A trendy sport! The celebs showed up to enjoy the first-ever Blockchain.com Miami Padel Open as the game grows in popularity.
The inaugural event kicked off the seasonal World Padel Tour 2022 at Island Gardens in Miami from Tuesday, February 22 to Friday, February 27. The week-long event brought together the best padel players with first-class entertainment, high-end food and drinks, curated shopping experiences and more.
Stars like Vince Vaughn, Jimmy Butler, Claire Holt, Jimmy Buffet, Udonis Haslem, Alonzo Mourning, and more arrived to show their support and enjoy the first-class amenities as well as the showstopping concerts. Rick Ross, Ludacris, Gianluca Vacchi and Wyclef Jean put on special performances throughout the week.
Padel has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. The event brought out some of the best worldwide padel players to compete in a six-day tournament led by Florida investor Wayne Boich of Boich Investment Group.
Butler, the Miami Heat’s small forward, served as the official Honorary Chairperson and supported Boich during his first padel match. The 32-year-old also got to play some padel during match breaks and even had a playful 1:1 game with journalists who came to cover the event. While he had a good time, it doesn’t seem like he’ll retire from the NBA to switch sports.
Among the highly anticipated events were the various celebrity charity matches. Former pro basketball player Shane Battier and tennis player Bob Bryan teamed up to take on models Sandy Meyer Woelden and Michelle Alvarez Bryan, the wife of the tennis player. The exciting match ended with the women winning. Eva Garzón, CEO and owner of The Grand Lion, also played and won against influencer Twan Kuyper.
After the tournament finals, Boich invited Battier onto the court and challenged him to a match against the final two women’s padel match winners, Gemma Triay and Alejandra Salazar. If Battier could score one point against the winners, Blockchain.com Miami Padel Open would donate $25,000 to his Battier Take Charge Foundation.
The retired athlete accepted and chose Butler as his partner. After a couple of practice rounds, the two champion athletes scored one point and graciously accepted the donation.
But that wasn’t the end of all the luxury event’s generous donations. After titlists Fernando Belasteguin and Arturo Coello were honored at the Men’s Finals Award Ceremony, the Blockchain.com Miami Padel Open presented a $500,000 donation to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. The donation will help fund the 66-year-old politician’s Miami-Dade County Peace and Prosperity Plan, which makes investments to create positive youth opportunities and safe neighborhoods.
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The event partners also offered an additional $1.5 million worth of donations to other local charities like Overtown Youth Center, Mt. Sinai, The Battier Take Charge Foundation, Style Saves, No More Tears and more. The total amount of charitable donations surpassed $2 million.
While the hot-ticket event gave back to the community at large, attendees at the open enjoyed some luxury amenities. The week was full of exclusive VIP experiences provided by Richard Mille, the luxury Swiss watch brand. Celebs enjoyed the festivities — which included the matches as well as the musical performances — from the watchmakers’ VIP boxes.
The Miami Padel Open also had pop-up boutiques from exclusive brands, private clubs and high-end eateries. ZZ’s Club, Major Food Group’s exclusive private membership destination, had a special activation while South Florida’s wellness destination had their own exclusive area. Wine label La Fête du Rosé featured a pop-up bar offering their luxury rosé, and restaurant Behn Mi wowed guests with Vietnamese-inspired treats.
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