By: Lee McLaughlan
Women’s world No 8 Sofia Araujo was the highest ranked player picked in this year’s highly anticipated Pro Padel League draft.
The 29-year-old Portuguese star, who was a member of the winning Hexagon Cup team earlier this month, was selected by the San Diego Stingrays who had the third pick in the first round of the 2024 PPL Draft.
Having picked the highest ranked player, the Stingrays surprised everyone with their second round choice – Great Britain’s Louie Harris who is ranked 446th in the world. However, the 21-year-old had a strong domestic season and was named the LTA No.1 male in December.
The 2023 PPL Champions, the Las Vegas Smash, went for 27-year-old Argentinean Gonzalo Alfonso and 24-year-old Spaniard Ignacio Vilarino, who is ranked 59th in the world.
2023 PPL Finalists, the Cancun Waves, who will be looking to go one further this year, went for the experienced Carolina Navarro as their first pick. They will be hoping the 47-year-old Swedish veteran, ranked 30th in the world, will bring her winning touch to the team. Navarro is one of padel’s most successful players. She was the women’s world . 1 for nine years and has won 100 international titles. Also joining the Mexican-based team, is Spain’s 27-year-old Salva Oria who is 107th in the men’s rankings.
This season’s newcomers the Houston Volts, New York Atlantics and Flowrida Goats all had the opportunity to draft three players, courtesy of having the first picks in the expansion round. However, only the Volts drafted a full quota of three players with the Atlantics and Goats passing in the second round.
The Volts, the newest franchise to the PPL, went for a trio of young Spaniards who are expected to be amongst the next generation of stars. Claudia Fernandez Sanchez had the honor of being the first pick in the draft from more than 300 hopefuls. Sanchez, who turns 18-years-old later this month, is already ranked 24th in the world. She will be joined by 20-year-old Francisco Guerrero who is ranked 53rd in the men’s standings with 22-year-old Marta Caparros completing the trio. She is currently ranked 35th in the world.
In contrast to the Volts, The Goats went for experience as they drafted Victor Ruiz who is the highest ranked male picked. The 34-year-old Spaniard is currently ranked 16th. He was joined by 40-something Nicolas Clerc, who is making a return to the PPL having played for Los Angeles Beat last season. Clerc is the USA Seniors Team Coach.
The Atlantics have the youngest player in the 2024 Draft selecting Spain’s Andrea Ustero, who had her 16th birthday in December 2023. However, the teenager belies her age and is already ranked inside the world’s top 40. Their second pick was also very astute as they recruited 34-year-old Argentinean Ramiro Moyana Toledo who is ranked 24th.
This season, there will be a return to PPL for Daniela Ruiz who was the final pick in the draft. The 27-year-old American, a member of the USA team at the 2022 World Championships and plays her padel in the US, will again wear the team colors of Toronto Polar Bears. The Canadian side had the honor of the opening pick in round one and selected Spanish 17-year-old Noemi Aguilar who is ranked 66th in the world.
For the Los Angeles Beat, they used the draft wisely with two solid picks. Spain’s Jon Sanz, who is pushing for a spot in the world’s top 20 men’s rankings, will be joined by 22-year-old Italian Carolina Orsi. Italy’s No 1 female player is currently ranked 27th in the world.
The Miami Padel Club gave Spain’s Jose Jimenez an early 20th birthday present when they chose him in the second round. The Spaniard, who is ranked just outside the men’s top 100, celebrates his birthday next week. He will be joined by fellow Spaniard and women’s world no 21, Lucia Martinez Gomez.
Finally, the Arkansas Matrix is another team who have put their faith in a Spanish duo in the draft. Their first pick was Araceli Martinez who is ranked 45th in women’s standings. They also chose 23-year-old Inigo Jofre, who is currently sitting at 94 in the men’s list.
A total of 21 players were drafted – 11 women and 10 men. Players from seven different countries were chosen, 14 of them Spanish.
Following the draft, Marcos del Pilar, co-founder and commissioner of the Pro Padel League said:
“We could not be more excited to have some of the best players in the history of the game choosing to compete in the PPL this season. The PPL was created to highlight the amazing sport of padel for North American consumers and, as a byproduct of this, we are thrilled that the sport will grow along with our league. With the completion of the 2024 PPL Draft, we are now set for an incredible season of competition to start in April.”
The league, which has secured a $1m prize purse for the 2024 season, will feature four rounds of matches, two in April and two in August, before the PPL Cup final in November.
