In Part 3 of Padel Smash’s 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series, we continue inside the show floor with conversations focused on what it takes to build padel the right way in America.

This episode starts with Portico, a company with more than 16 years of experience producing padel courts and canopies. The conversation dives into court engineering, why canopy design matters, how different climates affect court protection, and why quality construction is about much more than simply selling courts.

From there, we spend time with NOX, one of the leading padel brands in the world. Alfonso shares the global vision for NOX across padel, beach tennis, and pickleball, while also discussing market share, high-end racket leadership, shoes, product innovation, and why the brand continues to push for performance at the top of the sport. We also speak with Philip about NOX’s expansion in the United States, their B2B platform, D2C launch, inventory strategy, club relationships, and how the brand plans to grow over the next decade.

The episode then moves into American-made court construction with Off The Glass, a U.S.-based padel court company building steel and glass structures domestically in Indiana. Their conversation highlights the importance of local manufacturing, faster scalability, domestic materials, engineering knowledge, and why the U.S. market may need homegrown court solutions as padel expands.

We also feature Padel Dynamics, a software platform designed to help clubs automate WhatsApp communication and reduce the manual workload on staff. From open match alerts to booking-system integrations and club community messaging, this conversation shows how small operational tools can make a major difference in day-to-day club management.

Finally, we close with Palap, a newer racket brand entering the U.S. market with high-performance rackets at a more accessible price point. Phil shares the story behind the brand, its European roots, U.S. and Canadian distribution, product development, ambassador growth, and why Palap is focused on delivering quality rackets without the inflated cost of major endorsement deals.

Part 3 is all about the foundation of the sport — the courts, canopies, rackets, software, manufacturing, and systems that will help padel grow from early momentum into long-term infrastructure.

Subscribe to Padel Smash and follow the full 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series.

From Miami to the World.

In Part 2 of Padel Smash’s 4-part RacquetX 2026 audio podcast series, we continue our conversations with the people building the future of padel from every angle.

This episode dives into the business behind the sport, starting with Conquer Padel and their franchise model for opening new clubs across the United States. We discuss what future club owners need to understand before entering the market, from real estate and lease negotiations to permitting, design, operations, and why experience matters when building a profitable padel facility.

We also sit down with Dani from the Hexagon Cup 11.11 team to talk about the growth of one of the most exciting formats in professional padel, the evolution of team ownership, prize money, player opportunities, and the possibility of the Hexagon Cup expanding into the United States.

From there, we explore the product and brand side of padel with Heroe’s, including their 2026 racket collection, the Alien line, their strategy for entering the U.S. market, and the role of Padel Plant in Richmond, Virginia. The episode also features OCU Energy, a clean and convenient gummy energy product built for athletes and active lifestyles, along with Padel Mi Amor, a made-in-Italy padel apparel brand bringing style, identity, and performance to the court.

We close with a look at padel infrastructure and local competition through BaseX and MIA Padel League. BaseX explains its foundation system designed to simplify padel court installation without traditional concrete slabs, while MIA Padel League shares how its flexible match-play format is creating more opportunities for players in Miami to compete on their own schedule.

Part 2 is all about the builders - the people creating the clubs, products, leagues, apparel, and systems that will help padel grow across America.

Subscribe to Padel Smash and follow the full 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series.

From Miami to the World.

In Part 1 of our 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series, Padel Smash sits down with Adidas, Babolat, Blanca Padel, Baby Let’s Padel, Born, Padel Tech, Klutch, and CourtsApp to explore the brands, products, technology, and communities helping build the future of padel in America.

Padel Smash presents a special 4-part podcast series from RacquetX 2026, featuring the brands, founders, players, operators, and innovators shaping the next chapter of padel in the United States. Across four one-hour episodes, the series explores the full padel ecosystem: rackets, apparel, club technology, court construction, booking platforms, community building, and the business of growing the sport in America.

Padel is growing fast in the United States, but the real story is bigger than courts.

In this 4-part RacquetX 2026 podcast series, Padel Smash goes inside one of the biggest racket sports events in America to speak directly with the companies and people building the future of padel. From global racket brands like Adidas and Babolat to emerging names in apparel, technology, club operations, community building, and court infrastructure, this series captures the momentum behind the sport and the businesses helping drive it forward.

Each one-hour episode brings together conversations with founders, players, brand leaders, and innovators who are helping define what padel in America will become.

In this episode, Padel Smash visits LA Padel Club, an upcoming premium padel destination in Los Angeles, during the early stages of development.

While the full conversation with Steve Shpilsky, Founder of LA Padel Club, and Jennifer Shpilsky, Chief Brand Officer, is available exclusively on podcast platforms, this YouTube release gives you a visual walkthrough of the club as it begins to take shape.

