OUR FOUNDER
After more than three decades at the center of padel in the United States, Mike May has seen it all: the sport’s earliest days, its slow and steady growth, and the explosive momentum that is now making padel one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. And through it all, one thing has remained constant: the people trying to bring padel to their communities deserve a better roadmap than the one that existed.
USA Padel Center was built to provide exactly that.
Mike’s journey began in 1993, when padel was virtually unknown in the United States. As a former ranked ATP Tour doubles player and decorated collegiate and junior competitor, he immediately recognized the sport’s potential and dedicated the next three decades of his life to proving it. He competed in every Padel World Championship from 1994 to 2018, serving as U.S. Team Captain and helping lead the national team to its highest-ever world ranking of 7th. From 1998 to 2019, he served as President of the United States Padel Association, overseeing player certification, coach development, and the sport’s national expansion.
But Mike’s impact was never limited to competition or governance. He served as Director of Racquet Sports at The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa, the first facility in the U.S. to offer padel, back in 1994, and went on to open his own facility, iPadel Houston, in 2016. He has built padel courts in the United States and the Bahamas, helped form the Swiss Padel Association, certified their professionals, brought the first court to Switzerland, and installed the first court in the Bahamas at the prestigious Albany Club in Nassau. He holds a Bachelor’s in Business from the University of Louisiana Monroe. Along the way, Mike watched well-intentioned investors and operators make costly, avoidable mistakes not because they lacked passion or resources, but because they lacked guidance from someone who had truly been there. That realization is what drove him to create USA Padel Center: a consultancy built on 30 years of real-world experience, designed to help the next generation of padel entrepreneurs do it right.
What That Means for You
Opening a padel facility is one of the most exciting investments in sports today, but it comes with real complexity. Site selection, permitting, court specifications, construction coordination, business modeling, every phase has its own challenges, and the difference between a thriving facility and a costly misstep often comes down to experience.
Whether you’re an investor, a club operator, a hotel, or a community looking to bring padel to your area, Mike offers the kind of insight you simply can’t find anywhere else. There is no shortcut to 30 years of experience but working with Mike is the next best thing.
