Thanks to six Kansas City soccer stars, an increasingly popular racket sport will soon mark its Johnson County debut.
Several former and current Sporting Kansas City players — Johnny Russell, Daniel Salloi, Andreu Fontas, Roger Espinoza, Graham Zusi and Uri Rosell — have teamed up to open La Casa Del Padel, a new padel club in Overland Park, later this summer.
It will serve as the first official club in Johnson County geared towards the sport, which has been described as a cross between squash and tennis and has become popular in other countries, most notably in Mexico and Spain.
La Casa Del Padel will be at 6800 W. 91st St.
- The padel club will operate out of the Overland Park Racquet Club, on the north side of the property just off Metcalf Avenue.
- Players won’t need racquet club memberships to play padel (pronounced “puh-dell”).
- Salloi, co-owner and Sporting KC striker, said the club will likely open in August.
- Once it opens, the padel club will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Padel is a mix of tennis and squash
Padel ball (also sometimes known as “padel tennis”) is a racket sport that originated in Mexico and is usually played in two teams.
La Casa Del Padel’s two courts will be reservable, or guests can use the “open play” option to join games with other players.
“It’s a great social sport,” Salloi said. “You get to meet new people and socialize, and I think these are the best things about sports in general, and why people even join gyms.”
Players at La Casa Del Padel can purchase rackets and balls at the courts or bring their own.
If all goes well, Salloi said, this new padel club will be the first of multiple in the area.
“Eventually, we hope to grow the sport and get it to the level (of popularity) where it is in Europe,” Salloi said. “Where people play professionally and kids grow up playing it. Hopefully, that could be in our future.”
La Casa Del Padel marks the first padel club in JoCo
Salloi said he and his cofounders initially started thinking about bringing padel to the Kansas City area after trying it out in Miami during Sporting KC’s preseason.
“We fell in love with it; it’s a very exciting sport,” he said. “I feel like it’s going to be a great addition to the city.”
Before dipping into soccer, Salloi grew up playing tennis, and he kept it as a hobby. While tennis tends to be more appealing to seasoned athletes like himself, he said padel will serve as an approachable option for all athletes — including beginners.
“We want (athletes of) every level to be able to enjoy it,” he said. “I think it’s important that everybody tries it and sees what they think. We hope that they have the same excitement about it as we do.”
More local business news: Old downtown Overland Park parking lot could be a padel ball club
