Several British players are known to be among 500 applicants to join the player draft for the inaugural Pro Padel League (PPL) season in North America.
The first PPL draft will take place on Monday 20 March at 1300 EST (1800 GMT) and will be live streamed on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
The PPL will bring together seven teams – Las Vegas, Cancun, San Diego, Arkansas, Toronto, Los Angeles and Miami – in North America’s first professional team padel league. The inaugural season will begin in May and the top four teams in the league will progress into the PPL Cup in June to play off for the title.
During the first season, teams will be comprised of four active players including two men and two women, and four alternates, and will follow the international scoring format.
The mission of the PPL is to provide a high-profile stage to raise national awareness of, and participation in padel as it continues its growth across the continent – and to compete with America’s dominant new racket sport, pickleball.
On draft day, team owners from all seven franchises will take it in turns to select from the pool of applicants. Draft coordinator Nancy Malone will announce the player selections.
As well as the UK, the PPL received applications from top international players from North America, Australia, Asia, South America and Europe.
“The first PPL draft is a monumental day for the league, the history of the sport, and everyone involved from our key stakeholders to our team owners and the players,” said Marcos del Pilar, Commissioner of the PPL.
“The interest we have received from players around the world that want to play in the PPL has been overwhelming and we can’t wait to see who our team owners select.
“We look forward to players and fans around the world joining us live on draft day to see the excitement unfold.”
The draft will have over 40 rounds of player selections, with each team selecting at least six of their eight players. Of the eight players on each team, six players will be from North America to help ignite interest across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Padel is growing in popularity in the US with the number of padel courts set to double in 2023. Over eight million players are projected to be playing padel in the US by 2030. The PPL will enable players, coaches, team owners, facility owners, broadcasters, fans, sponsors and brands to capitalise on the sport’s explosive growth.
