Pro Padel League, North America’s premier professional padel league, has announced its first institutional investment with a $10 million seed round.
The round was led by Left Lane Capital, a consumer-focused venture capital firm that has led several investments into emerging sports leagues, with additional support from Tony Tamer’s family office, Kactus Capital, Gary Vaynerchuk and Epic Padel, among others.
PPL completed this round during a period of rapid exponential growth in its first full season, which saw the securement of a media rights deal with over 16 rights holders globally, giving over 300 million households access to watch the events.
“Padel is already the fastest growing sport in the US, and today’s investment announcement will further accelerate its explosive rise,” said Mike Dorfman, CEO of Pro Padel League.
“In less than two years, PPL has attracted the world’s best players and caught the attention of hundreds of thousands of new fans. This capital will allow us to continue expanding the league’s reach, elevating the competition, and bringing the excitement of padel to a rapidly growing fan base.”
The United States Padel Association estimates there will be 20,000 courts in the U.S. by 2030 with 15 million active padel players. Capitalizing on this momentum, the company has tournaments planned across the United States and Mexico in 2025.
“Having seen the explosion of padel globally, we recognized a chance to partner early with PPL to own the market for one of the fastest-growing emerging sports,” said Harley Miller, CEO and Managing Partner of Left Lane Capital.
“PPL’s differentiated team-based format allows fans and players to rally behind city-based teams in North America, featuring world-class talent. This is one of the many reasons we’re excited to support PPL’s growth as they build a new era for padel.”
With 10 teams across 10 cities in North America, the league has already attracted the interest of former professional tennis players and celebrities alike – including Daddy Yankee, Gavin Maloof, Rod Laver, Ella Emhoff and Andrew Schultz.
With this new capital, PPL plans to increase player incentives, expand events, upgrade tournament conditions, hire key front office talent, including CRO, CFO and Commissioner, and set up a permanent headquarters.
