Padel Haus Heads to Atlanta in Latest Expansion Move
The brand now has seven locations open or upcoming as hope grows that padel can follow in pickleball’s footsteps as the next big racket sport
Padel Haus is coming to Atlanta, announcing plans to open a club in Georgia’s capital city as the padel brand continues to expand beyond its New York City roots.
Founded in 2022, Padel Haus has three clubs up and running, all in Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Domino Park and Dumbo), with another planned for Greenpoint and further openings set for Nashville, Tennessee, and Denver, Colorado.
The Atlanta club will be Padel Haus’ seventh location and is expected to open in early 2025. It will become the first dedicated padel club in Atlanta.
The 24,500-square-foot facility will be located at Westside Paper, a former manufacturing plant turned into a mixed-use facility in Atlanta’s West Midtown area.
Padel Haus Atlanta will feature six courts, including one center court for international competition, and 40-foot ceilings. Other amenities will include a juice bar, upscale locker rooms with rain showers, a pro shop and the Padel Haus Academy, which offers padel instruction.
“We are thrilled to bring Padel Haus and this exciting sport to the vibrant Atlanta community, which boasts a thriving racket sports culture,” said Padel Haus founder and CEO Santiago Gomez. “With the Atlanta BeltLine set to reach our doorstep by 2025, the enhanced connectivity and artistic influence of the neighborhood make this an ideal location for us.”
The Next Pickleball?
Since launching in 2022, Padel Haus has quickly grown its portfolio of clubs as demand for racket sports surges nationwide. Last year, the brand raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round to fuel expansion.
Padel Haus and its investors are banking on the idea that padel will follow in the footsteps of pickleball, which has become a nationwide phenomenon as brands including Life Time race to open up courts across the country.
Padel shares some similarities with pickleball, but it’s more closely related to other racket sports.
Created in Mexico in the 1960s, padel is essentially a cross between tennis and squash. It uses the same scoring system as tennis, but courts are significantly smaller, and the ball can be played off plexiglass walls that surround the court, similar to squash.
Padel is typically played in a doubles setting, which adds a social aspect that could help the sport grow.
According to Padel Haus, “padel is more dynamic” than pickleball “due to the surface area and nature of the sport.”
“It has the versatility of tennis, intensity of squash and pace of pickleball,” the brand adds.
Breaking Down the Demand for Padel
Worldwide, padel has seen some impressive growth as of late – in 2016, there were around 10,000 courts across the globe. By 2023, there were over 40,000. That number is expected to grow to 70,000 by 2026.
Around 25 million people play padel worldwide in over 90 countries. Spain is by far the most padel-obsessed country, with an estimated 5.5 million participants. Italy comes in second place with around 1.5 million.
The United States, by contrast, has around 90,000 players.
There are signs, however, that America’s padel scene is growing. As of this summer, there were 15 states with multiple padel clubs, according to The Padel State.
Last year, the Pro Padel League (PPL) launched as North America’s first professional padel league, while sports teams including the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Galaxy have invested in padel courts and competitions.