MLB Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and Reserve Padel founder and CEO Wayne Boich explain how Reserve Padel came to be and share the group’s growth prospects on ‘The Claman Countdown’.
Derek Jeter will always be the captain, but this weekend it’s a bit of a different role.
Jeter was the captain of the New York Yankees for the final 12 seasons of his 20-year Hall of Fame career.
Now Jeter has received the title of captain of a padel team during the Reserve Cup in Miami this weekend.
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Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a game-winning RBI hit in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles in his final game at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Reserve Cup, founded by Wayne Boich, is an annual event where top padel players compete in a tournament.
“I am here to support Wayne. I am not a padel expert, he is the panel expert. He first told me about his vision and I am proud of what he has been able to build here,” Jeter said in an interview with Fox Business.
The first Reserve Cup in Miami was just two years ago, and featured stars like Jeter, David Beckham and Serena Williams have shown their love for the sport that combines tennis, pickleball, racquetball and squash. The prize money is approximately $600,000, with more than $2 million in sponsorship revenue.
“For me, it was because I loved the sport in the first place. I didn’t know anything about padel in 2013. I was playing at a wedding,” Boich told Fox Business. “And then I thought, ‘Wow, this is a great sport.’ I had no idea what it was. And then I started playing with a bunch of ex-tennis players in Miami, and there were hardly any tennis courts in the United States. I think under 10 in the entire US, but there were three in Miami.
“We started playing a lot, and when I went to Spain and played in the pros, we thought, ‘Wow, this is such a cool sport to see live, and playing against these guys is awesome.'”
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Boich then started bringing professional players to Miami, built a court at his home and “it became an event.”
“It’s so fascinating. … I noticed how men and women from about 75 years old could become addicted in one session. I thought that was very telling,” Boich said.
“What we have with the Reserve Cup. It is not a tour event, but we are a high-end lifestyle event where people go for great padel, but also for many other things,” Boich added. “Whether it’s networking, watching padel, the events we do on site, the people they are exposed to. Above all, I am very humbled and proud to see all these people taking part in the game and of course the role we have played in it.”
The Reserve Cup is not an exhibition, however, as some of the best players in the world compete for the prizes.
“That’s what draws people here. Any time you watch a sport, when you have the best players in the world – look at the World Series and Super Bowl – people want to go see them,” Jeter added. “He has made it an event to get some of the best players in the world here.”
For Boich, it means the world getting support from someone like the 14-time All-Star and five-time World Series winner.
Derek Jeter is inducted during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center on September 8, 2021 in Cooperstown, NY (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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“I’m just lucky that I’ve been involved in sports for a long time, and those people have been friends of mine for a long time. And I got them into padel, they both really enjoy it. Jimmy is an avid player when he can play, and Derek certainly loves it,” said Boich.
“So they’re helpful, right? And I think they appreciate and believe what we’re building at Reserve, and they’re happy to be a part of that. And I’ve been very lucky for that. It’s been great.”
“And then I think in terms of the Reserve Cup, it’s really good to see the corporate money starting to flow into it. We’re in a position now where we have some great sponsors at the Reserve Cup to make the event a success. We’ve probably supplied about 20% of the tracks sold in the United States. It’s the tip of the iceberg.”
