For those of us in the U.S. squash world, the names Mike Puertas, Nathan Dugan, and Mark Heather carry some serious weight, despite the fact that they all originally hail from the U.K.
All three have been top-ranked players on both the professional singles (PSA) and doubles (SDA) tours, with multiple titles to their names. All three have won numerous U.S. national championships in both singles and doubles. And all three have built thriving squash programs at prominent athletic clubs around the country including The Racquet Club of St. Louis, The Cincinnati Country Club, and The University Club of Chicago.
So, when I heard the trio was combining forces and making a major move into the world of padel and pickleball, I immediately reached out to learn more.
“Late” to the Game, Early to the Party
The first thing Puertas tells me when I ask about his storied squash background is that he got into the game late. “I started playing at 14 and a half… and turned pro at 16,” he recalls with a smile. He can obviously sense my astonishment (as someone who has now played squash for over 20 years at anything but a pro level), and quickly follows on with, “I took to the game quickly. It was a thing. I was obsessed.”
He adds, “I grew up in the boom times of squash in the ’80s and ’90s in Plymouth in a traditional English squash club, which was four courts and a bar. It was everybody’s social scene. There were 400 members and the place was always rocking. It was an amazing atmosphere.”
After making the finals of the British National Championships for under-19s, Puertas recalls telling himself, “This is what I’m going to do. It’s fun, I’m good at it. I can travel, see the world. I’m going to do this for a living.”
He competed successfully on professional singles tours for much of the next decade and a half before nagging injuries and the rise of Egyptian superstars like Amr Shabana forced him to think about taking his squash career in a different direction.
“I was very familiar with the States from my time on tour and I loved it over here. I became friends with an English guy in Boca Raton, went there for about six to eight months and worked at the club and did some coaching. And then a position came up in St. Louis where they were building new courts at the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC),” he remembers.
Puertas took the MAC job and remained there for a decade before accepting an offer from The Racquet Club of St. Louis to be their Director of Squash, a role he held for the past 17 years before retiring earlier this year to pursue his next project: opening a 42,000 sq. ft. facility that promises to be the world’s largest indoor padel and pickleball club.
From Gateway to the West to Gateway to the “Racket Sports 2.0” Revolution
While St. Louis is already home to an estimated 300 pickleball courts and several dedicated pickle clubs, when Padel + Pickle opens early next year, it will feature the first — and only — padel courts in St. Louis and some of the very few in the whole Midwest thus far.
In fact, with its six panoramic Mundial padel courts, Padel + Pickle is set to be among the biggest padel facilities in the U.S. at this point. Combine that with an additional eight Cushion Master II pickleball courts and you’ll start to get some idea of just what a big deal this club will be for both sports in the U.S. as well as St. Louis racket-sports enthusiasts.
Of his decision to get involved with this massive project, Puertas has said, “St. Louis has such a rich history in racket sports, it was a natural fit for a new facility encompassing two of the fastest growing sports in the world. In creating the world’s largest indoor padel and pickleball facility, our vision was twofold: to introduce these exhilarating sports to a broader audience and to establish a community hub where friends compete and memories are forged.”
From our conversation, it’s obvious that Puertas is deeply invested in re-creating the “rocking atmosphere” of his squash club youth with this new project. Of course, he’s happy to talk about court specifications, marketing strategies, or the various construction headaches they’ve dealt with, but once we start talking about playing the actual games, hosting leagues and tournaments, and members enjoying drinks and laughs at the massive bar after a hard-fought battle on court he really starts to light up.
He tells me, “The logic for us was hearkening back to growing up in the 80’s at our various squash clubs. We want to combine two great sports and make the whole thing a truly special social hub in the same way those squash clubs were. We think it’s a great concept that people will love.”
Déjà Vu All Over Again
With the meteoric rise of pickleball in the US and padel globally over the past five years, to some it might appear that Puertas is once again “late” to the game. But much like with his squash career, he’s diving in headfirst with his trademark optimism and enthusiasm.
He says, “I’ve always been a serial entrepreneur. My mind just never rests, so I am always just thinking of what to do next. I’ve got my shoe company BDog Sport with Nathan [Dugan]. I’ve done some racket companies over the years. I’ve got some commercial real estate that I’ve acquired over the years. I’m always just thinking — and annoying my wife, basically.”
He tells me that the idea of launching a padel venture came about while hosting a pro-doubles-squash event in St. Louis. “I spoke to this young squash player who was there and every second word out of his mouth was ‘padel’, ‘padel’, ‘padel.’ So I pulled him aside and said, ‘Okay, give me the lowdown on this padel thing. I’ve never heard of it, tell me what it’s all about.”
After hearing the same mind-blowing global growth statistics that we probably all have and learning that the sport was finally starting to take off in the U.S. as well, Puertas started intently researching existing padel clubs around the country and their business models. After digging into it a bit, he remembers thinking, “You know what? This is a pretty cool sport — and combined with pickleball, this could be a really hot thing.”
A few weeks later he went to another squash tournament in Atlanta, and while sipping beers with his long-time friends and fellow squash legends, Dugan and Heather, he asked them what they thought about doing a padel and pickleball club. “And that’s how this idea all got started,” he says.
Now, he reports, they are already actively looking at locations to expand their concept in at least two other major U.S. cities. “The early feedback and reception so far has been phenomenal,” he proudly tells me.
Why the Plus Will Definitely Not Be a Minus
When I ask him why he decided to do both sports rather than just focusing on padel, he responds, “I think people are just into all racket sports. There will people who come for the pickle but then gravitate towards padel. Probably some of the higher skilled or younger or more athletic will want that extra action.
I think both sports are great at the entry level and I think both sports offer really challenging dynamics when you get to the upper end. So, I think they’ll work very well together. It will be very interesting to watch how players crossover and play both sports.”
Of his 20 founding members and those who have already locked in “early-bird” memberships he says, “I’d say it’s 90%+ pickleball-centric — with about 70% of those being ‘padel-curious.’ I was just on the padel court yesterday with two founding members who are avid pickleball players for a little ‘preview hit’ and after just a few minutes they said, ‘Oh, oh… yeah, wow! Now I see what everyone’s talking about.'”
Another person who is keenly interested in how the two sports will play off one another is Neil Thomson, co-founder of Short Court Sports, a retro-cool “all-racket-sports” company that offers elevated pickleball apparel, events, and experiences and is looking to move into the padel world in the new year with a focus on clubs that provide — or want to provide — access to both sports.
Of Padel + Pickle, Thomson says, “We couldn’t be more excited or encouraged by a project of this size and scope opening in the U.S. with more on the horizon. Pickle and padel deliver both social engagement and outright joy to the new participant and avid, hard-core player alike. They also both place a major premium on quick reflexes, creative angles, and the right mix of touch, spin, and power — which makes them incredibly fun and dynamic games.
So, it’s really great to see someone bringing them together like this under one roof in such a social-and community-focused way. We greatly look forward to meeting Mike Puertas and his partners and experiencing Padel + Pickle for ourselves once it opens.”
To that end, Puertas reports they should hopefully be ready to roll sometime in early to mid-January. Once open, you can visit them at 1220 N. Price Rd, St Louis, MO, 63132 anytime from 6am to 10pm Monday through Friday or between 7am and 9pm on weekends. For further information please visit their homepage or contact them via email.
