Ben Nichols, sports marketer and founder of Padel 22, moved from England. to Mount Pleasant at the tail end of July to get in on the ground floor of what he says is the fastest growing sport in the world’s Lowcountry surge.
It’s called padel. Imagine tennis, and then toss in a little bit of racquetball and a dash of squash. Sprinkle in some pickleball. And whatever sporty mush you’re imagining is probably pretty close to how this game works.
Padel is a duos-only racquet sport played on a court smaller than a tennis court but larger than pickleball and surrounded by glass walls. It has seen meteoric growth in the United Kingdom, making international headlines, after spending decades as a niche sport in Mexico, Spain and other Latin countries.
“But you talk to nine out of 10 Americans, and they probably couldn’t tell you what padel is,” Nichols said. “That’s going to change, and it is changing. We’re right at the beginning of the sport’s journey here.”
Background on the new sport
Enrique Corcuera, a Mexican businessman in Acapulco, invented the sport in 1969 in his backyard. His wife wrote the first set of rules, with the walls intended to keep balls from flying into neighboring yards. The sport went to Spain in 1974 and Argentina in 1975, where it grew into a massive national craze.
It maintained that steady following until 2019, when it suddenly hit a huge growth spurt in Sweden and the U.K.
“Padel has been doing similar things in other parts of the world as pickleball has here,” Nichols said. “It’s grown to over 2,000 courts in the U.K. now. A few years ago, we had not even half that. The U.S. journey is coming slightly later, but we’re seeing a tremendous upward turn now.”
Padel has a lot to contend with to root itself in the United States, though, he added. Centuries of deeply rooted sports culture surrounding football and baseball are just two examples. (Just think how long it has taken soccer to break through.) But the “anomaly” of pickleball gives a glimmer of opportunity for a sport like padel to spread like wildfire.
Padel has a small but dedicated fandom spread across the nation. Courts are often occupied in Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York. And Nichols is convinced Charleston will be home to the next big boom.
Why Charleston?
“I wanted to be in a place that I thought truly embodied what the sport is about — playing outdoors in a good climate, social and upbeat, modern,” he said. “This is the perfect place.”
Charleston has been recognized as a top tennis destination several times already, topping the United States Tennis Association list in 2010 and other charts as recently as 2018.
But what caught Nichols’ attention was Charleston’s own growth and how it mirrors the journey padel has taken.
“Charleston is very embryonic,” he said. “In five years, it will look very different. This is going to be a sport that embeds itself into the culture here, and I’m really excited to see that happen.”
There are already a few padel courts in the area, including the first public padel court in the state on Daniel Island. The first true indoor padel club in the nation is opening in Mount Pleasant in November, and another club is expected to come to Johns Island sometime next year, Nichols said.
“The most interesting country for padel right now is the U.K., just in terms of growth and playerbase,” he said. “But the most interesting opportunity is in the U.S.. … The more interesting challenge is starting from nothing here in Charleston as opposed to where it’s already growing.”
Getting involved
The coming Mount Pleasant club, opening under national padel club operator PATL, is looking to set the national standard for what these clubs should be.
“Charleston will be one of the nicest facilities in the country if we can execute the way we want to,” said PATL founder Andrew Herring. “We’re just waiting on construction now, but we’re hoping late this year, we’ll be able to get people on the courts.”
Though opening a club in Charleston isn’t without challenges — most of which are handled by building the courts indoors rather than open-air.
“Running an outdoor padel club is really difficult,” Herring said. “The weather is brutal. Whether it’s rain or extreme heat, you’re just really exposed, and the glass walls act almost like a magnifying glass. And from a business standpoint, it’s really difficult to constantly play weather man.
“You get rid of that headache, people lock in their plans, and life gets a lot easier.”
PATL already operates courts in Atlanta and Louisville, Ky. Courts are open to the public, with paid memberships offering access to exclusive events, discounts and other benefits.
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