Ballers

Step through the towering steel doors and you’re greeted with a sporting playground that feels as ambitious as the city it calls home. The sheer volume and height of the Turbine Hall—there’ll be no problem with the more lob-obsessed padelistas amongst you—gives everything inside a sense of theatre. While we’re all about padel at Águilas, we wouldn’t be doing it justice if we didn’t give voice to the true melting pot of modern sports on offer here.

• Pickleball: Philadelphia’s fastest-growing sport has its stage here, with six indoor and two outdoor courts.

• Squash: Two glass-backed courts nod to Philadelphia’s rich racquets heritage—the city where country clubs and squash have long intertwined.

• Golf: This so-“today” toy for the modern-day club owner is here in abundance. Four simulators and a short-game practice area make Ballers a golfer’s dream.

• Padel: Three pristine indoor courts sit at the heart of the hall, paired with a fourth outdoor court overlooking the Delaware.

• Fitness & Recovery: A vast gym is matched by spa-style recovery facilities—each locker room boasting a sauna, an infrared sauna, and a cold plunge.

• Soccer: A five-a-side pitch brings another layer of energy—already used by the Philadelphia Eagles for a graffiti art activation, underlining the blend of sport, culture, and creativity Ballers is intent on fostering.

If Philadelphia has always been a city of character, then Ballers is a club with character turned up to eleven. Think gritty grandeur crossed with contemporary ease. Steel ribs and brickwork are softened by warm lighting and considered acoustics; history hasn’t been erased here, it’s been reimagined, sympathetically restored and given a true modern makeover. Ballers is every inch the symbol of today’s Philadelphia—the most sporting of American cities, home to every major pro league—and this first club of its kind (the first of a 50-strong ambition that Gutstadt and Potter have) feels purpose-built for it: a modern social-sport clubhouse with cultural and an oh-so-urgent pulse. Expect to experience art exhibits and fashion pop-ups alongside match nights and DJ sets. It’s as much a cultural and social experience as it is a sporting one.

Sport is an anchor of a day spent at Ballers, with food and drink sealing the deal. The restaurant serves elevated pub fare—comforting classics balanced by healthier, athlete-friendly options. Craft coffee fuels mornings, and after dark, the room hums with the bold, punchy atmosphere befitting of such an emblem of Philadelphia.

“You Cannot Be Serious.” A Traveller Whiskey riff (a playful nod to racket-lore). Traveller is co-owned by Chris Stapleton—cousin to Ballers co-owner Amanda Potter—keeping the story as close to home as the pour.

Pedigree runs deep here. At the helm, David Gutstadt and Amanda Potter—the driving forces behind Equinox Hotel NYC and Fitler Club—bring big-city polish and a member-culture know-how that’s abundant in spades. One of the things that has stood out with Ballers is its big-name backing from starry investor roster: Andre Agassi, Kim Clijsters, Sloane Stephens, and hometown NBA standout Tyrese Maxey are all headline celeb investors (illustrating another modern trend of celeb investor-owner that Ballers has tapped into so well).

On the operations front, Nigel Thane (Athletic Director), a former top professional squash player, steers the Ballers ship, while Moose Bayoumi, among the top 10 padel players in the U.S. and a former internationally-ranked squash player, will lead the padel programming.

While the number of pickleball courts trumps the amount of padel on offer, this feels like a fair balance of where these two “it” racquet sports are in the U.S. at this point in 2025. And throw in a sport, squash, that, unlike in much of the world, is on the rise here in America - and has its Olympic debut fast approaching, too, and you have a true modern look of where racquet sports are in this true racquet sport city.

Coaching is the cornerstone of Ballers. Bayoumi heads a padel programme built around technical foundations and tactical fluency, accessible from first-timers to advanced. For pickleball, clinics feature top U.S. talent—Connor Barnett among them—raising the ceiling for local players across formats. Squash and golf instruction round out a genuinely multi-disciplinary coaching environment.

Structured, social, and stacked: kids’ academies, adults’ pathways, women’s groups, round robins, open plays, tournaments, leagues, private lessons, inter-club and intra-club fixtures—the full calendar hums from dawn to dusk (and well beyond). If you’re soon to set foot at Ballers, expect Americano nights, exhibition play, charity mixers and the occasional late-session marathon. With art/fashion activations threaded through the schedule, sport and culture move in tandem. (And with Boston and Los Angeles on the horizon, this blueprint is poised to travel).

If there’s one thing Ballers takes uber-seriously, it’s merch. Think artsy designs. Think non-conventional. Think time to make space in your wardrobe. The merch is a must-have here from custom racquets to Ballers ‘OUT’ t-shirts.