Miami Padel Club

In the month of April alone, Miami has welcomed some of the best padel players in the world, solidifying the sport’s magnetic popularity in the city that currently boasts the largest padel market in the U.S.

Padel is projected to amass over 10 million players and 30,000 courts by 2029, and the Pro Padel League (PPL) will see to it with its recent debut in the padel capital of the country. Miami’s very own ULTRA CLUB recently played host to an exhilarating, two-week long exhibition that showcased 10 teams competing for the chance to play in the PPL Cup at the end of the year. A $155,000 purse was at stake each week.

See also: The Best Padel Clubs In Miami

PPL Commissioner Marcos del Pilar has high hopes for the sport’s trajectory across the country, catapulted by the launch of this year’s PPL season in a hotspot like Miami.

“Padel is about changing the world and making people’s lives better. Part of my mission creating the Pro Padel League is to serve as a catalyst for growing padel and driving awareness of this great sport across North America,” del Pilar said in an email statement. “I've witnessed the transformative power of padel firsthand, and I want to leave a legacy in the sport with the PPL.”

As the only professional padel league in North America and the only one in the world to feature team-based competition in an engaging franchise format, the PPL summoned an energetic Miami crowd to the sidelines of back-to-back matches starring padel powerhouses. Among the players competing this season, five were ranked number one in their respective countries.

Miami Padel Club clinched Week One of the 2024 PPL season opener, defending their hometown against the Las Vegas Smash in a 2-0 victory. A sold-out crowd watched at the edge of their seats as world number one Ariana Sanchez Fallada and her partner Marta Talavan closed out a straight-set victory, while the New York Atlantics held their own to defeat the Toronto Polar Bears for a third-place title.

New York Atlantics

Week Two saw the victory of the Los Angeles BEAT, defeating “King of Reggaeton” Daddy Yankee’s Flowrida Goats in a deciding mixed doubles matchup. World number eight Jessica Castello and Eli Amatrain of the BEAT took the W in a third-set tiebreaker before Castello joined world number five Tolito Aguirre in the mixed doubles decider, further asserting the team’s dominance.

Los Angeles BEAT

A staunch supporter of the sport with a vision to grow its legacy, Daddy Yankee was seen supporting his team courtside throughout the tournament, joined by multi-platinum reggaeton artist Gente de Zona.

On the rise of padel, the Puerto Rican rapper commented, “Padel is an incredibly thrilling sport. Once I started playing, I couldn't stop. It's enjoyable and gets the adrenaline pumping while breaking a sweat.”

The initial two events at ULTRA CLUB collected nearly 1.6 million streams on the PPL YouTube channel and accumulated a total watch time of just under 500,000 hours, a 25-fold increase in total YouTube watch time in comparison to the entirety of the 2023 season. The stats are in—padel is here to stay.