• Loading stock data...
Monday, May 5, 2025

Padel Is Sparking a ‘Gold Rush’ in the Crowded Racket Sport Space

The Pro Padel League is on the verge of breaking out in the U.S. as the game attracts athletic, young “like-moneyed masters” and a flock of investors.

Pro Padel League
Front Office Sports
Exclusive

Jayson Werth: Winning Belmont Stakes ‘Comparable’ Emotions to World Series

Werth spoke to FOS at Churchill Downs about the race day high.
Read Now
May 3, 2025 |

BROOKLYN — A fleet of Ubers navigated the winding streets near the Brooklyn Navy Yard on a rainy Thursday evening. Their passengers, many clad in the customary business attire of the finance world, were enthusiasts of padel—a fast-paced sport played on indoor courts with glass walls, which originated in Mexico in the 1960s.

They’d come to see the Pro Padel League City Cup, otherwise known as The Finals. The event echoed the style and cachet of Roger Federer’s Laver Cup, bringing the world’s top players battling fiercely for the coveted $100,000 grand prize beneath a canopy of vibrant, colorful lights illuminating the glass walls and the black playing surface with its sharp white lines. Eataly and Adidas were the event’s sponsors.

“I want this to be the next-gen US Open,” Mike Dorfman, new PLL CEO and New York Atlantics franchise founder, tells Front Office Sports. Dorfman, a self-proclaimed “early-stage start-up guy” with a background in insurance and technology, developed a deep passion for padel and purchased the New York franchise last year with a group of investors. “As a lifelong Knicks and Rangers fan, I thought the opportunity to own a professional sports team in New York was just an incredible thing, too good for me to pass up.” 

Recently, Dorfman acquired a majority stake in the league from cofounders Marcos Del Pilar and Keith Stein. Launched in 2023 with seven teams, the PPL expanded significantly in 2024, with 10 franchises and four tournaments across the U.S. In the crowded world of racket sports—including pickleball and paddle tennis—padel is looking to find a foothold in the U.S.

The sport attracted high-profile investors, including Puerto Rican reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, who backed the Orlando Flowrida Goats (he tells FOS the sport “truly captured my heart”); EEP Capital, owner of the L.A. Beat; Vegas Golden Knights co-owner Gavin Maloof, who invested in the Las Vegas Smash; former Serie A and MLS star Sebastian Giovinco, now part of the Toronto Polar Bears; and former ATP world No. 2 Tommy Haas, who holds a stake in the San Diego Stingrays.

As the sport’s professional scene gains momentum, amateur interest in padel is surging in cities including Miami and New York. It’s also picking up pace among young players. 

“It is a networking superconductor for athletic, like-minded, like-moneyed masters of the universe,” Del Pilar tells FOS. Many people in padel circles refer to Del Pilar as the godfather of the sport in the U.S., not only for his contributions to padel’s growth but also for giving it its proper pronunciation, pa-dél, to differentiate it from paddle or platform tennis. “It’s the new golf for business and relationships,” he says.

Del Pilar is from Spain, where padel is the second-most-popular sport after soccer. According to the International Padel Federation (FIP), more than 5.5 million people play padel in the country, which has more than 16,000 dedicated courts.

The U.S. still has a lot of ground to cover, but Del Pilar anticipates hockey stick growth in terms of courts and players throughout the next half-decade. Marcus Jansson-Ryan, EEP Capital CEO and the PPL’s L.A. Beat franchise GM, agrees. “In five years, we’ll probably reach 10 to 15,000 courts in the U.S., and from there a conservative estimate is that we should be able to get to 25,000 to 30,000 padel courts before the next decade is over.”

Pro Padel League

Many in the U.S. padel industry also believe the sport is primed to create the next “gold rush,” as Del Pilar puts it.

