matrix’s Iñigo Jofre and Alex Arroyo captured the men’s title while the San Diego Stingrays’ Claudia Jensen and Veronica Virseda claimed the women’s crown.

Off court, following last week’s broadcast partnership announcement with CNBC, the league announced a multiyear deal with the popular prediction market Kalshi. It also doubled down on grassroots growth by hosting a youth clinic at Mink Padel in Harlem in partnership with local community organizations.

Pregamin’ the Málaga P1 (🇪🇸)

This week, attention shifts to the Premier Padel Málaga P1. Men’s No. 1s Coello / Tapia arrive looking for a fifth consecutive title, while hometown favorite Bea González returns to defend her Málaga crown alongside fellow women’s No. 2 Paula Josemaría.

Beyond the title races, Málaga marks the debut of several new women's partnerships. It also serves as the final event for a number of men's pairings before an even bigger reshuffling begins at the Pretoria P1 in two weeks.

🎯 Quick Hits 

• Doha has been awarded hosting rights for two consecutive editions of the FIP World Cup in 2026 and 2028. The event features a record €1.2M prize pool in 2026, rising to €1.35M in 2028. (🇶🇦)

• Following its March collaboration with Tempe, AZ-based franchise Conquer Padel, Vancouver-based Lululemon just launched a pop-up padel court at a busy UK shopping destination. (🇨🇦🇬🇧)

• The US Junior National Team battled through the Pan American Junior Circuit in Colombia, gaining valuable experience ahead of October’s Finals in San Diego… and one American pair stormed back with three straight playoff wins to close the tournament on a high. (🇺🇸)

• Once an undisputed padel racket king recently sported by top-10 pros, Varlion is attempting a resurrection… but this revival comes with a family feud, competing brands, and an ongoing legal battle. (🇪🇸)

• European Deaf Padel and the International Padel Media Association have teamed up to bring greater visibility to deaf athletes, starting with the European Deaf Padel Circuit Sevilla 2026. (🇪🇺🇪🇸)

• The first FISU World University Championship brought student-athletes from 20 nations to Málaga, where Spain and Italy emerged victorious. (🇪🇸🇮🇹)

• Mixed doubles: yay or nay? 🤔

🤩 Cool Club of the Week

📍 Málaga, 🇪🇸
More info here!

Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:

• Padel’s Latest Divorce

• The Kids Aren’t Alright

• 📌 Hot take editorials:

  • I Said US Padel Is Ass-Backward. Here’s What Ensued

  • POV: The Only 🇺🇸 at the World’s Largest-Ever Padel Tournament

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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, news to share, or are interested in becoming a preferred partner of El Remate, just respond to this email :)

See you next week & keep smashing those volleys 🎾