The Tennis Channel T2 Steaming Network to Broadcast the Event Live
The Pro Padel League (PPL), North America’s first professional padel league, will hold its inaugural All-Star Game in San Diego on November 18th, 2023, at Taktika Padel located at the award-winning Barnes Tennis Center.
Showcasing the world’s, and PPL’s, best padel players, the Eastern Conference All-Stars will take on the Western Conference All-Stars from 6:00-9:00 p.m. PST. The All-Star Game will broadcast live on T2 – the Tennis Channel’s free streaming network – available to Amazon Freevee viewers and on sports-first live TV streaming platforms such as FUBO.
“After an exhilarating first season of play for the PPL in 2023, we are excited to end the year with the All-Star Game in San Diego,” said Marcos Del Pilar, PPL Commissioner. “With Taktika Padel hosting the All-Star Game, it is a great opportunity for fans on the west coast of the U.S. to experience the PPL and see some of the world’s best players compete. We are looking forward to an action-packed day of play that will also be available for fans around the world to watch live on T2.”
Representing the Eastern Conference team will be Cata Tenorio (Arkansas Matrix, four-time World Team Champion representing Argentina and former FIP #1), Nico Agritelley (Arkansas Matrix, PPL 2023 MVP, No. 2 ranked player in the U.S.), Ruben Rivera (Miami Padel Club, No. 72 FIP ranking), and Anna Cortiles (Cancun Waves, No. 93 WPT ranking).
On the Western Conference Team, their roster includes Guga Vasquez (Las Vegas Smash, 2023 PPL Team Champions), Silvana Campus (San Diego Stingrays, No. 1 ranked Argentinian player and five-time World Team Champion representing Argentina), Dani Banchero (Los Angeles Beat, former No. 1 ranked Argentinian player and three-time World Team Champion representing Argentina), and Jacob Blanco (San Diego Stingrays, No. 4 ranked player in the U.S.). In addition, four world-renowned players that are set to make their PPL debut in 2024 will participate in an exhibition match prior to the All-Star Game at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 18th.
The All-Star Game between the two conferences will feature three matches including men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. To determine the winning conference, the men’s and women’s doubles match will be worth three points for each winner, and the mixed doubles match will be worth six points. The conference with the most points at the conclusion of all three matches will be crowned the first PPL All-Star Game Winners.
“We are honored to have been chosen to host the first-ever Pro Padel League All-Star Game,” commented Ryan Redondo, CEO of Youth Tennis San Diego at the Barnes Tennis Center and Co-Owner of the San Diego Stingrays. “As one the of the first padel centers on the west coast, we are a committed partner in growing padel in California and the United States. The Barnes Tennis Center, the home of Taktika Padel and the San Diego Stingrays, is also the host to ATP and WTA events and has the perfect stadium court to bring to the light the magic of padel to San Diegans and the Southern California racquet community.”
The mission of the PPL is to create the most compelling version of padel for sports fans across North America with the new league providing the biggest stage for aspiring padel players across the continent. The PPL is the first of its kind, and the only professional padel tour in the world, to feature team-based competition in a unique and engaging, city-based, franchise format.
The next big thing in North America, padel is a high-octane sport and is a mix of tennis and squash that has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. Since 2021, there has been a 400% expansion globally in active players, and a 60% growth in padel court construction with 98 new courts opened every week. In the U.S., the United States Padel Association (USPA) is committed to growing the number of players to over 10 million and the number of courts to over 30,000 courts by 2029. In conjunction with the USPA, the PPL will play a large role in growing the sport in North America with their 2024 season soon to be announced.
Completing their historical, inaugural season in the summer of 2023, the Las Vegas Smash were the PPL’s first team champions winning the PPL Cup. Global celebrities and professional athletes a part of the PPL include Daddy Yankee (Orlando franchise owner), who is one of the best-selling Latin music artists known as the “King of Reggaeton,” 2009 US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro (Strategic Advisor to the Miami Padel Club), former ATP #2 singles player Tommy Haas (San Diego Stingrays owner), international soccer star Miguel Layun (Cancun Waves owner), and MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto Polar Bears owner).