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Juan Martin del Potro, Tommy Haas and Daddy Yankee hit the padel court for Pro Padel League kick-off

The group played an exhibition match in Florida to celebrate the beginning of the league's inaugural season.

ByBaseline Staff

Published May 14, 2023

TENNIS CHANNEL LIVE: Del Potro first teased a 2023 comeback at the end of March.

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Padel, please! Juan Martin del Potro and Tommy Haas traded their tennis racquets for padel paddles this weekend in celebration of the inaugural Pro Padel League season.

The trio were on hand in Florida for an exhibition match to herald the official beginning of the PPL season, which started Saturday. The league has seven teams, and the regular season will take place over four weekends at the Sarah Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis & Wellness Center in Zephyrhills, Fla.

In April, del Potro revealed in an interview with the Associated Press that he joined the Miami-based team as a strategic adviser to the ownership group, where he will use his experience as an elite tennis player in an ambassador role. In that same interview, he revealed his dreams for a US Open farewell later this year, should his body cooperate.

“I like to play,” he said of padel. “My big mistake is that I want to play padel (like) a tennis player — completely the same way. (But) when you hit hard, you will lose the point. It’s completely different, tennis and padel. Now I’m getting used to how to play. I need to be coached to improve.”

Haas is also a team owner in PPL for the San Diego Stingrays.

One of the best-selling Latin music artists in history, Daddy Yankee--the stage name of Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez--is also joining del Potro and Haas in padel ownership. He held a press conference to announce his new ownership of the Orlando franchise, and officiated the exhibition in the umpire chair before taking the court to hit with del Potro.

“Padel reminds me of the early stages of reggaeton in the 90s when it was just starting up," he said. "It’s at the same stage and the Pro Padel League has a big potential to grow the sport and get bigger. I want to be a part of it and leave a legacy.”

With origins in Mexico, padel is a contemporary of tennis and pickleball, and has been exploding in Europe in recent years. In January, Roger Federer was also spotted playing padel in Dubai.