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.