Many of our Members are unaware that The Houstonian Club is the birthplace of Padel in the whole United States. In 1993, Felipe Arnold from Argentina (originally where Padel boomed in the early ’90s) and Ed Thompson from Houston, both tennis enthusiasts and businessmen who wanted to bring Padel to the United States based on its popularity in Argentina. The two of them teamed up and hired a local public relations firm run by Houstonian Club Member Melissa Stevens who was instrumental in getting the very first Padel court constructed at The Houstonian Club in early 1994.
Ed Thompson a former bodybuilder and Mr. Texas was my strength coach while I was playing the pro tennis circuit. Felipe and Ed needed to come up with the first U.S. Padel team to compete in the 1993 Tri-National Cup in Acapulco, Mexico with the United States, Canada and Mexico. They began recruiting local tennis professionals in the Houston area which included myself, Matt Berry, Brian Poynter, Scott Read, Ross Persons and Peter Ferrell. At the time not one Padel court existed in Houston, so we would train on tennis courts and racquetball courts to get a feel for the Padel racquets. Team USA flew down to Acapulco, Mexico in December of 1993. Acapulco was the actual birthplace of Padel worldwide. Padel was invented by Enrique Corcuera and his wife, Vivian in 1962. We all arrived the night before we were to compete against Mexico. We trained at the Villa Vera resort until 2 a.m. in the morning to be ready for our television debut for the Tri-National Padel Cup never having seen a Padel court before.
After finishing the Tri-National Cup, Ed and Felipe imported the very same glass and steel constructed Padel court that was used on the beaches of the Hotel Acapulco Plaza. In the spring of 1994, this court was erected on the front lawn of The Houstonian Club where team USA competed once again against Mexico in an exhibition to launch Padel in the United States. The weekend was a success and The Houstonian became the first facility in the entire United States to have Padel. The exhibition court was relocated on an abandoned tennis court on campus that was part of a previous home surrounded by trees which would be where court seven exists now. I cut a path through the trees and created a "Padel this way” sign and a trail so Members could find the court and give Padel a try. After several weeks of doing free demos, the court became so busy the Club invested a year later in two permanent courts just in time for another Tri-National Cup with both Mexico and Canada. The Houstonian Club became the home of team USA comprised of elite tennis players and tennis pros that were introduced to the sport over the years. In fact, employees like myself, Nikki Lieu, Matt Pyle, Leo Contini, Steve Dekker and Debbie Ladig were part of some of the earlier U.S. Padel teams. For me personally it has been a real honor to be part of the origin of Padel in the United States and the very first Padel instructor in the U.S. It has been a great privilege to have competed in 13 world championships for team USA. Since then Houstonian Club Members Craig Hiddleston, Rico Jacober, Victor Longo and prior employees Jose Arizpe, Francisco Riveroll and currently Chris Moore have all competed for team USA. Padel has begun to see exponential growth worldwide and has become the second-largest sport in Spain behind soccer.