Dear Padel Nation readers,
February was an eventful month on the padel front, both for me personally and for U.S. padel in general.
On a personal level, the month started off with an impromptu trip to the frozen Midwest with fellow padel addicts Andrew Won (of Blanca Padel) and Aris Sevastianos (of the El Remate padel newsletter).
First, we visited two stunning padel clubs in Chicago:
Alma Padel — which I wrote a feature article on last month, and…
The just-opened Proximo Padel — which I’ll be writing a feature article on this month.
(Unfortunately, visiting Union Padel Club ended up not being in the cards on this trip — next time, though!)
Then we made the trek to Goshen, Indiana, of all places, to see something that I believe has the potential to revolutionize U.S. padel going forward and I’ll be publishing an in-depth article on later this week (so please keep an eye out).
We were joined there by a pretty heavy-hitting crew of U.S. padel insiders, including:
Brittany Dubins, who is the currently the highest ranked U.S. padel pro in the world…
Bruce Townsend, who opened one of the the first-ever U.S. padel courts inside a mall in Connecticut…
Tito Moreno, a true OG of the U.S. padel world, who is behind padel projects like AMET International and Urban Padel, among many others…
Pascal Collard of the Mouratoglou Academy, and…
Bryan Ogle of CourtsApp.
So, I think it’s safe to say that what’s happening in Goshen is definitely turning some heads and poised to make some big waves in this industry.
After returning home, I put in some more work on my forthcoming padel book (which you can now pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and many other online retailers)…
And cranked out as many new articles about the U.S. padel scene as possible — all of which you can find links to below — before heading to Colorado for a squash tournament and a little padel in Denver at Racket Social Club (which just opened its newest location in Katy, TX this month).
But enough about me. Let’s get to the month that was in U.S. padel…
Thanks for reading and play up!
- ae
««« The Windy City’s Big Padel Moment Has Arrived »»»
While many padel clubs around the country are seriously struggling with occupancy during off-peak hours, when we arrived at Alma Padel at 1:30pm on a Tuesday this ^^^ is what we found. 👀 🤯
So, how exactly is Abigail McCulloch (who Forbes recently named to its “Top 30 Under 30” list for sports) pulling this off?
««« Padel on Your Next Trip to Napa or Sonoma?! »»»
Thanks to Flyte Racquet Club in Marin County you can now play padel (or tennis or pickleball) on your next trip to California wine country.
As someone who loves racquet sports, travel, and wine, this development makes me pretty… pretty… prett-ay happy (to quote Larry David). So, I wrote a full feature article about Flyte and their incredibly affable new director of padel operations and member engagement, Javier Salamanca.
Oh, and if you’re curious about the club’s name, be sure to check out the video above. (I’m not a big emoji guy, but I think yet another 👀 🤯 applies!).
««« Pacific Northwest’s Padel Drought Set To End »»»
About 800 miles north of Flyte, we got some big news out of Seattle:
Thanks to a trio of racquet-sports-loving entrepreneurs and their new project, Pacific Padel, the long wait for padel in the Pacific Northwest will soon be over. Here’s what we know so far.
««« Playing Padel Abroad Soon? Read This First! »»»
With summer vacations right around the corner for many, you may find yourself itching to play padel on your next big international trip.
Before you do, I’d encourage you to check out this helpful guest article from a true padel globetrotter that has now played in over a dozen countries around the world.
««« Dallas Forth-Worth Padel Scene Is Heating Up »»»
Given its size and diverse, affluent population, it’s been a bit surprising that the greater DFW area has been so sleepy when it comes to padel up until now.
But that’s all about to change — and soon the DFW area will be home to over a half-dozen padel clubs and three dozen padel courts. Get the full details here.
««« U.S. Collegiate Padel Just Had a Very Big Week »»»
In less than seven days, two different U.S groups announced two major initiatives designed to help propel U.S. college padel participation to new highs — and right off the bat, they look to already be succeeding!
In Other News:
The state of Rhode Island got its first-ever indoor padel court — with two more outdoor courts coming to the same facility later this year.
On the heels of the big Cincinnati padel news I covered last month, we got not just one but two doses of even more exciting Cincy padel news this month (and I’m heading up there in late May to see all these developments for myself!)…
The U.S. Padel Association (USPA) launched a new digital platform designed to “transform padel in the America.” Meanwhile, the USPA’s first-ever (and long-time) president and true U.S. padel pioneer, Mike May, received a well-deserved award.
Even more top-tier pro padel is coming to the U.S. this year, thanks to a partnership between Spanish-based padel-court booking platform behemoth Playtomic and all-time Spanish tennis legend, Rafael Nadal.
Meanwhile, the Parker Palm Springs and LA’s PadelUp (which are both powered by Miami-based booking platform Playbypoint) announced they would be combining forces to host a Palm Springs Padel Pro-Am next weekend featuring all-time padel legend Fernando Belasteguín (known to most simply as “Bela”).
Reserve Padel welcomed over 600 guests and raised more than $150,000 for a charity event designed to “help protect vulnerable animals and empower children, while also advancing its long-term goal of opening an animal sanctuary in South Florida for older, injured, and overlooked animals.” 👏👏
For what I believe is only the second time ever, padel graced the (digital) pages of the legendary U.S. publication, Sports Illustrated — and you can read this new SI article here.
Following closely on the heels of Indiana getting its first two indoor padel courts, Fort Wayne Country Club will soon be adding the Hoosier State’s first outdoor court, as well.
… and that’s a wrap — until next month, at least!
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