Kicking off the 2022 World Padel Tour Season, the Blockchain.com Miami Padel Open debuted at the Island Gardens Marina from February 22 through February 27.

Led by notable businessman and Miami-based investor Wayne Boich of Boich Investment Group, the inaugural premier lifestyle sporting event featured a collection of notable celebrity attendees throughout the week. Rounding up the leading professional padel athletes from around the world to compete in what has become the fastest growing sport, the event has made waves in Miami this past week.

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The games kicked off on Tuesday, February 22 with the beginning matches at 12 p.m. followed by a feature match at 7 p.m. American actor and comedian Vince Vaugn was seen in the stands during the feature match eagerly watching and cheering for the underdog player. Vaugn said, “It’s super fun, what an exciting event to be at and the guys are playing hard. It's been a lot of fun to watch.” Vaugn was absolutely blown away by his first-ever padel experience, so much so that he was seen FaceTiming his friends from the crowd showing them the high stakes sport on his phone.

Jimmy Butler and Wayne Boich

Legendary Miami Heat player, Jimmy Butler participated in the Miami Padel Open to support his partner, Boich during his padel match. Butler also served as the events official Honorary Chairperson. “I’m here to show love because I love Miami, I love the game of padel and that is why i’m here…It has been incredible. I get to watch people that actually love what they’re doing and their craft. I definitely respect that," Butler expressed. During match breaks, Butler excitedly played some padel and even partook in several playful one-on-one games with journalists who came to cover the event.

Thursday night around 7 p.m., the tournament's highly anticipated charity pro-am and celeb match commenced. Former Miami Heat star, Shane Battier and former American doubles world number one tennis player, Bob Bryan went head-to-head against model Sandy Meyer Woelden and Bob Bryan's wife, Michelle Alvarez Bryan. “I'm just honored to be a part of the pro-am. It's the first time I've ever played padel so we’ll see what I got," said Battier. Although the ladies excitedly took home the win for the night's pro-am match, both teams had a great time and played honorably.

Legendary rapper Rick Ross wrapped up the event by taking center stage to perform his hit song ‘Ima Boss’. Guests gathered as Ross brought Boich on stage and commended him for the successful event as well as shouting out Blockchain.com, the event’s presenting sponsor. Ross continued to get the crowd going with a stellar performance of ‘Purple Lamborghini,’ ‘Pop That,’ and ‘I’m On One.’

Ross summed up the event perfectly by stating, “It’s the first but it's already the biggest…It’s a lot of legends and future legends in this city." The innagural event was quite the sucess and the city is already counting down until the next one!