Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike May.
Padel was first introduced to the United States in 1993 by Ed Thompson and Felipe Arnold in Houston, Texas at the renown Houstonian Hotel Club and Spa. They were proud to have the very first ever padel court constructed at The Houstonian.
Felipe being a native of Argentina where padel made its initial successful debut was impressed with the growth of the sport in Argentina in just a few short years which inspired him to bring it to the United States. One of the founders first goals was to form the very first ever men’s US padel team. The first men’s padel team was formed in 1993 by choosing six of the most elite tennis players in the Houston area. The first men selected for the U.S. Team where: Mike May, Scott Read, Matt Berry, Brian Poynter, Ross Persons and Peter Farrel.
Mike May the team captain at the time eventually became the new president of the United States Padel Association in 1998 while continually playing professional padel as well. Mike has played and attended every world padel championships since 1994 and has seen the sport make great strides worldwide. His goal is to share how Padel can be a successful addition to any racquet club or business looking for diversity and a way to attract new customers much like the sport has done for The Houstonian which is one of the top facilities worldwide.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle is to get club owners to open their minds and invest in the sport. The owners feel that there is no demand for the sport so why build courts. An entrepreneurial mind knows that if you build it that they will come as one of our most recent clubs have seen at TbarM in Dallas and iPadel Houston in Houston.
We have seen a small country like Spain grow to 80,000 courts in the past 20 years.
Please tell us about The United States Padel Association.
The USPA is the national governing body for the sport of Padel in the United States. The goal of the USPA is to support the different club owners in sanctioning tournaments and junior development and adult development programs.
Pricing:
- The average cost of a padel Racquet is $105-$250 USD
- Padel uses tennis balls which is $2-4 per can
- Lesson rates range from $60-$75 but can be greatly discounted to$40 per hour with package deals
Contact Info:
- Website: www.padelusa.org
- Phone: 713-530-3110
- Email: info@padelusa.org
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