Padel ‘joins the club’ at St. Pete Athletic

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.

Saturday (April 25) marks the grand opening of the padel facilities to the general public (St. Pete Athletic members enjoyed a preview last weekend). 

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 “mecca” internationally. Comparatively, 22 million people play pickleball regularly, according to The Global Pickleball Report.

Padel is increasing in popularity in the US, and St. Pete Athletic (SPA) is responding to that growth. 

“We consider ourselves a three-sport athletic club,” explained Reuben Pressman, one of SPA’s co-owners, “table 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,” 

“We really built a community, and the community revolves around athletics, wellness, and the connections, and so you can’t just do that around one sport.”

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. 

He also became frustrated with balls flying into his neighbors’ 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 “beach” paddles to accommodate the smaller quarters. Thus padel was born. 

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. 

“Ratio-wise, we have 12 all day pickleball courts and two padel courts,” Pressman said. “Most people are here for pickleball. But as people are experiencing (padel), and as more people get to try it, they’re all gonna start to fall in love with it as well.

“We 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.”

People can get the party started early by joining  Friday for a preparty co-hosted by Red Bull international with DJs, demos, and open play. 

 Saturday 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.

“And after the ribbon cutting, it’s basically a party,” said Pressman. “We’ll have coaches here, we’ll have some semi pros doing an exhibition for people to see how the sport looks when it’s played. 

“We have four adult coaches that are on staff that people can book lessons with. They’ll be here and giving tips and while we run different open plays and let anyone that wants to try give it a go.”

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. 

Pressman is confident that padel is here to stay: 

“It’s kind of the next evolution. If you’re here playing pickleball and there’s padel courts, you’re gonna try it out and experience it. And you’re going to like it.”

RSVP here for the grand opening celebrations.