12 Perfect Pictures to Sum Up the Pro Padel League's L.A. Debut

A photo essay from Ben Blair...

After traveling to Spain last month for the Premier Padel P1 tournament in Málaga and Southern California this month for the second leg of the Pro Padel League’s 2026 season in L.A., it has become clear to me that the magic and mastery of professional padel can be rather difficult to put into words.

So I reached out to Ben Blair — an L.A.-based creative director who has worked with brands like FILA, Boast, and Nike, and is also an avid tennis and padel player and sports photographer — to ask for some help.

Here’s how this past weekend’s Pro Padel League debut in Los Angeles unfolded in Ben’s own “words” (all amazing photos his, all questionable captions mine):

The Room Where It Happened (Source: Ben Blair)

Getting a Leg Up on the Competition (Source: Ben Blair)

Thinking Outside the Box (Source: Ben Blair)

Poetry in Motion (Source: Ben Blair)

So Fresh and So Clean (Source: Ben Blair)

All Eyes on the Prize (Source: Ben Blair)

Rare Air (Source: Ben Blair)

Pulling Out All the Stops (Source: Ben Blair)

Digging Deep (Source: Ben Blair)

VICTORY! (Source: Ben Blair)

The Next Set (Source: Ben Blair)

To learn more about Ben Blair and his work, please visit BenBlairDoneThat.com

---

If you enjoyed this article, please be sure to subscribe to Padel Nation (for free!) to get exciting updates and important insights on the rapidly emerging U.S. padel scene like this one delivered directly to your inbox 2X weekly — or share it with a padel-playing friend.

Finally, as always, a big thank you to the friends and preferred partners of Padel Nation who help make posts like this possible, including:

Interested in becoming a friend or preferred partner of Padel Nation? Drop us a line here and let’s talk!

Oh, and one other thing… my brand-new 352-page padel book was just released last month. So, if you enjoy the work I’m doing in the U.S. padel space, you can support me by ordering a copy (or two!) online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Or if you’re a club owner and you’d want to carry a handful of copies in your pro shop for “padel curious” people who are interested in trying the sport out but don’t know quite where to start, let me know and I can connect you with my publisher’s wholesale department.

Many thanks in advance!