Steve and Jennifer share the story behind falling in love with padel, the challenges of building a club in Los Angeles, the importance of location, real estate, permitting, investors, and why creating a sustainable club model matters. The project is being built around a historic property, the Collins Firth Mansion, a 1920s neoclassical mansion tied to the early history of Culver City and the entertainment industry.

This is more than just another padel club. LA Padel Club is designed to blend sport, hospitality, history, community, and premium brand experience into one destination.

In this walkthrough, we explore:

+The origin story behind LA Padel Club
+Why Steve and Jennifer believed LA needed a premium padel destination
+The real estate and business challenges of building padel in Los Angeles
+The historic Collins Firth Mansion and its connection to Culver City
+The future layout of the club, including the club room, pro shop, cafe, locker rooms, co-working space, courts, and member experience
+Why padel clubs need to be built as sustainable businesses, not just exciting concepts

In this episode of Padel Smash TV, we sit down with Adrian Grant, founder of Kanso Shoes, to talk about what really goes into building a high-performance shoe for racket sports.

Adrian shares his journey from being a former professional squash player and world-class athlete to launching a footwear brand focused on the real movement demands of sports like squash, padel, and pickleball. We get into the difference between squash shoes and padel shoes, why outsole design matters, how athlete feedback shapes development, and why the wrong footwear can affect both performance and injury risk.

This conversation goes beyond style. It breaks down the science, testing, and athlete-first thinking behind building shoes specifically for the demands of padel. If you’ve ever wondered whether footwear really makes a difference on court, this interview is worth watching.

In this episode of Padel Smash TV, we sit down with Felix Regalia, CEO and Founder of Varlion, one of the most iconic brands in padel history.

Felix shares the incredible story behind how Varlion started in Argentina in 1993, how the brand became a market leader through product innovation, and what happened during a difficult period of instability that forced the company to rebuild. He opens up about relaunching the brand, redesigning the collection, and building what he calls the next phase of Varlion’s legacy.
We also dive into why Felix believes the U.S. padel market today is similar to Spain in 1999, why he plans to personally lead Varlion’s expansion in America, and how the brand wants to win through product quality, hands-on education, key accounts, and direct market development.

On top of that, Felix talks about Varlion’s innovation mindset, new collections, expansion into pickleball, and the long-term goal of transferring decades of padel knowledge into other racket sports.

If you follow the business of padel, racket innovation, and the future of the U.S. market, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Topics covered:
00:00 Intro
00:35 Meet Felix Regalia
00:51 How Varlion Started in Argentina
01:44 Early innovation and growth
02:10 Becoming a leader in padel
02:23 What went wrong for Varlion
04:04 Restructuring the business
05:08 Major internal fraud and setbacks
06:54 Restarting from zero
07:03 The Varlion Legacy relaunch
07:22 Expansion into pickleball and beyond
08:35 Strategy for the U.S. market
09:05 Why product testing drives loyalty
09:33 Felix moving to the U.S.
10:14 Why America feels like Spain in 1999
10:52 Building the American team
11:16 Winning through education and market presence

At RacquetX, Padel Smash TV sat down with Alfons Bastida, Chief Marketing Officer of NOX, and Philippe Urreiztieta, USA NOX Distributor, for a deep conversation on the brand’s global vision and why the United States is one of its biggest priorities moving forward.

In this interview, we break down how NOX sees the future of padel, why the U.S. market is such a major opportunity, and what it takes to grow a specialist padel brand in a country where traditional tennis brands already have strong familiarity. Alfons shares NOX’s broader global strategy, including its focus on premium racket positioning, product innovation, and youth development through initiatives like the Next Future Academy, while Philippe explains how NOX USA is approaching the market from the ground up through grassroots activation, club relationships, B2B growth, and direct-to-consumer marketing.

What does one of the biggest representation agencies in the world see in padel?

In this episode, Cesc and Julian sit down with Daniel Dios from WME Sports to break down how global brands are entering padel, why celebrity involvement matters, what makes a player commercially valuable, and why Arturo Coello became a key fit for WME’s vision.

Daniel takes us inside WME’s approach to the sport, explaining the three layers they focus on — pros, celebrities, and funds — and how those groups help accelerate padel’s growth in emerging markets. He also shares how major brands like On and Rolex were educated on the opportunity in padel, why those deals do not happen overnight, and what brands are really looking for before they commit.

This conversation also goes deeper into the future of the sport in the United States, the need for stronger infrastructure, the rise of celebrity-driven interest, and why the next generation of padel players must be more than just talented on court. According to Daniel, the future belongs to athletes who can perform, communicate, represent brands well, and become true role models.

If you care about the business of padel, brand partnerships, player representation, and the future growth of the sport worldwide, this is an interview you do not want to miss.

Subscribe to Padel Smash for more interviews, news, gear reviews, business insights, and stories shaping the future of padel.