Dear Padel Nation,
After getting to experience the ins and outs of the Southern California padel scene firsthand in August and even catch a Pro Padel League (PPL) event live in Los Angeles (pictures here), I spent much of this past month exploring the padel explosion taking place across the Rocky Mountains, specifically in Colorado and Utah.
In fact, over the course of just the past few weeks, I was lucky enough to:
Play at one of Padel Haus’s two newest locations in Denver — a stunning and expertly run facility in the heart of the Mile High City that seriously raises the bar for padel clubs across the U.S., let alone the Rockies (and even features a seldom-seen singles court)…
Witness the rapidly growing and internationally diverse community at Arenna Denver Padel and get on court with their incredibly affable co-founder Luis Rance, who has obviously hit the ground running given that Arenna has already sold out a 96-person league just weeks after officially opening their doors…
Return to Olympus Padel in my hometown of Colorado Springs for the third time — where new GM, Sam Harrison, is helping push back against the ever-growing perception that padel is only for the 1% here in the U.S….
Visit, tour, and play at The Hive Padel Club just days after their grand opening in Salt Lake City — which is a club that effortlessly blends understated luxury (with chilled towels provided courtside), elevated sensibility (the carefully curated space could easily double as a modern-art gallery), and open-arms hospitality (thanks, Hollye and team!), and…
Even get a few sets in on the most stunning court I’ve ever set foot on anywhere in the world (in Park City, UT — pictured above)…
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, I wasn’t able to make it to SLC Padel Club (which just recently celebrated its first anniversary) and finally meet up with their founder Pedro Bautista, who is intently focused on building culture and community at Utah’s first-ever padel club.
With pickleball now starting to face it’s very own “too big to fail” moment in the U.S., the ongoing, behind-the-scenes efforts of U.S. padel pioneers like Pedro may be more important than ever to the future of the sport here in the States. So, I look forward to speaking more with him for future Padel Nation articles soon.
In other news, among many other highlights, September also saw:
The women of Team USA bring home a silver medal at the FIP Senior World Cup in Buenos Aires, which was the best-ever finish for a U.S. National Team…
The PPL host its third event of the 2026 season — this time in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, after hosting the previous two in New York and Los Angeles — en route to a final showdown in Miami this December, and…
The American Collegiate Padel League drop some very big — and shall we say legendary — partnership news that should help propel collegeiate padel in the U.S. to all new highs…
… plus everything discussed in last month’s articles, which you can catch up on below.
As always, thanks for reading — and play up!
ae
««« How to Pronounce “Padel” in the U.S. »»»
Now that padel is reportedly the fastest growing sport in the U.S. (on a %-basis anyhow), you’d think we could come to some sort of consensus on how to actually pronounce the sport — and, no, I’m sorry, but it’s really not up for interpretation or debate, even if you do think “puh-DEL” simply sounds cooler.
But, as I chronicled in an in-depth feature article last month, the real issue may well actually be all the confusion about where there confusion even comes from.
««« The Great U.S. Padel Club Expansion »»»
September brought word (from Misitrano Consulting) that the U.S. is now home to over 1,100 padel courts. And while most people are squarely focused on growing that court count via brand-new clubs around the country, there is a lesser-talked-about — yet still very powerful — growth lever to consider (which we did in an entire feature on last month). Namely, club expansions.
(Special thanks to Padel Boston founder Chase Woodsum and NorthPoint Padel co-founder Jon Omer for their time and insights!).
««« Padel Finally Arrives in HI and IA »»»
Speaking of new padel clubs popping up around the U.S., September also brought word that Hawaii and Iowa will soon be joining the padel map, thanks to new clubs and concepts coming to the island of Oahu and the Hawkeye State capital of Des Moines.
Oh, and, as you can read more about right here, there are also exciting new padel projects coming to Connecticut, Florida, and New Jersey soon, too.
««« The (Slowly) Emerging Empires of U.S. Padel »»»
Over the past few years, a whole lot of padel clubs have talked about opening a whole lot of padel clubs, yet few have actually been able to put their money where their mouths are thus far.
Which is why last month I chose to highlight a small handful of operators who are putting as much time and effort (not to mention, money) into opening their doors as they are into big, overhyped PR campaigns.
««« The Unlikely Patroness of U.S. Padel »»»
Few people are as actively involved in helping to power the growth of padel in the U.S. as Carolyn Hamlet — yet she hardly ever sets foot on court herself.
So, I recently asked her to walk me through exactly how — and why — she ended up deciding to champion the sport via her start-up, ōku Conscious Energy®. Here’s what she told me.
««« How They Became Obsessed With Padel »»»
In our ongoing “How I Became Obsessed With Padel” series, regular Padel Nation guest contributor Scott Matulis picked the brains of Padel39 founder Will Boyce and 6LoveSports founder Andi Neugarten-Maio to learn exactly what got them so into the sport.
… and that’s a wrap — until next month, at least!
If you enjoyed this monthly U.S. padel round-up, 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:
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Oh, and one other thing… my brand-new 352-page padel book is out now. So, if you enjoy the work I’m doing in the U.S. padel space, you can always 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!