The following article about America’s top padel influencers is from guest columnist Freddie Hanbury, a sports marketing professional and padel enthusiast, who is seeking to chronicle some of the most influential players, thinkers, and business people in the U.S. padel world in light of the sport’s explosive growth across America over the past couple years.
This is part three of a four-part series and the following U.S. padel personalities are featured in no particular order.
Nalle Grinda: Co-founder and Chief of Padel, Padel X
If there’s one person who has really done it all when it comes to padel, it’s definitely Nalle Grinda.
He grew up playing on the original Corcuera court in Acapulco… he was a five-time French national padel champion… he played pro padel (and was ranked as high as #42 in the world)… he helped build the first two courts in Miami… he founded the first padel club in Nice, France… he was instrumental in hosting a World Padel Tour event to Miami in 2022… and he even had a hand in bringing another of our top influencers, Marcos del Pilar, to the U.S.
And now he’s helped create one of the most unique and impressive padel clubs in not only Miami, but the entire U.S., in the form of the recently opened Padel X, of which he is both the co-founder and Chief of Padel.
While Grinda already has an entire lifetime’s worth of incredible padel experiences under his belt, his immense passion for the sport and bold plans for the future suggest his padel journey is really just getting started.
Benji Markoff: Co-founder of Padel United Sports Club
No stranger to entrepreneurship, the latest venture for Benji Markoff comes in the padel industry. His state-of-the-art padel club (which is the first of its kind in New Jersey) will offer its members the opportunity to play on the highest quality courts as well as enjoy the luxuries of a variety of wellness treatments which wouldn’t look out of place in a high-end spa.
As detailed on his Padel Mecca substack, Markoff believes that padel can bond a community by fostering growth and encouragement. And what started as a fun hobby with his friends has turned into a multi-million-dollar enterprise where the sky is the limit for people like Markoff, with his relentless drive for personal growth, passion for health and well-being, and the desire to build a community around those ideals.
Shannon Hudson: Founder of Matrix Padel Club, and co-owner of Arkansas Matrix pro padel team
Shannon Hudson brought a world-class racket-sports facility to Lowell, Arkansas (yes, Arkansas!) with her Matrix Club concept — which included one of the first batches of padel courts in the U.S.
Hudson’s passion for the rackets industry was founded upon a childhood spent competing in tennis across the U.S. And now she is on a mission to not only promote, grow, and develop more well-known racket sports, but also build awareness about padel through her popular club and the Matrix Pro Padel League team she co-owns along with her husband and mother.
Elliot Carnello: CEO of Ace Padel and co-founder of LA Padel Invitational
“Palm Beach meets padel… what’s not to like?” That’s what this young visionary of the sport thought when he decided to launch his first Ace Padel club in Florida. He also identified padel not just as a sport but an entire lifestyle.
A former ATP tour player, now turned padel pro, Carnello co-founded Ace Padel with a simple goal: to provide high-quality facilities with a sense of luxury, ensuring a top-notch experience both on and off the court.
Carnello has used his superior networking skills and knowledge of the rackets industry to help launch both Ace Padel and his LA Padel Invitational concepts onto the scene, immediately drawing wide-spread attention to padel in the U.S.
Andres Robelo: Founder and CEO of Playbypoint
Andres Robelo launched Playbypoint in 2016, well before most people in the U.S. had ever even heard of padel. But his ingenuity and willingness to be ahead of the curve have left him out in front nearly a decade later.
Playbypoint is now the leading padel club management software in the U.S. And Robelo’s desire to deliver unparalleled results and excellence have now placed his brainchild within the top 10% of all sporting apps in the U.S.
The founder himself is recognized for his sheer brilliance. He recently appeared among a panel of the industry’s finest at RacquetX discussing the ever-changing nature of sports management.
Playbypoint’s recent deal with Playsight revolutionizes the social game and illustrates the understanding Robelo has for the racket sports industry. He is a true titan of his industry and is crucial to the development and management of the growing U.S. padel industry.
We’ll be back soon with part four of this series on America’s top 20 padel influencers, so please stayed tuned (or just subscribe to our “State of the Game” newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn). In the meantime, drop us a line in the comments below or on LinkedIn and let us know who else you think should be included.
