NYT Just Gave Padel the Vibe Check: America's About to Get Caged In.

The Athletic (a.k.a. The New York Times’ sports arm) just dropped a massive report confirming that US padel is no longer a secret, fueled by massive celebrity backing and hundreds of millions in investment. The piece highlights that the sport is poised for a 10x explosion in court growth, officially positioning padel as the definitive breakout racquet trend set to overtake America.

Primetime Take: Let’s be real, we knew this was coming, but having the cultural gatekeepers at the NYT acknowledge the boom is the ultimate validation that padel has officially graduated from a niche hobby to a full-on mainstream lifestyle. If the Grey Lady is printing it, the court-building frenzy is about to hit its peak—so lock in your preferred court time now, because soon you’ll need a reservation a month in advance!

Glass Walls and Glam: Luxury Mag Confirms Padel Is THE Racquet Sport That Performs.

The lifestyle outlet Prestige just weighed in on the "Pickleball vs. Padel" showdown, confirming that while pickleball is the "democratic" and casual crowd-pleaser, padel is the sport with the "glossy," high-energy, and glamorous vibe. The report details how padel's theatrical, glass-walled courts and editorial-level fashion have cemented its place in urban clubs and resorts, attracting A-list investors and style-conscious metropolitan players.

Primetime Take Let’s be real, we knew this, but it’s nice to have the world’s luxury publications confirm that padel is the main character energy of the racquet sports world. Pickleball is where you go for a casual dink, but padel is where you go to make a statement, drop jaws with a salida de pared winner, and basically live your best, most stylish life.

Hold the Dinks: Austin’s First ‘Premier’ Padel Hub Is Serving Champagne and Court Time.

Austin, TX continues its fight to be the new “it place” of the US. The new Austin Padel Center is setting the bar high by launching what it calls the city's first “premier indoor padel facility,” complete with nine courts, a sports bar, and a total "hotel lounge" aesthetic. This massive, mixed-use space is finally giving the ATX padel scene the permanent, luxury hub it deserves, officially moving the sport from outdoor pop-up to high-end destination.

Primetime Take This is a massive win for the ATX (which is how young/cool people refer to Austin, apparently) padel community, proving that developers are finally building the "experience-driven environments" the sport demands—not just four walls and turf. This is not intended to throw shade at an existing ATX padel Facilty, Padel Club Austin. These outdoor, pure-padel spots certainly need a place to thrive as well. This is just a whole different vibe. The fact that they’re building indoor and luxe from the jump tells us that the US padel blueprint is shifting from a casual trend to a year-round, high-end lifestyle investment.

Touchdown, Padel: Eagles Star DeVonta Smith Gets Schooled by World No. 1 Paquito Navarro.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith swapped the endzone for the glass court this week, making a highly anticipated trip to Madrid to try his hand at padel. And who better to teach him than one of the sport's all-time greats? Smith was given a private lesson by padel legends Paquito Navarro and Alejandra Salazar.

Primetime Take- This isn't just a fun celebrity one-off—it's another massive piece of evidence for the Padel Boom. Watch the full video (from the NFL’s Youtube Account) at the link above- it’s good fun.

When a top-tier NFL athlete travels overseas and dedicates his off-field time to learning padel from a World No. 1, you know the sport's global status is undeniable. Smith's takeaway that padel is "something new" and a mashup of tennis and squash is the perfect pitch for American athletes. He got on the glass, he got humbled by the glass walls, and he finished "hooked." Get ready, Philly, the Eagles might be adding a padel session to the training regimen soon!

Florida’s Luxury Developments Are Trading Golf Greens for Glass Walls: Padel is the New Country Club Flex. 

A new report confirms that padel is no longer a trend but a "status sport," with top-tier Florida real estate developments now racing to build professional-grade courts to meet buyer demand. From The Residences at Shell Bay to the ambitious, 100,000-square-foot Reserve Padel facility at SoLé Mia, world-class padel courts are now being marketed as essential lifestyle amenities, much like championship golf courses once were.

Primetime Take Forget granite countertops—the new way to tell if a development is actually luxury is by checking its racquet facilities. The best part? We were here first.
We called the Shell Bay Racquet Club launch "the new gold standard" in our coverage just a few months ago, and we profiled the massive SoLé Mia Reserve Padel facility as a true "game-changer" back in our Oct. 19 edition. Even Windsor’s decision to add courts was called out by our team last quarter.

This confirms that Primetime Padel is your first and final stop for the padel boom. If you want to know where the money is moving in 2026, just follow the sound of the ball rebounding off the wall, because we’ve already mapped out the entire neighborhood.