It looks like Pickleball has some competition. Padel—which combines elements of tennis and squash, and is played in doubles on a glass-enclosed court—is becoming one of the fastest-growing racket sports in America. And it’s about to hit Palm Beach in a very big, and very chic, way.
Nick Hissom, Kameron Ramirez, Anders Sulisalo and other prominent investors in the community are set to open Padel Club in West Palm Beach this month. It will be Florida’s first state-of-the-art, stand-alone space dedicated to the sport. Though it was invented in Mexico in the 1960s, Hissom (who co-founded Aktion Art with Ramirez) began playing padel as a child with his father in Spain, where the sport has been popular since the ’90s.
A rendering of the outdoor courts and seating.
The cafe.
“I wanted to get involved with the Padel Club out of passion for the game, following a huge level of interest that developed after the completion of our residential court, which was the first private padel court built in Palm Beach,” he tells PALMER of the court built at the home of his mother and step-father, Andrea and Steve Wynn.
The Club features one indoor, and three outdoors courts, along with a clubhouse designed by Caitlin Kah Interiors. The facility will also include a café, a lounge, locker rooms, and ample indoor and outdoor seating. It’s yet to be seen if the sport will have staying power, or be another novelty. But Hissom is planning on a direct hit. “We hope to expand further in the future,” he says.