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Hornets co-chair and governor Rick Schnall is leading a $15 million Series A funding round for the Pro Padel League, with the investment aimed at boosting the upstart racket sport.
The latest funding follows a $10 million seed round for PPL, which was completed a year ago. Venture capital and growth equity firm Left Lane Capital, an original seed investor, joined Schnall in the Series A.
“Padel is becoming something of a new type of golf in terms of its networking and business value,” PPL CEO Mike Dorfman told Front Office Sports.
The PPL has 10 teams across North America and is aiming to popularize a sport that is something of a mix of tennis and squash, and is popular in several other parts of the world, including South America and Europe. The league’s media deals around the world involve a mix of rights fee agreements and revenue-sharing-based pacts.
Among the key initiatives targeted within the Series A funding is the further development of PPL II, its development entity. PPL staged a series of exhibition matches this past weekend at the Miami Open in tennis.
Brokered on the Court
The funding round came together after Dorfman became acquainted with Schnall by playing padel with him at various courts around the country.
“After enough conversations and playing together enough times, we decided to make something happen,” Dorfman said. “Tennis is really tough on your body. Pickleball is relatively easy on your body. Padel is somewhere in the middle. It’s sort of the Goldilocks racket sport.”
The PPL is looking to take what primarily has been a participatory sport in the U.S. and make it a spectator entity, similar to what’s happening in pickleball. Padel, however, has some fundamental differences from pickleball, and in particular, it uses walled courts and often features long rallies.
“Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and the Pro Padel League is uniquely positioned to lead that continued expansion in the U.S.,” Schnall said in a statement. “The PPL’s momentum, world-class talent, and innovative team model create a powerful, scalable platform.”
Along with Gabe Plotkin, Schnall acquired the Hornets from Michael Jordan in 2023. That deal did not result in an immediate change of fortunes for the franchise, with non-playoff seasons in 2024 and 2025. The Hornets, however, currently have a 7.5-game lead for the final play-in spot in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
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