EEP Capital, a venture capital firm focused on padel backed by Swedish NHL players Filip Forsberg, Jacob Markström, Mattias Ekholm, Elias Lindholm, and William Nylander, was the first fund to invest in the sport in the U.S. In late 2022, they made their first investment in Padel Haus, New York’s first padel club, which is about to hit three locations in the city. The rising demand for padel has prompted Padel Haus to expand in additional markets, with new facilities planned for Denver, Nashville, and Atlanta in 2025. EEP was also an early investor in the L.A. Beat. 

“We’ve seen how padel had grown internationally, and we feel that there was a huge opportunity for a league format in the world’s largest sports market,” Jansson-Ryan says. 

So far, it’s panning out. The FIP reports that as of 2024, the U.S. is home to more than 70 padel clubs and 500 courts—double the number from 2023. And the PPL has also brought the best players to the U.S., which drew more than 15,000 in-person attendees for its regular-season tournaments, surpassing 7.5 million streams over the course of the 2024 season.

“[PPL tournaments] will be like an avant-garde version of the US Open,” Dorfman says. “A little bit more intimate and cooler, but you have the same quality of competition and hospitality experience for fans. That’s the level we’re going for.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Kentucky Derby Sets Ratings, Betting Records Despite Attendance Dip

The crowd of 147,406 at Churchill Downs was down 6% from last year.
Athlos

Nike Wants to Pull Off the First Women’s Sub-4:00 Mile

Experts speak on whether Nike’s “moonshot” is realistic or a gimmick.
Apr 12, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; MLB umpire Ron Kulpa (46) calls a third strike during a game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field

Pro Refs Get Offered Free Lasik for Better Calls. Some Took It

Some pro officials have sprung for the offer for free corrective surgery.

Sovereignty Wins Kentucky Derby, $3.1M Purse

The total purse was raised to $5 million last year.

Featured Today

Mint juelps

Inside the 120,000-Cup Mint Julep Frenzy of Kentucky Derby Weekend

The official cocktail at Churchill Downs costs $22—or $5,000.
May 1, 2025

How Larry Collmus Became the Longest-Running Kentucky Derby Caller

Collmus will call his 15th straight Derby on NBC.
Apr 25, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium
April 30, 2025

The Pirates Are Struggling, But Paul Skenes Fever Is Still Spreading

The 22-year-old pitcher is (finally) giving Pittsburgh something to cheer for.
April 29, 2025

How DJ Adam Amin Mixes Baseball With Bangers

Amin is one of Fox’s top NFL and MLB voices.

F1 Doubles Down on U.S. With Record-Setting Miami GP Extension

After four editions of the race, F1 is loving South Florida.
May 2, 2025

TGL Team Owner Marc Lasry: TV Ratings Peak Was 4X Better Than..

Lasry said TGL would have been happy with 250,000 viewers per match.
Jun 23, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) passes the ball against Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith (1) during the second half of a basketball game at Wintrust Arena.
May 2, 2025

WNBA Takes Its Preseason College Series to a New Level

Multiple preseason WNBA games will be broadcast nationally.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Portfolio Players is our bi-weekly spotlight on the athletes and investors reshaping the business of sports. This week, venture capitalist Kai Cunningham unpacks why athletes land top deals and how the usual investing rules don’t always apply.
May 2, 2025

Mets, Dodgers, Pitch Clock Push MLB to Best April Attendance Since 2017

The league eyes a third straight boost at the gates this season.
May 1, 2025

Liberty Media Faces Rising Speculation Over Potential F1 Sale

Pending sale rumors persist around the motorsports property.
Jul 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike (3) shoots the ball against LA Sparks forward Dearica Hamby (5) and LA Sparks forward Rickea Jackson (2) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
May 1, 2025

‘We’ve Been Aggressive’: WNBPA Director on CBA Negotiations

Priorities include improved salaries and more accessible maternity benefits.
April 30, 2025

NHL Coaching Carousel Spins Fast, Even for Highest-Paid

Eight teams are currently looking for new head coaches.