The moment U.S. collegiate padel has been building toward is almost here. On April 10–11, 2026, Padel Club Austin will host the first-ever National Collegiate Padel Championships, bringing together 66 players from universities across the country for the largest collegiate padel tournament in American history.

The number alone tells part of the story. No college padel event in the United States has ever drawn a field this size. But the participation record is just as much a reflection of how fast this community has grown as it is of this particular weekend.

From five clubs to a national championship

When the USPA formally launched its Collegiate Padel program, it did so with five founding clubs: Longhorn Padel at the University of Texas at Austin, Canes Padel at the University of Miami, Yale Padel Club, USD Club Padel at the University of San Diego, and FIU Padel Club at Florida International University. In the months since, the network has expanded steadily, adding clubs at Harvard Business School, the University of Arizona, UT Dallas, Babson College, and more.

Longhorn Padel and Padel Club Austin step up

Hosting the inaugural national championship is USPA member club, Padel Club Austin and Longhorn Padel. Longhorn Padel is the student-led padel club at the University of Texas – Austin. 

Rodrigo Ortiz, President and Founder of Longhorn Padel, has been working toward this moment since the club’s early days. “We have been working toward this moment since the very beginning,” Ortiz said. “When we started Longhorn Padel, we knew there was something special here, the energy, the talent, and the passion our students bring every time they step on the court. The National Collegiate Padel Championship gives our club the chance to be amazing hosts and welcome collegiate padel players from around the country. We’re bringing Texas energy, Burnt Orange pride, and Longhorn hospitality to the national stage.”

The weekend will unfold across two days. Friday evening opens with tournament play and a welcome party, while Saturday features the full competitive draw, followed by a player party, prizes, and a DJ, the kind of event format that signals padel’s identity as both a sport and a social community.

More than a national title

Winning this championship will carry weight beyond the trophy. Performance at the National Collegiate Padel Championships is part of the selection criteria for the U.S. delegation to the FISU World University Championships of Padel in Málaga, Spain, in July 2026. That puts this event directly on the path to international competition, making it one of the few collegiate padel tournaments in the world with stakes that high.

Bill Ullman, President of the United States Padel Association, sees this weekend as a defining moment in the sport’s development in America. “The collegiate pathway is how sports take root in this country,” Ullman said. “When you give university students a competitive structure, from campus clubs to a national championship to international representation, you’re not just building a tournament, you’re building the next generation of American padel. What’s happening in Austin this weekend is exactly what we envisioned when we launched this program, and it’s only the beginning.”

The USPA is a member of UniUSA, the official U.S. affiliate of FISU, and of NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation, institutional backing that positions collegiate padel alongside established university sports in a way that was difficult to imagine even a year ago.

A foundation, not a finish line

The first edition of the National Collegiate Padel Championships is a milestone, but the USPA sees it as the beginning of something larger. Collegiate sport has historically been one of the most reliable engines for growing any sport in the United States. Building a clear pathway from campus clubs through a national championship to international competition gives student-athletes a reason to take the game seriously and universities a reason to invest in it.

For the players competing in Austin this weekend, this will be the first national title ever contested in their sport at the collegiate level. That’s not something you get to be part of twice.

View the complete tournament details here.

The National Collegiate Padel Championships is proudly supported by Nox and 4on, hosted by Padel Club Austin and Longhorn Padel at the University of Texas at Austin.