St. Pete Athletic, which opened up its urban country club-inspired pickleball and fitness facility in early 2026, is expanding to include another paddle sport.<\/p>\n
Saturday (April 25) marks the grand opening of the padel facilities to the general public (St. Pete Athletic members enjoyed a preview last weekend).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sport has grown considerably from its humble origins. According to the International Padel Federation, padel (puh-DEL) is played by over 25 million people worldwide, with Spain being the \u201cmecca\u201d internationally. Comparatively, 22 million people play pickleball regularly, according to The Global Pickleball Report.<\/p>\n
Padel is increasing in popularity in the US, and St. Pete Athletic (SPA) is responding to that growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe consider ourselves a three-sport athletic club,\u201d explained Reuben Pressman, one of SPA\u2019s co-owners, \u201ctable tennis, pickleball, and padel was the extra. The reason we chose padel is it was another up and coming sport. It was international, so it brought kind of that vibe to the whole place,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really built a community, and the community revolves around athletics, wellness, and the connections, and so you can\u2019t just do that around one sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Padel was founded in the 1960s by Enrique Corcuera, a Mexican racquet-sport enthusiast Cocuera wanted to build a tennis court on his property, but had to cut down the dimensions due to size constraints.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also became frustrated with balls flying into his neighbors\u2019 yards, so he enclosed the smaller, tennis-inspired court with four walls. On a roll with his modifications, Corcuera swapped out traditional stringed rackets for wooden \u201cbeach\u201d paddles to accommodate the smaller quarters. Thus padel was born.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While SPA is still heavily pickleball focused, owners are creating space and opportunities for members of the community to try their hand at a new sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRatio-wise, we have 12 all day pickleball courts and two padel courts,\u201d Pressman said. \u201cMost people are here for pickleball. But as people are experiencing (padel), and as more people get to try it, they\u2019re all gonna start to fall in love with it as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had played it, we knew how much fun it was, and we felt like it was the next evolution for people that kind of grow through pickleball or want something more competitive or more athletic. Padel is here for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
People can get the party started early by joining\u00a0 Friday for a preparty co-hosted by Red Bull international with DJs, demos, and open play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Saturday morning will feature an open-play mini tournament from 9 a.m. to noon, with St. Petersburg Mayor Welch expected to make an appearance for a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:30.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after the ribbon cutting, it\u2019s basically a party,\u201d said Pressman. \u201cWe\u2019ll have coaches here, we\u2019ll have some semi pros doing an exhibition for people to see how the sport looks when it\u2019s played.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have four adult coaches that are on staff that people can book lessons with. They\u2019ll be here and giving tips and while we run different open plays and let anyone that wants to try give it a go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The courts, which are the only indoor courts in all of Tampa Bay, will be open for public play from Saturday onwards. No racket? No problem. The on-site pro shop offers hourly rentals and demo rackets for a fee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pressman is confident that padel is here to stay:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of the next evolution. If you\u2019re here playing pickleball and there\u2019s padel courts, you\u2019re gonna try it out and experience it. And you\u2019re going to like it.\u201d<\/p>\n