Maria Magraner Grau did not leave competitive sport behind when tennis began to wear on her. She found a new one.
After years of playing tennis, including at the collegiate level, Magraner reached a point where competition no longer felt the same. Padel changed that.
“I grew up playing tennis and competed at the collegiate level, so tennis was a huge part of my life,” Magraner said. “But after many years of competing, I reached a point where I felt burnt out. Padel gave me the light I was looking for. It allowed me to compete at a high level again, but in a sport that I genuinely enjoy.”
The switch came while Padel was still establishing a much larger presence in the United States. New facilities were opening, tournaments were expanding and more players were discovering the sport.
Originally from Tavernes de la Valldigna, Spain, Magraner has watched that evolution from inside the game, both as a professional player and through her work within Miami’s padel community.
From Tennis to Padel
Her tennis background gave her a strong foundation in racket sports, but padel offered something different.
“It is social, fast-paced, requires quick reflexes and decision-making, and naturally brings people together,” she said. “You are not just playing a sport. You are becoming part of a community. I think that combination is a big part of why the sport is growing so quickly.”
“Now, I see more and more women taking that first step into padel,” she said. “A lot of them come from other racket sports: tennis, pickleball, squash and badminton, so they already understand competition and movement, but they are looking for something new and more social. Padel gives them the opportunity to use those skills while learning a completely different game.”
For many players, the social side is part of the appeal.
“Women often tell me they love that they can come to a club, meet people, play competitively and build friendships at the same time,” Magraner said. “You can take padel seriously as an athlete without losing the community aspect that makes the sport fun.”
A Fast Rise in the U.S.
Magraner’s own competitive progress came quickly.
In August 2023, she was ranked at approximately No. 96 among women in the United States. By October, she had reached No. 10.
That year, she won the RGV Padel Club USPA 250 and the iPadel USPA 500. She followed those results with victories at the Real Padel Miami USPA 250 and the Texas 1000 USPA tournament in McAllen in 2024.
By the end of the 2024 women’s circuit, Magraner was ranked No. 8 nationally with 3,170 points.
Her rise came as the U.S. padel scene itself was becoming more competitive, with more clubs, tournaments and players entering the sport.
An Opportunity for Women’s Padel
For Magraner, though, the rankings are only part of the story.
Women are entering padel at a time when much of the professional structure in the United States is still taking shape. That gives them an opportunity to be involved early rather than joining a system that has already been established for decades.
“I think that is one of the most exciting things about padel right now,” she said. “The professional circuit is growing quickly, prize money is increasing, new competition destinations are emerging, and the level of competition continues to rise. For women, that creates a really unique opportunity to establish themselves while the sport is still defining its future. We are still deciding what this sport is going to become.”
The International Padel Federation has identified gender equality as one of the principles guiding the sport’s international development. Major international competitions feature men’s and women’s events together, and equal prize money has been established across the principal international championships and tours.
Magraner sees that as a strong starting point.
“I think padel has an opportunity to build a more balanced professional ecosystem from the beginning,” she said. “In many established sports, women’s professional structures have developed over decades, and there are still significant differences in visibility, investment, media coverage and earning potential. Padel is young enough that we can be much more intentional about creating equal opportunities as the sport grows.”
She is also clear about what the women’s game still needs.
She points to more tournaments, greater prize money, stronger media coverage, junior programs and better training facilities as important pieces of a sustainable women’s game.
“We need more tournaments, greater prize money, stronger media coverage and more pathways for young girls to progress from recreational players into high-level competitors,” Magraner said. “I also think padel can learn from both tennis and other rapidly growing sports.”
She also wants to see more attention paid to the women competing.
“The more people see the athletes, personalities and rivalries behind the sport, the more invested they will become,” she said.
Seeing the Sport Beyond Competition
Magraner’s perspective is also shaped by her work away from tournament matches.
She currently serves as Padel Circuit Manager at Ultra Padel Club in Miami and has been involved in competitive play, coaching, technical development, tournaments and the broader organization of the sport.
That gives her a close look at how Padel develops at the club level.
“The growth among women has been very noticeable,” she said. “When I first became involved in the U.S., there were far fewer women playing at a competitive level, and for some players the professional circuit could feel intimidating because there simply weren’t as many women participating.”
That feeling has started to change.
“The biggest difference I see today is that women are becoming much more confident in seeing themselves as part of the padel community,” Magraner said. “The women’s side of the sport is growing rapidly, and there is a real sense that we are building something together.”
Looking to the Next Generation
Magraner often thinks about what padel could look like for young players ten years from now.
“When I think about a young female player ten years from now, I want her to have a clear pathway,” she said. “I want her to be able to start playing as a junior, have access to quality coaching and training facilities, compete in tournaments across the country, potentially play padel in college, and eventually have the opportunity to make a sustainable living as a professional player.”
Magraner’s own experience shows how quickly opportunities can emerge. Within months, she moved from outside the national Top 90 to the U.S. Top 10, won tournaments at several competitive levels and developed a professional role within one of the country’s active Padel communities.
But the future matters to her as much as the ranking beside her name.
“Most importantly, I want the next generation of girls to believe that becoming a professional padel player is a realistic career choice,” Magraner said. “When I started playing in the U.S., the professional women’s circuit was much smaller and could feel intimidating. I would love for them to enter the sport feeling like they belong there from day one.”
For Magraner, what matters now is making sure the opportunities opening today are still there, and even stronger, for the women who come next.
