“Brand Padel USA” : Ben Nichols and the Making of America’s Next Big Sport

An exclusive interview with Ben Nichols, Founder and CEO of Padel 22.

It’s easy to get swept up in the energy around padel’s rise in the United States. Clubs are opening (with 51% year on year growth). Investors are circling. And for once, America feels like it’s late to the party, not early.

But for Ben Nichols, one of the sport’s most renowned storytellers, this moment is about more than numbers or noise. It’s about building something lasting. Something meaningful. Something that fits the culture.

“America embraces sport in a big way,” he says. “It embraces trends in a big way. And padel is both.”

Nichols is speaking from experience. Since launching his agency Padel 22 in late 2022, he’s worked with some of the most important players in the U.S. padel scene, the likes of the at the time largest American operator, Taktika, the Pro Padel League, the country’s top professional padel league competition, Playtomic, the tech platform spearheading the global padel community and Conquer Padel, a forward-thinking company delivering the first wave of padel franchises in the U.S.. Alongside these partnerships, he co-founded new platforms like Property+Padel, a global networking series combining the padel industry and real estate industry and the Anglo-American Padel Cup, the soon-to-launch Britain - America showdown tournament debuting this October in London with the second event heading to the U.S. in 2026. There’s his Michelin style padel resort guide, Club Águilas, and, most recently in a prophetic move, what he likes to call “the Profluence for Padel”, his padel business membership community, Insider 22. 

If the U.S. is now waking up to padel’s potential, Nichols has already been at work behind the scenes - perhaps almost prophetically - helping lay the groundwork.

A Sport and a scene

When Nichols talks about padel in America, he rarely starts with the technical side of the game. His view is broader. He sees it as a sport, yes, but more pointedly as an impending cultural wave.

“There’s this idea that padel is just another sport to play,” he says. “But in the U.S., it will become more than that. It’s already becoming a way for people to meet, to socialise, to feel like they’re part of something healthy, fun and fresh.”

In other words, it’s not just about playing. It’s about belonging. That might help explain why the sport is attracting people who wouldn’t necessarily consider themselves athletic in the traditional sense, and might be the reason why padel communities such as Andi Neugartten’s female-focussed 6LoveSports are on the up. 

And that, according to Nichols, is exactly where the opportunity lies.

Laying foundations

Nichols didn’t wait for the sport to become established in America before jumping in. Early on, he saw signs that the U.S., with its scale, sports-savvy population, and openness to new experiences, was the ideal place for padel to thrive.

He started by working with Taktika, one of the country’s first operators. From there, the list grew. The Pro Padel League brought a franchise team format to the sport. He was part of the RacquetX team from the start as the Robyn Duda-founded business captured the moment by launching America’s “festival of racquet sports”. Vamos Racquets built a community-driven suburban club in New Jersey. Conquer Padel launched America’s first franchise model for clubs. And Playtomic, the world’s leading padel booking app, has already captured around half of the U.S. booking market in the less than year it has been truly active in the U.S.

Each of these partnerships, Nichols says, involved building from scratch. “You’re not coming in to tweak something that already exists. You’re helping shape the whole thing, what the brand looks like, how it speaks, who it’s for––and in some cases, an audience that doesn’t exist yet but will be abundant before too long.”

That experience also led to new ventures of his own. Property+Padel emerged from the realisation that if the the padel market is to scale, access to land and real estate must be at the heart of the equation, created with fellow Co-Founder Rohit Grewal. Following networking events in London, New Jersey and Miami, Property+Padel has built a global community through the connection of Padel and Real Estate sectors. Meanwhile, Club Águilas, launched with creative director Joe Middleton, is aimed at a more lifestyle-focused, design-led audience. Aguilas serves as the “Michelin Guide for Padel Clubs” with extraordinary clubs - the world’s elite, as Nichols puts it - earning ‘Eagle’s Wings’ (think of it as a Michelin Star for padel). Together, these enterprises reflect Nichols’ core belief that the sport has the range to serve very different audiences, depending on how it is presented.

The Modern Club

So what do U.S. padel clubs actually look like?

According to Nichols, there isn’t one clear model and that’s a good thing. “Some clubs are being built purely around the sport. People are going there to compete, to train, to improve. And others are more social, people go to meet friends, grab a drink, listen to music, jump in the cold plunge.”

He points to PadelX in Miami as a great example of a padel-first club focused on performance and community building. But he also believes the lifestyle model, where padel is paired with co-working, wellness, or entertainment elements, will have a strong place in the American market.

“There are people who just want to play. And there are people who want the whole experience, play, hang out, and socialise. The U.S. is big enough for both to thrive.”

Looking ahead

Padel’s inclusion in the Olympics has been a hot topic in global circles, but Nichols is careful not to link that too closely with what’s happening in the U.S. just yet.

“I don’t think the current growth in America is about the Olympics,” he says. “But once padel becomes an Olympic sport, and I think it will in 2032, you’re going to see a big shift. The U.S. will want to compete. That will drive infrastructure, youth development, and school programs.”

He expects that moment to bring national structures into play. Young players will see a clear pathway. Countries will begin thinking about eligibility rules. Some players may even switch nations based on their family heritage or opportunity to qualify.

“It’s not going to be overnight. But once the Olympic question is answered, it will accelerate everything.”

Shared momentum

In March, Nichols visited RacquetX in Miami, a first-of-its-kind conference bringing together thousands of leaders from across tennis, padel, pickleball, squash and other racquet sports. For him, it marked something important.

“RacquetX is a symbol of where we are,” he says. “Tennis is doing well. Pickleball is exploding. Squash is gaining ground again and just got Olympic status. And now padel is joining that story.”

Rather than seeing other racket sports as competition, Nichols views them as allies. “They feed into each other. Someone who plays tennis might try padel. Someone who plays padel might end up in pickleball. It’s not a rivalry. It’s a collective––the sooner we get behind that philosophy, the better.”

He calls it the “racquets collective” and believes this shared growth mindset is part of what makes the American market so exciting right now.

A long game, but worth the wait

For all the momentum, Nichols is quick to point out that growth won’t happen overnight.

“You’re talking about a big country,” he says. “You’re dealing with different states, planning regulations, timelines, costs. It’s going to take time.”

Still, the pace is picking up. In just the first two quarters of  2025, more than 688 padel courts have opened. States like Philiadephia, Texas  and others are stepping into the market. And interest from real estate and hospitality groups is increasing.

“2026 and 2027 are going to be big years,” he says. “What we’re seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg.”

For the next generation

As our conversation wraps, Nichols offers one final thought, directed at the people thinking about getting involved, whether as players, club operators, entrepreneurs or creatives.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he says. “To be part of a sport that’s just getting started in a country like the U.S., where scale and culture collide. You don’t get many chances like that in sport.”

If you fast-forward a decade, he says, the people who were in early, who helped build the foundations, shape the culture, and tell the stories, will be the ones who helped define what padel became in America.

And for Nichols, that’s what it’s all about.