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New York Yankees great and MLB Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter at Reserve Cup Miami with Wayne Boich and … [+] others.
Reserve Cup Miami
Derek Jeter will always be best known as “The Captain” and five-time World Series champion of the New York Yankees. But now he’s spending some time away from the baseball diamond and instead focusing some of it on a growing sport called padel.
Just minutes away from the Miami Heat’s home arena, Kaseya Center, Miami hosted the three-day Reserve Cup for the second straight year this past weekend. The tournament saw 16 of the world’s best padel players compete for money, with a total of $500K earned by the winners over the three-day tourney.
Jeter served as one of the two celebrity captains, with the other being comedian Andrew Schulz. Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was also on hand during the final day of the event — he serves as an honorary co-chairman — actually competing in a competitive exhibition with a few of the tournament’s stars.
The Yankees great obviously has ties to the area, having served as the Miami Marlins’ CEO and a part owner. He explains what led to him becoming involved with the event, which was founded by businessman and former top-ranked junior tennis player Wayne Boich.
“I’m still trying to define my role with the Reserve Cup,” says Jeter in a one-on-one interview at the event. “I met Wayne years ago and a couple of years ago he started to explain his vision for the Reserve Cup. I’ve seen it come to light, and last year, we had his first Reserve Cup. Wayne asked me to be a part of it and be one of the captains of the team, so I was all in to support Wayne and what he’s doing and the growth of the sport that he’s really responsible for. It plays a big part. To me, it means a lot to Wayne, so I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.”
Padel is basically a faster-paced and more athletic version of tennis. It’s a smaller court enclosed with glass panels that sees each match competed in doubles. You’ll see more athletic trick plays and even sequences where players can exit through the side door where the tennis net centre is at to keep play alive.
Balls are frequently bounced off the glass panel windows surrounding the court, resulting in fast-paced plays and trick shots — something that you won’t see in a regular tennis match.
“It’s exciting,” says Jeter of padel. “The athleticism of these players, you can try to describe it all you want, but you have to actually watch it. Last year was the first time I got a chance to watch the professionals play. “The speed of the game, the tempo, the athleticism, I think it’s a really, really fun sport to watch, especially in person.”
When asked if padel is basically a “faster and more athletic” experience than tennis or pickleball, Jeter laughed, but agreed with the notion.
“I didn’t say that — you said that,” Jeter says while laughing. “But I would agree with that.”
Padel features glass-panel walls surrounding the players, resulting in more trick shots and … [+] fast-paced play.
Reserve Cup Miami
The event took place at the waterfront with perfect and ideal temperatures on the final day of the tournament. After the first two days saw rain, the final day — on Saturday — saw temperatures reach a low of 60 degrees with a nice breeze. In other words, perfect conditions for a night out for event attendees while soaking in the racket sport.
Jeter further sells why padel is perfect for a place like Miami.
“I think one thing with Miami is Miami’s big on events, right? When you have big events like this, people come out and they support and they show up for it,” says Jeter. “It’s fun, it’s exciting. Wayne’s done a good job with how he’s constructed the stadium here to watch, but then there’s also areas for them to move around and mingle. Miami is a city where it’s all about the scene and Wayne’s incorporated the scene into padel.”
As mentioned before, Butler appeared at the event while serving the final leg of his recent two-game suspension with the Heat. The star player — who is facing trade rumors before the NBA deadline on Feb. 6 — played in the exhibition and watched the event from the stands with Boich and Jeter as the Heat played the Brooklyn Nets in a road game on Saturday night.
While Butler said he “didn’t know” whether or not this would be his last week with the Heat when asked by reporters following his sweat-filled exhibition, he did make sure to mention his love for the city of Miami while propping up the sport of padel.
“This city deserves everything that padel is going to bring to them,” said Butler at the event. “I’m a 7 out of 7. Everybody has an off day, I didn’t warm up. I didn’t have my BigFace coffee this morning. I was all the way off.”
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler with Reserve Cup Founder/CEO Wayne Boich.
Reserve Cup Miami
The rise in popularity of pickleball should result in a boost for padel. Pickleball is a rising sport, especially amongst the senior and affluent community, and is valued as a $1.2 billion sport. It’s a frequently-played sport in South Florida, with multiple leagues. There’s even been network specials centered on pickleball.
According to Forbes’ Jeff Fromm, the expansion of padel courts is expected to grow from 51,000 in 2024 to 70,000 by 2026.
“In 2016, only 10,000 courts existed worldwide,” says Fromm. “That number is expected to be about 51,000 in 2024 and grow to 70,000 in 2026.”
It remains to be seen if padel can reach that level of popularity considering it requires vastly more skill and athleticism compared to pickleball — which can be played by just about anybody — but it definitely is an exciting sport with room to grow. At the very least, it’s an appealing niche sport to watch when you’re in the proper geographic region with the right scene.
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