We’re on location in Sint Maarten at SXM Padel Club with Ricardo Perez, Managing Director of SXM Padel Group, breaking down how a “crazy idea” turned into one of the most active padel communities in the Caribbean.

In this interview, Ricardo shares the real story behind launching the club with no clear market data, converting an abandoned tennis court into a modern padel facility, and building demand through PR, open houses, and a youth program that made padel accessible from day one. We also get into the business side funding the build with a $100,000 grant + $50,000 loan, reinvesting into the club, and reaching ROI in about two years.

Plus: SXM Padel’s next chapter is huge! Ricardo reveals plans for a new 7-court facility (including stadium-style pro courts) designed to host international-level tournaments, expand wellness amenities, and grow padel across the Caribbean.

In this episode of Padel Smash Academy, we’re in San Francisco for a full club review at Park Padel, one of Northern California’s most iconic padel clubs. We sit down with Katie Lampert—co-founder, co-owner, and the ultimate “do-everything” operator—to break down how Park Padel was built and why it’s become a true padel lifestyle destination.

Katie shares the vision behind their indoor facility: a place where you can spend the entire day—play padel, take a work call in a pod, hit a quick workout, recover with Hyperice and NormaTec, then grab a coffee… or a beer. The goal was simple: even indoors, make it feel alive and green—like a park.

We also get super tactical on what makes the business work:

• How their first location at Embarcadero / Market Street created “built-in marketing” with constant foot traffic
• Why their second indoor location required old-school outreach + corporate offsites
• The big unlock: shifting memberships from per-location to access across locations
• Their programming flywheel: Intro to Padel, clinics, socials, Americanos, leagues, tournaments
• The tech stack: moving from PlayByPoint to Playtomic, and why rating + open matches matter
• Their facility details: 6 courts, locker rooms & showers, lounge space, gym, work pods, and more
• The camera system: Clutch—livestreaming, match review, and coaching with video

Park Padel has grown to three locations across the Bay Area region and has real expansion momentum—while staying focused on the one thing that matters most: community.

📍Learn more about Park Padel: parkpadel.com
🎧 Listen to the Padel Smash Academy Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode of Padel Smash Academy, we head to Los Angeles to visit Padel Up and sit down with Abraham Alvarez, the club’s Head Padel Coach, to talk about what it really takes to build padel from the ground up on the West Coast.

Abraham shares his journey starting padel in Miami in 2021, getting instantly hooked after transitioning from tennis, and witnessing the Miami padel boom as clubs started opening fast. Then he moved to LA where padel was basically only happening in private homes—and began teaching house-to-house before helping grow what became one of the most important padel communities in the region.

We get into how Padel Up built community through programming, clinics, leagues, and events, and how that effort turned into a 450-person WhatsApp group. Abraham also breaks down the model: memberships, court pricing, lesson rates, amenities, and why education is a huge part of converting racquet-sport players into real padel players.

If you’re building a padel club, coaching, investing, or you’re just obsessed with the sport’s growth in the US—this one’s for you.

Padel doesn’t grow by accident—and San Diego is proof. In this episode, we sit down with Ryan Redondo, CEO of Tactica Padel, to break down how one coach’s idea turned into a real padel ecosystem—starting with three courts and scaling into one of the most active padel communities in the country.

Ryan shares how Taktika built momentum through an international player base, why access and affordability are non-negotiable for growth, and what it takes to bring padel into public facilities, universities, and new markets. We also talk business: joint ventures, shared revenue models, partnerships, and why infrastructure is the missing link if padel wants to follow the tennis blueprint in the United States.

If you’re building a club, investing in padel, coaching, or just trying to understand where US padel is headed—this is one of the clearest playbooks you’ll hear.

Listen / watch and follow Padel Smash Academy for more club stories, founders, and the business of padel.

In this episode of Padel Smash Academy, we sit down with Matt Gibson, VP of PlaySight, to unpack how smart-court technology and AI are transforming padel at every level. From instant highlights and automated match analytics to coach-ready performance data, Matt explains how PlaySight is changing the way players train, clubs operate, and fans engage with the sport.

We dive into the real-world impact for club owners, coaches, and competitive players—why data visibility matters, how tech accelerates skill development, and what the future looks like as padel scales globally. If you care about the intersection of padel, performance, and technology, this episode is essential listening.

Padel Smash Academy sits down with Mike Dorfman, CEO of the Pro Padel League (PPL), live from Miami during Art Basel week at the Scope Art Fair. Mike breaks down the vision behind bringing the PPL Championship Court to the beach—turning the padel court into a full-on statement piece that stops people in their tracks and gets first-timers to finally experience what makes padel so special.

Mike shares how the activation came to life with artist Ryan Keeley, why awareness is still the #1 mission, and the “three-lane strategy” PPL is building: showcase elite pros for a reality check, introduce complete newcomers to padel for the first time, and create iconic experiences where fans and amateurs can step onto the same court as the pros. We also get a full season recap—five events across three countries, 25,000 attendees, 100M+ video views, and “a couple hundred million” impressions—plus what’s coming next as PPL expands to new U.S. and international cities, keeps the sport accessible (no paywalls), and continues growing distribution across 16+ networks reaching hundreds of millions of households.

In this special on-location episode of Padel Smash Academy, we sit down with Ryan Keeley, the artist behind one of the most ambitious fusions of art and padel to date. Recorded during Miami Art Week, Ryan takes us inside his creative process—how he captures energy through color, environment, and movement, and why Miami’s blues, pinks, water, and sky became the foundation for this immersive padel court and mural installation.

We talk about Ryan’s journey as an artist, from painting garage floors as a kid to creating large-scale murals, skate parks, music stages, and now fully functional padel courts. He shares how this project came together alongside the SCOPE Exhibition during Art Basel, the technical challenges of painting a playable court without impacting performance, and why padel is the perfect canvas for interactive, experiential art.

The conversation also explores what’s next—future padel art projects in Miami, the Hamptons, Malibu, and beyond—plus the headline-grabbing $1.5M padel court artwork designed for hotels, private residences, and collectors who want functional art at the highest level.

If you’re passionate about padel, creativity, culture, and where the sport is heading next, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode of Padel Smash Academy, Cesc and Julian head back to Ballers in Philadelphia to sit down with Moustafa “Moose” Bayoumy, the club’s head coach, to talk about what it really takes to grow padel in a new U.S. market: community first.

Moose breaks down how Ballers built its player base from scratch through intro clinics, consistent programming, and a welcoming pathway from “never held a racket” to beginner, intermediate, and beyond—while also sharing what’s new at the facility (full restaurant + bar, gym, recovery room, locker rooms, and more). The conversation also dives into Ballers’ membership model and tiers, how they’re filling off-peak daytime courts, where new players are coming from (tennis, squash, platform, and even pickleball), and what’s next— including upcoming tournaments and expansion plans in places like Boston and LA.

If you’re a player, coach, or club operator, this one is packed with real-world insights on building momentum, designing a better player journey, and creating a padel community that keeps people coming back.