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 weekPlayers ain’t the problem, but the business model might be. Are we… in a bubble?
Meanwhile, Nike’s padel ambitions are getting harder to ignore. Plus, a new pro circuit also comes to Asia, and Y2K soccer legends are getting into the game.
Also in this issue:
— American padel franchise makes youth development plays
— How to quit floating your slice
— What club owners would NEVER spend money on again
— The big threepeat
…and plenty more. Dale campeón!
🇺🇸 Court OpeningsComing Soon
A century-old industrial complex in Bristol, CT looks to be getting a second life as Padel Connect CT, an eight-court (four doubles courts, three kids’ courts, and one singles court) indoor facility targeting a Q1 2027 opening. Looking to become the first dedicated padel club in Greater Hartford, the ~26,000-square-foot facility will feature 26-foot ceilings, a lounge & bar, coworking space, coaching, junior programs, leagues, and community events.
Additional Club Buzz 🐝
Tempe, AZ-based franchise Conquer Padel is teaming up with USA Padel and an Arizona Montessori school to bring padel to students through after-school coaching and sanctioned tournaments. The partners are already eyeing expansion, with summer camps and family events among the possibilities.
📈 Up Your Game Your Slice Is Probably Too Floaty
So you thought you hit a beautiful slice… until you watch the ball float gently into your opponent’s strike zone. Thanks for the free put-away, mate.
The problem is that you’re slicing underneath the ball instead of through it. And according to The Padel School in this 6-minute video, there’s a big difference between a floaty drop shot and an attacking slice that skids low and makes your opponent’s life miserable.
The secret is in three things: (1) your racket path, (2) racket-face angle, and (3) follow-through.
First, start with your racket above the ball and swing down into contact.
Don’t open your racket face too much. Instead of scooping underneath the ball, keep the face slightly open and brush down the back of it. The goal is to generate spin while keeping the ball’s trajectory relatively flat and low.
Don’t stop at contact, and imagine you’re hitting a second ball just beyond the first. That extended follow-through helps drive the slice forward, making it harder for your opponent to defend.
The other thing to remember is that not every slice should be an attacking shot. A shorter slice can set up the next ball, while a faster, deeper slice toward the glass can put your opponent under serious pressure
The attacking slice is particularly useful when you can make contact above net height, especially on volleys and other offensive shots.
If you wanna practice, stand close to the net, gently toss a ball to yourself, and work on brushing down and through it. Aim for a low trajectory and a bounce near the back glass. Focus on consistent contact before adding more speed. Suerte!
🌍 International Happenings Growing Sport ≠ Guaranteed Investment (🇬🇧)
I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: as an American, I love paying attention to the UK padel market. It’s more mature, culturally similar, and obviously English-speaking.
And this week, Bloomberg put a $300 million price tag on the UK’s padel boom, but flagged a few cracks starting to show despite increased court openings and celebrity-backed investments. Social Sports Society, an operator with five UK sites, fell into insolvency, while Padel XO liquidated earlier this year.
The paradox is that while players haven’t necessarily stopped playing and new players are emerging everyday, building a sustainable business has proven to be a massive uphill battle.
Not to beat a dead horse, but for operators, expensive leases, high operating costs, and ambitious expectations about how busy courts will be can turn a promising market into a tough business. Padel might be addictive as hell, but that doesn’t mean every club will succeed.
My big takeaway from all this is that if we truly want to make padel “mainstream” like tennis (i.e. public courts, municipal partnerships, etc.), we need much more than investors building courts.
That’s where you come in. As an early adopter, you have a duty: be a local ambassador for the sport, find ways to get newbies on the court with you, and support places that make the sport accessible. I strongly believe that collectively, we can drastically accelerate awareness, popularity, and ultimately demand to make this sport a success Stateside with a widespread player and fan base.
🏆 Pro Padel Roundup A Threepeat & Some Schemin’ (🇩🇪🇮🇹🇺🇸🇦🇷)
Golden Boys Coello / Tapia won their third straight title in Düsseldorf at last week’s Germany P2, beating Stupaczuk / Sanz 6-2, 7-6. That’s 11 titles this season, and the world No. 1 spot is firmly in their sights. On the women’s side, Fernández / Calvo bounced back from their Paris final defeat, crushing Sánchez / Ustero 6-3, 6-0 for their second title together. Ah, sweet revenge.
Two interesting talking points also came out of Düsseldorf:
The scheduling was a mess. Stupa / Sanz finished their semifinal after 1am, then had to return for Sunday’s final. Stupa wasn’t having it, publicly blasting the tournament’s scheduling. Fair enough.
Lucas Campagnolo may be starting a new chapter. After ending his 12-year partnership with Drop Shot, the Brazilian showed up wearing Nike gear and wielding a mysterious, all-black racket. Recall that Nike-branded padel rackets had already surfaced this summer, with many claiming they had plagiarized Drop Shot’s. Is there some collusion going on? Are we in the wake of a potential acquisition? Or are we connecting dots that don’t exist? The plot thickens…
This week, Premier Padel heads to Italy for the Milan P1. Coki Nieto remains sidelined, leaving Mike Yanguas to partner with Pablo Lijó temporarily.
On the international front, Argentina has named its men’s and women’s World Cup squads for Doha next month, including men’s debutants Maxi Arce and Gonza Alfonso, plus 16-year-old Victoria Vílchez on the women’s side. And lastly, Italy now has 10 women in the FIP Top 100, up from six in February. Dai, niente male!
🎯 Quick Hits Déjà vu? Similar to padel, a handful of American pickleball clubs have also been closing due to bad leases, oversized venues, and subpar business models. (🇺🇸)
The Indonesian Padel League just kicked off with 10 city-based franchise clubs, with the goal of building a more structured domestic competition and talent-development pipeline. (🇮🇩)
New data suggests 77% of UK padel clubs have four courts or fewer. (🇬🇧)
French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane has teamed up with adidas for his first padel collection, featuring two rackets and a racket bag. (🇩🇪🇫🇷)
A new deep-dive explores how women’s padel communities across the Anglosphere help players find partners, compete, and stick with the sport. (🇺🇸🇬🇧)
Argentine soccer legend Carlos Tevez is expanding his padel empire, opening a second Apache 32 club location in Buenos Aires proper, partnering with Bullpadel. (🇦🇷)
Community musings:
Padel club owners open up on what they’d never spend money on again.
Struggling to beat tennis players at padel? This might help…
Premier Padel has elevated the sport’s global profile, but did it leave some of the old magic behind? Seems there’s lots to be missed about the ol’ World Padel Tour.
🤩 Cool Court of the Week📍 Mexico City, 🇲🇽
More info here!
Missed a recent issue? Todo tranca che ;) we got you covered:
📌 Hot take editorials:
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 🎾