Pop's Padel opens in Freeport as padel becomes nation's fastest growing sport, data shows

A new padel court complex has opened on Long Island — Pop's Padel in Freeport, which was home to the former Long Island Sports Complex.

Padel — pronounced either "paDELL" or simply paddle — is a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash, in a court bound with high glass walls that typically ensure long rallies.

Jordan Diamond, whose family owns the Sports Complex, said in an interview that he had been in the "process of selling the business then after doing my due diligence," realized the potential of padel.

"We think [players are] in the hundreds of thousands [nationally] and soon to be millions. It is the fastest growing sport," he said. There are now five padel courts at the complex, renamed Pop's Padel, which opened Thursday. 

According to figures from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association — which tracks participation across 126 sports — padel is now the nation's fastest growing sport in terms of year-to-year percentage growth — a 14.5% spike over 2025 — although pickleball remains far and away the larger sport, with roughly 24.3 million players. Padel just crossed the million player threshold — with 1.07 million players nationally, the majority in Florida where there are over 100 courts, and Texas Nationally, there are over 1,000 courts across 31 states, according to Simplepadel.com. The United States Padel Association (USPA) projects the U.S. will reach roughly 10,000 courts and 10 million players by 2030.

There are a handful on Long Island now too — including newly opened Roslyn Padel, Padel& Syosset and several racquet clubs in the Hamptons with padel courts. The Padel Court finder also lists courts in Setauket, East Norwich and Hewlett Harbor.

Pop's Padel bills itself as the "South Shore's only padel club." In addition, Pop's has a resident pro too. As he posted on Facebook yesterday, "My name is Pepe Miralles, former D1 tennis player ... Padel is ... super easy to pick up, fast paced, and insanely fun whether you've played racquet sports for years or are just getting started."

According to Diamond, the hourly rate for a court is $160 ($240 for 90 minutes, and $300 for two hours.) Courts can be booked at Playtomic, he said.

Padel, which originated in Mexico and has grown rapidly in Europe, particularly in Spain, is similar to tennis, except the ball bounces off the surrounding glass (some walls are also mesh.) Rallies tend to be longer, angle shots are important, and couples play is popular, says Diamond, in part because one partner can make up for the other's mistake.

Sebastian Goercke, head of operations for Padel&Syosset -- at 165 Ellen Way in Syosset -- said the club had what he called a "soft launch five months ago because the most important thing for us was to first show everyone what padel is, because once you know what it is, you'll for sure come back. One good thing is that if you know how to play racquet sports, you can easily pick up padel, plus it's a little bit more dynamic when you are playing with other people. Courts have high glass walls and you don't have to spend most of your time picking up the ball."

The growth potential on Long Island, he says, is considerable, in part due to what he describes as a snowball effect: "The more clubs that there are here, the more people will also go to other padel clubs. Players are always rotating and bringing in new customers because in padel, if it's just two people playing together, they need more people to get better. It grows exponentially from there."

And the correct pronunciation? Goercke -- who acknowledges that there have been good-natured "battles" over the question -- says he prefers "paDELL."