How They Became Obsessed With Padel: Matthew Jenkins and Antonio Goes
A conversation with the American Collegiate Padel League co-founders...published in Padel Nation
Substack — first published on the newsletter
American padel.The people building it.The stories behind it.
Who this is for
Padel is ridiculously easy to get hooked on.
Maybe you discovered it on vacation in Spain, Portugal or Mexico. Maybe your tennis buddies dragged you onto a court and, three games later, you were looking up rackets. Tennis players tend to get good fast. Everybody gets humbled by the glass.
A few years ago, finding a padel court in the U.S. was an adventure. Now there may be a club down the street. This is for the people playing the sport — and the people building it.
You play
Once a month or five times a week. You're figuring out the glass, arguing about whether that ball was in and wondering when another club is opening nearby.
You build
Club owners, coaches, founders and everyone else trying to turn a sport most Americans had never heard of into something that lasts.
You like a good story
The characters, communities and slightly obsessed people behind American padel. You don't need to know the difference between a bandeja and a vibora to enjoy them.
Latest
Featured articles
Published first on the newsletter, then here in full.
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I talk to co-founder Rodrigo Fernandez in the October issue of Facility
Substack — first published on the newsletter
The Best Tennis I’ve Ever Played
My first job out of college was teaching tennis at Club Med in the British West Indies.
Substack — first published on the newsletter
AmericanPadelStories
with Scott Matulis
Episodes are samplesHow to follow the show
The podcast
American Padel Stories
Conversations with the players, club builders, and obsessives turning padel into an American sport.
48 min01
The Club Builder Who Bet the Farm on Four Courts
A Texas tennis pro remortgaged to build the first padel club in his county. Eighteen months later it is booked solid at 6am.
52 min02
From Buenos Aires to Boca: A Coach's Immigration Story
What an Argentine padel coach found when he arrived to teach a country that had barely heard of the sport.
41 min03
Why Your Racket Costs What It Costs
Carbon supply, factory minimums, and the margin math behind a $300 piece of sporting goods.
Follow along
Clips, court finds, and the occasional rally that went well. @theuspadelguy on all three.
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Every piece on this site started with an idea—something that made me laugh, made me reach out to somebody, or just made me wonder.
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Building a club? Launching a brand?
I am always looking for the next American padel story worth telling.
Get in touch