The Changeover: Your July 2026 U.S. Padel Recap
Here's (almost) everything you need to know...
Dear Padel Nation,
This past month was yet another action-packed one in the U.S. padel world…
Though I will admit that — along with millions of other people around the globe — I was briefly and completely distracted from all these goings on by the antics of a 2,200+ pound elephant seal terrorizing a tiny Tasmanian town in the most loveable and life-affirming way possible. But back to padel…
First off, we saw new padel clubs officially (or unofficially) open everywhere from Bellevue, WA… to Brooklyn, NY… to San Jose, CA… and even West Jordan, UT.
Secondly, there was no shortage of news out of USA Padel — mostly about upcoming national and international competitions, including the fact that Montreal-based premium lifestyle brand Psycho Bunny will be the new official uniform partner of USA Padel National Teams. (There was even a celebratory kick-off party at Ultra Padel Club to commemorate the partnership).
Speaking of partnerships, much of the U.S. (and global) padel world had kittens over the fact that Nike debuted its initial line of padel gear at a private event hosted by oft-dissed Canadian rapper Drake and attended by actual padel celebrities, Agustín Tapia and Juan Lebrón.
The U.S. padel world similarly lost its mind over two big media mentions about the sport last month, with The Wall Street Journal publishing a story exploring “The Push to Make Padel the Next Pickleball” and Yahoo! Finance describing padel as, “the ‘new golf’ for young professionals [that is] taking over the U.S.”
While these three news items got plenty of attention and generated even more excitement in some circles, I’m not entirely sold on whether the trickle-down effect of big headlines like these will actually help grow the sport here in the U.S., where clubs are constantly struggling with permitting and occupancy issues and a majority of players struggle to be able to afford court fees — but I guess we’ll see.
Finally, on a more positive note, this past month I was lucky enough to go to my first-ever Premier Padel tournament in Málaga, Spain — where I got to see both the men’s and women’s world No. 1s play (and coincidentally also got to be in country for three straight Spanish World Cup victories on their way to the eventual crown).
Although I think it may take a lot of time and effort for the U.S. market to embrace pro padel the way we embrace other professional sports, it was definitely encouraging to see the stadium packed and fans riveted (and actually watching the action far more than looking at their phones)…
And this month I’ll get to see how the U.S. pro padel market is actually progressing when I attend the Pro Padel League’s second event of the season August 13 - 16 in Los Angeles (after they kicked the season off in style last month in New York City).
If you’re going to be there, too, please let me know so we can try to meet up or even hop on court. In the meantime, please be sure to check out everything else we covered in the U.S. padel world last month directly below.
As always, thanks for reading — and play up!
ae
««« Five New U.S. Padel Clubs to Know About »»»
Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, and Virginia will soon have 20+ new padel courts to play on at five brand-new clubs, including in several U.S. cities that currently have no padel courts to speak of whatsoever. Here’s where you can find them.
««« The U.S. Tech Duo That’s Reshaping Padel »»»
When it comes to finding and organizing padel matches and then booking courts, there can admittedly be a lot of headaches to deal with. And while I’m skeptical about how outsized of a role tech (and especially AI) should play in padel, I did sit down last month with Julia Schwartz and Russell Einbinder — who are the padel-playing tech savants behind Padel Browser among other projects — to learn more about how they are using AI to reshape how we all play padel.
««« "How I Became Obessed With Padel” »»»
In parts three and four of our ongoing “How I Became Obsessed With Padel” series from frequent guest contributor, Scott Matulis, we profiled two big names in the U.S. padel gear space to learn about their own personal padel journeys.
Namely, Rene Lewicki, the U.S. Padel Business Development Manager for Wilson, and Scott London, the streetwear fashion legend behind brands like Zoo York and Wu Wear and founder of GLDN PNT (which is a Padel Nation sponsor and preferred partner).
««« Padel Relations Coming to NYC This Fall »»»
For the first time ever, our friends at Luxembourg-based Padel Relations will be hosting one of their signature padel events for global padel industry decision-makers, club owners, and entrepreneurs on U.S. soil.
Everything you need to know about Padel Relations and this event, which is set to take place September 21 and 22 in Brooklyn, can be found right here.
««« Padel Up Hosts “Rally for Venezuela” Event »»»
While it didn’t get nearly the attention as some of the other headline-grabbing padel news covered earlier, L.A.-based Padel Up did host a special event to raise money and support for the devastation that occurred in Venezuela at the end of June when two massive earthquakes rocked the South American nation. And while the event has passed, you can still donate to the GoFundMe they launched right here.
««« Padel Finally Comes to Hilton Head Island »»»
Last but certainly not least is the fact that just last week we got word that our premier partners and site sponsors, AMET International and Wakit Padel, have finally brought a padel court to the tennis and tourist mecca of Hilton Head Island, SC — and within hours of publishing this article about it, we were already getting emails from both U.S. and international padel players living in Hilton Head who were beyond thrilled to finally have a place to play. Love to hear it!
… and that’s a wrap — until next month at least!
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!