Padel Smash TV

How do two longtime friends go from playing tennis in Portugal to coaching padel at a Connecticut country club?
Cesc sits down with Jake and Paulo at Ox Ridge Padel in Darien, Connecticut, for a conversation about their journey, the lessons that changed their game, and the work of building a new padel community.
They share how they transitioned from tennis to padel, why a humbling tournament experience forced them to rethink their approach, and how a connection through the UK brought them to Connecticut.
The conversation explores the support they received when moving to the United States, Ox Ridge’s pop-up court setup, and their account of 200 founding memberships sold in pre-sale before players had tried the courts.
We also discuss the social side of padel, what tennis and squash players bring to the game, membership and guest access, court booking, clinics and private lessons. Plus, Jake, Paulo and Cesc share their enthusiasm for Cork Padel rackets.
Watch the accompanying Ox Ridge club feature on Padel Smash TV’s YouTube channel.
Follow the podcast for more conversations with the coaches, players and entrepreneurs shaping padel.

Viva Padel turned an existing tennis facility outside Philadelphia into a five-court indoor Padel club that founder Kai Lee says became operationally profitable in its first month. We explore the real estate, court construction, demand, Wilson partnership, and lessons behind the club's early success.

In Part 3 of Padel Smash’s 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series, we continue inside the show floor with conversations focused on what it takes to build padel the right way in America.
This episode starts with Portico, a company with more than 16 years of experience producing padel courts and canopies. The conversation dives into court engineering, why canopy design matters, how different climates affect court protection, and why quality construction is about much more than simply selling courts.
From there, we spend time with NOX, one of the leading padel brands in the world. Alfonso shares the global vision for NOX across padel, beach tennis, and pickleball, while also discussing market share, high-end racket leadership, shoes, product innovation, and why the brand continues to push for performance at the top of the sport. We also speak with Philip about NOX’s expansion in the United States, their B2B platform, D2C launch, inventory strategy, club relationships, and how the brand plans to grow over the next decade.
The episode then moves into American-made court construction with Off The Glass, a U.S.-based padel court company building steel and glass structures domestically in Indiana. Their conversation highlights the importance of local manufacturing, faster scalability, domestic materials, engineering knowledge, and why the U.S. market may need homegrown court solutions as padel expands.
We also feature Padel Dynamics, a software platform designed to help clubs automate WhatsApp communication and reduce the manual workload on staff. From open match alerts to booking-system integrations and club community messaging, this conversation shows how small operational tools can make a major difference in day-to-day club management.
Finally, we close with Palap, a newer racket brand entering the U.S. market with high-performance rackets at a more accessible price point. Phil shares the story behind the brand, its European roots, U.S. and Canadian distribution, product development, ambassador growth, and why Palap is focused on delivering quality rackets without the inflated cost of major endorsement deals.
Part 3 is all about the foundation of the sport — the courts, canopies, rackets, software, manufacturing, and systems that will help padel grow from early momentum into long-term infrastructure.
Subscribe to Padel Smash and follow the full 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series.
From Miami to the World.

In Part 2 of Padel Smash’s 4-part RacquetX 2026 audio podcast series, we continue our conversations with the people building the future of padel from every angle.
This episode dives into the business behind the sport, starting with Conquer Padel and their franchise model for opening new clubs across the United States. We discuss what future club owners need to understand before entering the market, from real estate and lease negotiations to permitting, design, operations, and why experience matters when building a profitable padel facility.
We also sit down with Dani from the Hexagon Cup 11.11 team to talk about the growth of one of the most exciting formats in professional padel, the evolution of team ownership, prize money, player opportunities, and the possibility of the Hexagon Cup expanding into the United States.
From there, we explore the product and brand side of padel with Heroe’s, including their 2026 racket collection, the Alien line, their strategy for entering the U.S. market, and the role of Padel Plant in Richmond, Virginia. The episode also features OCU Energy, a clean and convenient gummy energy product built for athletes and active lifestyles, along with Padel Mi Amor, a made-in-Italy padel apparel brand bringing style, identity, and performance to the court.
We close with a look at padel infrastructure and local competition through BaseX and MIA Padel League. BaseX explains its foundation system designed to simplify padel court installation without traditional concrete slabs, while MIA Padel League shares how its flexible match-play format is creating more opportunities for players in Miami to compete on their own schedule.
Part 2 is all about the builders - the people creating the clubs, products, leagues, apparel, and systems that will help padel grow across America.

Subscribe to Padel Smash and follow the full 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series.
From Miami to the World.

In Part 1 of our 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series, Padel Smash sits down with Adidas, Babolat, Blanca Padel, Baby Let’s Padel, Born, Padel Tech, Klutch, and CourtsApp to explore the brands, products, technology, and communities helping build the future of padel in America.
Padel Smash presents a special 4-part podcast series from RacquetX 2026, featuring the brands, founders, players, operators, and innovators shaping the next chapter of padel in the United States. Across four one-hour episodes, the series explores the full padel ecosystem: rackets, apparel, club technology, court construction, booking platforms, community building, and the business of growing the sport in America.

Padel is growing fast in the United States, but the real story is bigger than courts.
In this 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series, Padel Smash goes inside one of the biggest racket sports events in America to speak directly with the companies and people building the future of padel. From global racket brands like Adidas and Babolat to emerging names in apparel, technology, club operations, community building, and court infrastructure, this series captures the momentum behind the sport and the businesses helping drive it forward.
Each one-hour episode brings together conversations with founders, players, brand leaders, and innovators who are helping define what padel in America will become.