Unless certain family members are visiting who simply can’t live without it, I personally haven’t watched — or even thought about — Good Morning America since probably the late 1990s. So, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up to a flurry of texts from people across the country telling me I had to put on GMA right away because they were doing a segment on “pickleball’s cousin,” padel.
Perhaps not surprisingly, much of the “Rise & Shine” segment was dedicated to the ongoing debate about how to pronounce “padel” but it also chronicled clubs across the U.S., including Padel Haus in Brooklyn, P1 Padel in Las Vegas, Matrix Club in Arkansas, and The Heights Racquet & Social Club outside Minneapolis — which is one padel club I’ve been particularly wanting to visit as they’re the only one in the U.S. I’m aware of that also features both singles and doubles squash courts.
The piece also featured commentary and coaching from the No. 1-ranked padel duo in the U.S., Luis Estrada and Nico Argitelley, on everything from equipment to grip to swing, before moving on to more coaching tips from pickleball champion turned padel pro, Chad Flynn. (To watch the segment, simply click here or on the image below).
While this one padel feature probably isn’t enough to convince me to start tuning into Good Morning America regularly, I did have to agree with both of their conclusions about the sport: #1) “It’s all about great friends and a good workout” and #2) “[Padel] is huge around the world — and it’s on fire here in the U.S. right now.”
And it’s yet further proof that that the world’s fastest growing sport is about to re-shape the American racket sports landscape in a major way.
