This week, business analyst and entrepreneur Michael Girdley dropped a highly-discussed video with a very bold title: "Why the Pickleball boom is already over". Now, before the keyboard warriors attack, he isn't saying people are going to stop playing. Girdley is looking strictly at the business side of the net, arguing that the indoor pickleball facility model is fundamentally flawed.

The problem? Pickleball is a "people's sport" built on free access. Indoor pickleball operators are suddenly realizing they have to compete with free, outdoor municipal courts the second the weather gets nice. 

Plus, as Girdley notes, the average pickleballer generally expects to play on the cheap, making it incredibly difficult for indoor clubs to drive serious, sustainable profitability.

But Girdley didn't just bury pickleball's commercial case—he pointed directly to padel as the sport capturing the younger demographics and offering the actual scalable business model.

The numbers back him up entirely. While barebones pickleball warehouses struggle to monetize, padel is built on a premium club economics model. Padel optimizes space—fitting three courts into the footprint of one traditional tennis court—while commanding a much higher willingness to pay from players. In the US, a standard 90-minute padel session runs roughly $20–$50 per player.

But the real secret sauce is what happens off the court. Because padel culture encourages players to socialize after a match, operators are seeing massive ROI uplift from food and beverage sales, pro-shop retail, and premium membership tiers. In fact, an efficient four-court indoor club that successfully layers in coaching, leagues, and events can project over $1 million in annual revenue with highly attractive 30-35% EBITDA margins.

The Primetime Take: This is exactly the trend we’ve been tracking. You can't just slap some tape on an empty warehouse floor and expect a massive return anymore. The future of racquet sports investing is the premium, purpose-built facility. If you are looking to build out a proper indoor franchise footprint in the Midwest, the weather makes indoor play an absolute necessity for most of the year. But simply having a roof isn't enough. It's the premium padel experience, the structured coaching pathways, and the courtside socializing that actually builds a profitable, recurring community. The "install and leave" logic is dead; the era of the high-end padel club is officially here.

Watch the full 15-minute X video by Michael here. 

The Pro Padel League has officially signed a deal with USA Sports that will bring five of its matches to CNBC during the 2026 season. This agreement is a major milestone, as it is the first time the emerging North American padel league will have matches broadcast exclusively on a national US network. CNBC is set to air the Sunday championship matches from each of the PPL's five events this year, bringing live coverage (with a slight tape delay for the upcoming New York opener) to a much broader audience.

The Primetime Take: TV rights are the holy grail of sports business, and securing linear broadcast time on a major network like CNBC is a massive leap forward from digital streaming. Not only does this legitimize the PPL for casual sports fans, but it also places professional padel directly in front of an affluent, business-minded audience—exactly the demographic that is poised to both play the sport locally and invest heavily in its national infrastructure.

Link to coverage by Sports Business Journal: Pro Padel League to air on CNBC through new USA Sports deal 

We are always looking for the communities that are doing the hard work of growing the game at the grassroots level, and this week we are putting the spotlight on 6 Love Sports. Billed as the largest women's padel community in the USA, 6 Love Sports has successfully cracked the code on building a dedicated, highly engaged player base. Based in Miami Beach, Florida, they don't just run tournaments—they are actively cultivating a movement.

Their secret to success? It's all about connection on and off the court. 6 Love Sports utilizes a nationwide Ambassador Program to identify local leaders who can organize events, introduce newcomers to the sport, and build out the local padel ecosystem city by city. By focusing heavily on the social and networking aspects of the sport alongside the competition, they have created a highly sticky, lifestyle-driven brand (including their own premium apparel line, Six'o Apparel).

The Primetime Take: If you want to know what the future of padel community-building looks like, look at what Andi and 6 Love Sports are doing. The data shows that nearly 40% of all padel players globally are women, and that demographic is absolutely vital for the US market to reach its potential. 6 Love Sports understands that padel isn't just a workout; it's a social hub. For any club operators out there taking notes, prioritizing organized leagues, social mixers, and ambassador-led growth for women is one of the smartest investments you can make for your facility's long-term retention.

Link to the article from Primetime Padel at: Primetime Padel Profile: The 6-Love Secrets to Success

PADEL39 has officially launched its newest flagship location in East Austin. Located at 4716 East 5th Street, this massive facility features 12 world-class outdoor padel courts, including four covered courts and one dedicated singles court. But it is not just about the courts—the new hub brings a complete lifestyle experience under one roof, featuring the CLUB39 sports bar, METHOD39 for HYROX-style fitness, East 5th Coffee, and a full wellness and recovery area.

The Primetime Take: To understand why this is a big deal, you have to look at Padel39's rapid growth. They launched their original North Austin club back in October 2024 and recently announced the acquisition of the Dallas Padel Club, making them the largest padel club portfolio in Texas. (Fun fact: the "39" in their name pays homage to the first two digits of the zip code for Acapulco, Mexico, where the sport of padel originated).

What Padel39 gets right is the social ecosystem. By combining premium padel courts with a sports bar, wellness facilities like saunas and cold plunges, and a welcoming clubhouse, they are creating a true "third space" and modern country club for professionals to hang out and meet new people. This East Austin location serves as the perfect blueprint for how to build a highly sticky, lifestyle-driven club in a major US metro.

For the full story on local news station KXAN: PADEL39 Opens Massive New Sports & Fitness Hub in East Austin 

The padel explosion isn't just an East Coast or Sun Belt phenomenon anymore. Conquer Padel has officially opened the doors to its brand-new, world-class club in Lehi, Utah. The grand opening was absolutely electric, as seen in their latest Instagram reel, showcasing a massive facility that brings seven premier padel courts, fitness, performance recovery, and social connection all under one roof. It's a huge milestone for the Mountain West, proving that high-end indoor clubs can thrive outside of the traditional racquet sports hotbeds.

For a little history on the brand, Conquer Padel was founded by CEO Enrique Gracia, who leveraged his background in scaling international ventures—including a massive sweet citrus import operation between Mexico and the US—to build a premier padel franchise. Drawing on the sport's massive popularity in Mexico, Conquer focuses on creating social spaces where people can connect, play, and relax in thoughtfully designed facilities.

The Primetime Take: If you remember our Primetime Exclusive interviews with Enrique, you know that Conquer’s vision was always about more than just laying down turf. They are building a complete lifestyle ecosystem. With elevated amenities like cold plunges, infrared saunas, red light therapy, and a bistro bar, the Lehi location is the perfect realization of that vision. It’s a masterclass in how to build a modern padel facility that attracts both competitive players and casual socialites.

To watch the hype-video of the new club opening, you can check it out on Instagram here.