Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Letecheur.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m originally from Belgium, and I grew up around racket sports — tennis especially, which became my career. Over the last eight years or so, I watched padel explode across Europe. Every time I went home it had taken over a little more — courts popping up everywhere, friends who’d never played a sport suddenly addicted, clubs that felt less like gyms and more like social hubs where people came to play, have a drink, and belong. It wasn’t just a sport. It was a community.
When I moved to the Triangle and started coaching tennis here, I kept thinking: this region is perfect for padel, but almost nobody’s playing it yet. The same wave I’d watched sweep Europe was just beginning to reach the US — and the Triangle had no real home for it. So I decided to build one.
That’s how Triangle Padel Club started. Not with courts or a building — with a community. In our first week we went from an idea to 30+ founding members, a growing following, and people reaching out every day wanting in. The vision is a boutique, European-style club where padel is the reason you come and the community is the reason you stay. We’re not there yet — right now we’re building the community, running our first sessions, and laying the groundwork. But the response has already shown me the Triangle was ready for this. “More than a sport. A community.” isn’t a tagline to me — it’s the whole point.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, no — but the challenges have been the interesting part. The biggest one is that padel is still so new in the US that almost everything has to be built from scratch. There’s no established padel scene in the Triangle to plug into — no ready-made courts, no existing community, no obvious playbook. You’re not joining a movement here yet; you’re starting one.
Court access has been the hardest piece. Padel courts are still rare in this area, so a huge part of building the club is the unglamorous work of finding venues, building relationships with facility owners, and figuring out where people can actually play. That’s an ongoing puzzle.
The other challenge is education. Most Americans still confuse padel with pickleball, or have never heard of it at all. So a lot of the early work is simply showing people what padel is — the social, European spirit of it — and why it’s worth trying. It takes patience.
But none of that has been discouraging. If anything, being early is the opportunity. The response in just our first weeks — dozens of founding members, people reaching out daily — told me the demand is real and the timing is right. The obstacles are just the price of building something before everyone else realizes they want it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Triangle Padel Club is building the home for padel in the Raleigh–Durham–Cary area. Padel is the fastest-growing racket sport in the world — huge across Europe and Latin America — and it’s just beginning to take off in the US. We’re bringing it to the Triangle, but with a specific philosophy: more than a sport, a community.
What sets us apart is that we’re not just about the game. Padel in Europe is fundamentally social — you come to play, but you stay for the people, the atmosphere, the drinks afterward. That European social spirit is what we’re recreating here. We run beginner-friendly sessions, clinics, and events designed so that whether you’ve played in Spain or have never picked up a paddle, you belong from day one.
Right now we’re in the community-building phase — growing our founding membership, running our first sessions, and laying the groundwork for what will eventually become a boutique padel club. We’re known for being the first real padel community in the Triangle, and for an approach that puts connection and belonging at the center, not just competition.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I love most about the Triangle is the mix of energy and community. It’s a region that’s growing fast and full of active, social, open-minded people — there’s a real appetite here for new experiences and ways to connect. The area is also incredibly international, with people from all over the world who already know and love padel, alongside locals who are curious to try something new. That combination is exactly why I think the Triangle is the perfect place to build a padel community.
There’s also a strong existing racket-sports culture here — tennis and pickleball are huge — so people already understand the joy of getting on a court with friends. Padel is the natural next step.
If I had to name something I’d change, it’s simply that padel infrastructure hasn’t caught up to the demand yet — there just aren’t many courts in the area. But honestly, that’s less a complaint about the city and more the opportunity I’m here to help fill. The Triangle is ready for this; the courts just need to catch up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.trianglepadel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trianglepadelclub
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trianglepadelclub
