While the popularity of padel continues to grow in Europe, the situation is very different on the other side of the Atlantic where the sport is still struggling to develop in a similar way.

Similarly, the interest of the American public in major international padel competitions (WPT, FIP or others) also remains very mixed.

To remedy all this, Marcos Del Pilar, world ambassador of padel with many hats and President of the “US Padel Association”, knew how to surround itself to create a league under the American commercial model and a competition cut for the American public: the Pro Padel League (PPL).

del pillar league padel

La PPL is the first professional padel league in North America.

She unveiled a 4-year plan to develop the sport in the "land of the free" and roll it out in its main cities ranging from New York to Miami and from Washington to Los Angeles.

For the first time, the PPL thus offers a league of padel teams based on a franchise model like that of the other major American leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, etc.).

7 deductibles at the start

7 franchises per city, divided between the USA, Canada and Mexico, have already been created and have responded favorably to the call of this first inaugural season:

  • Toronto (Polar Bears)
  • Miami (Padel Club)
  • Los Angeles (Beat)
  • Cancún (Waves)
  • Las Vegas (Smash)
  • San Diego (Stingrays)
  • Arkansas (Matrix)
league-padel-usa

We will notice in passing the presence of certain former big names in tennis in the staff of some of these franchises: Juan Martín Del Potro within the Miami Padel Club or Tommy Haas at the San Diego Stingrays.

As for its big brothers in the NFL or the NBA, these 7 franchises were able to choose from a panel of 500 players from all over the world during a special event (Draft) organized on March 20th.

Each team is made up of 4 players: 2 men and 2 women as well as 4 substitutes.

May 13 will start the regular season, it will take place over five weekends with the seven competing teams and will conclude with a final weekend on June 10 and 11, 2023 (semi-finals and final).

The best team will be awarded the first “PPL Cup” in history.

For this inaugural season, all matches, in partnership with Florida's Sports Coast, will be played at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center (SVB) in Florida in Zephyrhills (near Tampa), one of the pioneering clubs in the development of padel in the United States.

Top start in 2024

From 2024, it is expected that teams will play in their own cities and facilities.

Currently, padel has more than 25 million players worldwide and its popularity is increasing in the United States.

The number of courts is expected to double in 2023 and more than 8 million players could play our sport in the United States by 2030.

La PPL will enable players, coaches, team owners, facility owners, broadcasters, fans, sponsors and brands to capitalize on and participate in the explosive growth of the discipline.

In order to celebrate the Spanish roots of padel, the PPL made “VAMOS” its official slogan.

For more information on the PLP: https://propadelleague.com

poster-league-padel-usa

Teams and players 

Las Vegas Smash Sergio Icardo Alconsa (Spain)
Javier Lopez Garcia (Dubai)
Alfredo Desiati (USA)
Sebastian Castaneda (USA)
Tia Norton (UK)
Aranzazu Gallardo (Mexico)
Mariana Talarico (USA)
Jen Buckley (USA)  		Miami Padel Club Jose Grizpe (USA)
Simon Charaf Jones (Mexico)
Mateo Coles (USA)
Luis Fernando Ramirez Aristeguiela (USA)
Paloma Cortina (USA)
Brittney Dubins (USA)
Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Mexico)
Anna Larionova (USA)  
Cancun Waves Manual Jose Fernandez Dias (Spain)
Francisco Riveroll (USA)
João Graca (USA)
Gabriel Arraiz (USA)
Rosalie Vanderhoek (Netherlands)
Carla Romagosa (USA)
Ana Belem Fernandez (Mexico)
Patricia Garcia Caldedero (Spain)  		Toronto Polar Bears Nicholas Xiviller (USA)
Mariano Cabrera (USA)
Fausto Baraldi (USA)
Niko Kedzo (USA)
Andrea Samson (USA)
Daniela Ruiz Alvarez (USA)
Lucy Marshall (USA)
Maria Magraner (USA)  
San Diego Stingrays Jacobo Blanco DeMiguel (USA)
William Agritelly (USA)
Raleigh Smith (USA)
Elliot Carnell (USA)
Riva Mackie (USA)
Nancy Dingwall (USA)
Marta Morge Alonso (USA)
Veronica Liz Costabel (USA)  		Arkansas Matrix Nico Agritelley (USA)
Pedro Alonso Martinez (USA)
Carlos Luna (Ecuador)
Tom Trinh (USA)
Egle Petrauskaite (USA)
Astrid Gehre (USA)
Irene Cavero Dominguez (Spain)
Belen Salcedo (USA)  
Los Angeles Beat Luis Estrada (USA)
Alejandro Alcaraz Gonzalez (Mexico)
Nicolas Palmeque (USA)
Nicolas Clerc (USA)
Jordana Lujan (USA)
Maria Paulina Gamboa Yenez (Mexico)
Clementina Riobuena (USA)
Erin Roberts (Canada)  		 

Calendar of meetings 

May 13, 2023Toronto Polar Bears vs Miami Padel Club
May 13, 2023Los Angeles Beat vs. Cancun
May 13, 2023Las Vegas Smash vs. Arkansas Matrix
May 14, 2023Arkansas Matrix vs. Los Angeles Beat
May 14, 2023Cancun vs. Miami Padel Club
May 14, 2023Toronto Polar Bears vs. San Diego Stingrays
May 20, 2023Los Angeles Beat vs. San Diego Stingrays
May 20, 2023Las Vegas Smash vs. Toronto Polar Bears
May 20, 2023Arkansas Matrix vs. Cancun
May 21, 2023Cancun vs. Las Vegas Smash
May 21, 2023Toronto Polar Bears vs. Los Angeles Beat
May 21, 2023San Diego Stingrays vs Miami Padel Club
May 27, 2023Las Vegas Smash vs. Miami Padel Club
May 27, 2023Arkansas Matrix vs. San Diego Stingrays
May 27, 2023Cancun vs. Toronto Polar Bears
May 28, 2023Toronto Polar Bears vs. Arkansas Matrix
May 28, 2023San Diego Stingrays vs. Las Vegas Smash
May 28, 2023Miami Padel Club vs. Los Angeles Beat
June 3, 2023San Diego Stingrays vs. Cancun
June 3, 2023Miami Padel Club vs. Arkansas Matrix
June 3, 2023Los Angeles Beat vs. Las Vegas Smash
10-11 June 2023Semi-Finals and Final

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