What the Players Say vs. What Gets Announced
El Remate #36 | What's hot in 🇺🇸 & 🌎 padel | June 16-23, 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! 📧
🔍 Topics we’ll cover this weekThe World No. 1 openly wants to wear the Swoosh. Closer to home, Brooklyn is getting a padel venue with a rooftop. Plus, women’s padel growth… real, or just PR?
Also in this issue:
— How to optimally read tricky serves
— Alcaraz makes another cameo
— Venue drama on the pro circuit
— Miami is the US padel capital, but what about the UK?
…and plenty more. Seguimos!
🇺🇸 Court OpeningsComing Soon
In Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, BK Padel just signed a 10-year lease for 38,000 square feet, with the space split across a ground floor, mezzanine, and (notably) a rooftop that could make this one of the few padel venues in NYC with outdoor play. The deal repositions a long-vacant retail building into what brokers described as a “large-scale, nontraditional retail space.” BK Padel has no public website yet, so court count and opening timeline are still unconfirmed.
📈 Up Your Game What Good Players Do Against Tricky Serves
Turns out, there’s no such thing as an unreturnable serve.
In this <10 minute video, Coach Sandy from The Padel School (who is now a key voice on the Premier Padel tour) says most players struggle with spin serves because they react to the bounce instead of reading the spin before it happens.
There are only three types of spin you need to understand:
Slice: The ball stays low after the glass
Topspin: The ball kicks higher after the glass
Sidespin: The ball changes direction after the bounce
The key is to watch your opponent’s racket path. If they’re brushing down, slice. If they’re brushing up, topspin. If they’re coming across the ball, sidespin.
Once you identify the spin, your positioning becomes much easier:
Slice: Move closer to the glass because the ball will stay low.
Topspin: Give yourself more space because the ball will jump higher.
Sidespin: Anticipate the change in angle instead of letting it surprise you.
However… reading the spin is only half the equation. You still need a split step as your opponent makes contact, early preparation, good footwork, and a solid continental grip. Leaning forward as you anticipate the serve can also do wonders.
Lastly, remember that the pros rarely hit outright aces. So next time you face an opponent with a tricky serve, know that you’re fully capable of hitting a great return!
🌍 International Happenings One Pro’s Reality vs. One Region’s PR (🌎🇨🇭🇶🇦)
A few weeks ago, I casually asked a a friend on the women’s Premier Padel circuit about her favorite and least favorite destinations to play. She didn’t hesitate to tell me her least favorite, which was “anywhere in the Middle East.” While fans there come in droves for the men, it’s practically crickets for the women.
So it was interesting timing when last week, Qatar Sports Investments brought women’s padel to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. There, QSI Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi called for every girl to have access to sport. And on behalf of the International Padel Players Association (an association that promotes the development of women’s padel worldwide, currently led by world No. 1 Gemma Triay), Maria Teixidor highlighted the progress the women’s game has made (i.e., equal prize money at 90% of tournaments, world-class venues, same facilities as the men).
All true. And even Al-Khelaïfi himself admitted that economic sustainability for the women’s game is “still a long way from being achieved.”
But after seeing this, I candidly can’t help but wonder if this is genuine progress or a well-staged photo op. Maybe it’s some of both. Either way, it’s worth tracking whether Premier Padel stops in the Middle East (and elsewhere) start filling stands for the women, not whether a room can get filled in Geneva.
🏆 Pro Padel Roundup 
Reserve Cup Marbella Wraps In Style (🇪🇸)
The second edition of the exhibition-filled Reserve Cup Marbella concluded at Puente Romano, with Team Sierra Blanca Estates crowned champions across a $700K prize pool. The headline match featured Alejandro Galán and Leo Augsburger, the “all-natural-backhand experiment,” making their debut as a pair. They jumped out to a 6-1 lead against Arturo Coello and Javi Garrido before completely unraveling, ultimately losing the super tie-break 10-5. Highlights here.
Coello (MVP) and Lara Arruabarrena (MVP) took the individual honors. The tournament also debuted a women’s draw this year, which landed well. At the awards ceremony, Marbella’s Deputy Mayor announced the event is locked in through 2030.
Carlos Alcaraz showed up too. Still rehabbing his wrist (he’ll miss Wimbledon), the world tennis No. 2 spent Thursday courtside next to Reserve founder Wayne Boich
Pregamin’ the Valladolid P2, feat. the Elephant in the Plaza (🇪🇸)
Premier Padel heads to Valladolid this week, where Coello / Tapia return to defend their title in Coello’s hometown across a ~€265K prize pool.
Off-court, things are a bit awkward… local political groups are publicly opposing the event’s use of the 16th-century Plaza Mayor as the venue, citing heritage impact, four weeks of disruption for setup/teardown, and a €1M public subsidy for one week of competition.
🎯 Quick Hits Last week, reports suggested Nike was targeting Agustín Tapia as the face of its planned entry into padel. This week, NOX, Tapia's current sponsor, acknowledged that Nike approached the World No. 1, while Tapia himself called the prospect of joining the Swoosh “a dream.” (🇺🇸🇪🇸🇦🇷)
As padel scales across North America, Bounce Padel Courts, a court manufacturer and installer, has partnered with global sports surface supplier Mondo to integrate performance turf into its North American installations. (🇨🇦🇮🇹)
It’s pretty clear that Miami is the US’ padel capital. But what about in the UK? With 38 clubs and 145 courts, this city punches well above its weight. (🇬🇧)
Dealing with chronic blisters? Players discuss surprisingly practical fixes here.
🤩 Cool Club of the Week📍 Valparaíso, 🇨🇱
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 🎾