To say that Patricio Misitrano is an ambitious and accomplished go-getter in the world of racket sports would be a bit like saying Rafael Nadal is a pretty good tennis player. And it’s immediately clear that this five-time-marathon-finisher is someone who never backs down from a challenge, either.
In fact, the first time I speak with the co-owner of the thriving Norwalk, CT, pickleball and padel club known as Sports Haus, he tells me he’s dealing with an emergency at another business he runs, but he’d be happy to speak with me for a few minutes… run solve that problem… and then call me right back — all of which he does without missing a beat.
In the short time we initially talk, I learn that among other things Patricio has been: a journalist and television producer in Argentina (where he’s originally from); a U.S. college tennis player (and later coach); a tennis and platform tennis teaching pro (who went on to write the curriculum for certifying hundreds of other platform pros); a long-time director of racquets at ultra-prestigious clubs like Wee Burn, Greenwich Country Club, and Wilton Riding Club; the co-organizer of a 2,500 person pickleball league spread across two states; a racket-sports consultant; and the co-owner of a pickleball and platform tennis paddle brand called SkullU — which was featured on NBC’s The Today Show.
Before having to hang up and go deal with his emergency, Patricio sums up his resume for me by simply saying, “So… I’m very involved in the rackets industry.”
The Long and Winding Road Between Padel’s Past and Future
When we resume our conversation a few minutes later, Patricio delves into his padel background and begins to explain how the Sports Haus concept ultimately came about.
He tells me that he and one of his partners, Juan Arraya, grew up playing tennis and padel together in Argentina, and recalls, “We’ve known each other for 36 years. We played our first prize money padel tournament in the ’90s when we were 15. I’ve known about this sport my entire life. But for about 20 years, [here in the U.S.] there was really nowhere you could play, so I didn’t play for a long, long time.”
After a more than two decade hiatus from the sport, both partners begin playing padel again after the pandemic. Patricio tells me, “One thing led to another… I started playing again last summer and Juan also started playing in 2022 — or maybe 2021 — when he would go to Miami. And then we got more and more involved and saw the opportunity to open our own club.”
(What Patricio doesn’t tell me is that after only returning to the sport a short time ago, he and Juan Arraya are currently the top-ranked men’s 35+ padel team in the U.S. Senior Circuit rankings.)
As you might expect, their third partner, Mark Parsons, is also a lifelong racket sports junkie. In fact, as I later learn, not only is Parsons a four time National Platform Champion, but he was also an All-American tennis player at Tennessee who tallied wins over the likes of Nicolas Massu, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Roger Federer(!) during his playing career.
And while Sports Haus’ final partner, Mark Fischl, doesn’t have an extensive background in padel, he does bring numerous other strengths to the table. According to Patricio, “He’s very involved in rackets. He owns a tennis club on Long Island and has a commercial real estate background. So, between the experience of all of us, we make a very strong team and we know the business very well.”
A Blueprint for Padel’s Future Success in the U.S.
According to Beyond the Baselines, Sports Haus had over 600 membership applications before even beginning work on the 35,000+ square foot warehouse in downtown Norwalk, CT, that is now home to five padel courts, four pickleball courts, two golf simulators, and a cafe/lounge that serves wine and beer.
Patricio credits this amazing success right out of the gate to several factors. For one thing, he tells me, “We have a lot of contacts. Everyone in the country club… tennis… platform… and pickle business knows us or knows who we are. If they don’t know me, then they know one of my partners. So, we are very strong in that regard.”
In addition to their extensive and established network, Patricio also credits their background in rackets programming, saying, “We have experience running national tournaments for platform tennis and one of the biggest pickle leagues in the country, and we’ve hosted many other multi-day events.”
And despite only opening a few months ago, Patricio and his partners are already leveraging this expertise in a big way. He happily tells me, “In just the first few months we’ve had three sold out tournaments with up to 100 players — even though we are brand new. And we’ve even had [11-time world champion and former world #1] Roby Gattiker playing in our events.”
Right Time, Right Space, Perfect Mix, Own Pace
When I ask Patricio about why they decided to include pickleball courts and golf simulators instead of just focusing on padel at Sports Haus, he responds without hesitation, “It was the perfect thing to do. During our busiest times we could use seven or eight padel courts because we have a ton of people wanting to play.
But there are other times when it’s a little slower for the padel, so it’s good to have many other things for people to do. I don’t have exact numbers, but I’m going to guess that we have 50% who only play padel, 30% who only play pickleball, and then the rest play both.”
Their unique hybrid model is obviously working incredibly well. So much so that Patricio proudly tells me, “We were in the black in our first month… we actually made money in our first month.” After congratulating him on this impressive feat, I naturally ask him about their plans for expanding the Sports Haus brand.
“We’re already looking at different sites. But it’s not easy to find the right site, and we’re not going to go into just any area to expand to #2 and #3. It’s got to be an area where we think there is a strong opportunity for us to start being successful right away,” he tells me.
He follows this with, “We have a strategy of how we want to do this, but we are okay with going at our own pace and finding the correct location. We are okay with being very strong at what we do and making sure the location for #2 and #3 and so on is the perfect place for us and for the business.”
Meanwhile, there is more than enough to be excited about on the padel front at the flagship Spots Haus location in the coming year, including 250- and 500-level USPA tournaments and a year-end Senior Masters Finals next December. And having gotten to know Patricio a bit through our conversation, something tells me these events are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he has planned for 2024 and beyond.
Ultimately, he sums up the future outlook for Sports Haus and U.S. padel in general by saying, “We think we are in the right space in the right moment and our background is the perfect mix of experiences. We know what we’re good at and what we need to do to make it a successful project.”
You can visit Sports Haus and their five indoor padel courts daily between 7am and 11pm at 129 Woodward Ave, Norwalk, CT 06854. For further information, please call them at (866) 625-8215 or visit their site.
For a full list of publicly accessible padel clubs and courts, please see our list of Everywhere You Can Play Padel in the U.S. Right Now.
