While pickleball has been all the rage recently, there’s another sport Houstonians should start paying attention to. The Houston Volts, the Bayou City’s latest professional athletic team, is gearing up to make a splash in the rapidly growing sport of padel. Founded by Sergio Ortiz, the Volts are preparing for the upcoming season in the Professional Padel League (PPL), securing their position as the 10th franchise in the league, which itself just launched last year.

Padel, a racket sport that originated in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969, combines elements of tennis and squash. The game is played on a 10-by-20-meter court enclosed with tempered glass, providing players with the unique opportunity to hit the ball off the walls. The smaller court fosters an intimate atmosphere, with players within shouting distance.

Ortiz, who grew up in Mexico, traces his connection to padel back to his roots. Having played the sport in Mexico City, his involvement deepened when his children joined the US National Junior Team. This journey led him to become a board member and eventually the president of the United States Padel Association. It was in this role that he saw the immense potential for padel to grow in the US, and the dream of a professional team in Houston began to take shape.

“That had me very involved with the promotion of the sport, always pushing to grow it here in the United States,” Ortiz says. “So, I stepped down with the only meaning and intention of creating my own padel club, which we are building right now in The Woodlands.”

The club, named Pelota Padel Club, is currently under construction and is set to become a 12-court facility, which Ortiz says makes it the largest padel club in the United States. Nine of the courts will be located indoors, with the remaining three being exterior ones.

Ortiz began negotiations for the Houston Volts to become a member of the PPL in 2023. They recently joined as the 10th team in the league, which includes both national and international padel groups like the Cancun Waves, the Toronto Polar Bears, the Los Angeles Beat, the New York Atlantics, the Flowrida Goats, and more.

The team’s name is a nod to Houston’s energy industry and its association with NASA. The logo, featuring Zeus with a bolt in one hand and a padel racket in the other, symbolizes power and dynamism. The Greek God is also going to be the team’s mascot.

“We wanted a Houston name and the franchise to be something very energetic, something with that vibe, since this city is mostly known for the energy industry, oil, and gas,” Ortiz says, adding that many other sports teams here have similar themes. The men’s soccer team, the Houston Dynamo, also nods to the energy industry; before relocating to Nashville in the 1990s, the Houston Oilers were the city’s NFL team. The Houston Rockets and Houston Astros both honor the space connection.

The PPL’s first season began in June 2023, and Ortiz hopes to have the Volts ready for the 2024 one. Ortiz has even started scouting players for the team, securing five of his league-allotted 10-player maximum.

The newest members of the Volts include 22-year-old Ivan Ramirez, 21-year-old Pablo Garcia, and 20-year-old Lorena Ruffo, all from Spain. Coming from Argentina, 20-year-old Alex Chozas and 18-year-old Claudia Jenson are also set to join the team. With these additions, Ortiz has met his allowed limit for international players and says he is now looking for local and North American ones.

The season comprises five weeks of playing in the US starting in April, ending in an all-star game in December. In the “interweeks” when they’re not playing, the team will be practicing as well as hosting youth programs in Houston. These efforts align with Ortiz’s vision for the future of padel in Houston. As the Volts prepare to electrify the PPL, he envisions the members engaging with the community through various initiatives.

“I believe that the youth programs and the young professional players are the future of this sport,” Ortiz says. “I hope that the league grows. This way we’ll have more competition and more places to play.”

The construction of the Pelota Padel Club is progressing, and Ortiz anticipates its completion by the end of the year. He says the aim is for the club to not only provide top-notch facilities for the Houston Volts but also be a hub for padel enthusiasts in the region. As the Houston Volts prepare to embark on their inaugural season in the PPL, Ortiz envisions a future where padel becomes a thriving sport in the United States.