Padel Fever
7-1-26
Opening Comments
My last note was about the importance keeping in touch with friends and colleagues. The most opened links were the NBA draft prospect wearing $4mm in diamonds that did not get drafted in the first round and the five cancer symptoms people miss or diagnose as aging or stress.
I played in a padel tournament in the highest division with pros. No, it was not my wisest move. My partner was a VERY accomplished woman who was 63 years old. Our combined age of 119 was more than double the young competitors with combined ages around 50. We played 4 sets and lost 3. These young guys were too good and hit the ball so hard. Sure, I hit some good shots and was respectable, but too many mistakes. It was humbling. I keep playing with younger and better players. I enjoy playing up and improving my game. However, playing 8 sets in 4.5 hours was too much for my 56-year-old body. Remember, Salt Lake City is 4,500 feet above sea level.
I started four peptides on Monday and in the Health Section, I outline my protocol and thoughts.
Markets
Florida Unemployment in Charts
Leverage in Markets
TSMC Arizona Project
The World’s Most Valuable Sports Empires
Housing UN-Affordability
Home Seller Concessions Rising
Brin Lost 94c on the Dollar in NYC R/E
Pictures of the Day-Noz Market Omakase UES
There are some amazing sushi restaurants in NYC. The best ones tend to be quite pricey for high-end omakase ($250-500+). On the Upper East Side, Noz Market offers a very good value for $150 for a 15-course meal. Is it the best sushi I ever ate? No, it is not. Is it very good for $150? Yes, and I would definitely return. The courses were all solid and presented beautifully. Some of the sushi included squid, snapper, sea trout, scallop, tuna, chu-toro, o-toro, uni, egg and more. For a faster experience, the stand-up handroll bar at Noz Market is a great alternative. The sister restaurant, Sushi NOZ, is a two Michelin Star stunner, but multiples of the price of Noz Market. Last summer, Jack and I ate at Noz 17 in Chelsea, and the review can be found here.
Food-8.0
Service-8.5
Ambiance-7.1
Cost-Reasonable for the quality and quantity for the $150 seating
Padel Fever
I have written extensively about my love for padel. Here are a few of the many pieces I have written about it (Padel Engulfed My Life, I Love Padel & Ross Berman, I Just Raised My Paddle for Padel). I am upset that I did not start playing 20 years ago. Other than surfing, it is the most fun sport I ever recall playing.
Padel is experiencing explosive growth in the U.S., transitioning from a niche activity to a major, high-investment sport with over 1 million players and over 1,000 courts by early 2026, up from under 20 in 2019. The sport is expanding rapidly in cities like Miami and New York, with AI projections suggesting 10 million players by 2030.
New courts are opening up all over the country. In South Florida, Miami had the lock on padel, but not anymore. Amazing facilities are opening all over the place. For full disclosure, I am an investor in Replay, and I believe it is among the nicest facilities in the country given the 75k feet under air with 10 padel courts, 7 pickle courts, massive gym, restaurant, bar, lounge, yoga, cold plunges, steam/sauna, and more. We are also installing a golf simulator and instruction with a top teacher.
Padel is being viewed as a great client activity and a great social connector. Many of my closest friends play padel now. My problem with golf is it is an all-day affair that literally is 7 hours of your life. You can play padel in 1.5 hours, and even if you grab a bite and warm up and commute, it should not be more than 2.5 hours. It is fun and you get amazing exercise. This NYT article is entitled, “Miami Has a Padel Obsession.”
This Robb Report article is entitled, “How Padel Became One of the Hottest Sports for the Global Elite.” Luxury brands including Rolex, Prada, Lamborghini, Richard Mille, and Frederique Constant have all recently entered the space through sponsorships, equipment collaborations, or partnerships with professional leagues and exclusive clubs.
I have played at dozens of facilities around the country and am finding more players are addicted to the game. I played in a tournament at Xcel Padel in WPB, and the facility was stunning, albeit in the middle of nowhere.
The new facility in Boca, opening later this year, should be remarkable. It is called Boca Paddle (operated by City Pickle) and will have 19 pickle courts and 6 padel, as well as all kinds of amenities and a great restaurant. I presume this will be a fantastic facility and believe nearly $20mm will be spent on it.
Here is a list of some of the padel places in Miami. No piece on the sport of padel would be complete without a shout-out to Wayne Boich, the person who has done more for padel in the US than anyone. He owns the Reserve and a number of various padel facilities across the country. His passion for the game has helped grow it exponentially and without him, I surely would not be an addict.
I am in, Utah and in a span of a few months, seven padel facilities have opened or will be opening around Salt Lake including: Padel Den, Conquer Padel Club, SLC Padel, the Hive, and Padel Park, Metro Padel and one other. Think about that for a second. Around Salt Lake City, there are seven padel clubs, and I presume more are coming. I have played at all five clubs that have opened and have really enjoyed myself and getting to know the owners. I attended the Grand Opening of Conquer Padel in SLC on Saturday, and it was amazing. The Hive will be opening in August and looks to be a very high-end experience based on the renderings.
The US has a long way to go to catch Spain on the padel front. Spain has over 6 million active padel players and 17,000 courts. Italy has almost 9,000 courts and Sweden and Portugal are booming on the sport. Argentina has over 10,000 courts. The US has over 1,000 courts with projections suggesting 3,000 by the end of 2026.
In the Hamptons, dozens of new courts at private homes have gone up with approximately 100+ in total in recent years. The game is growing for good reason. I really like what the Brisas team did this year in East Hampton. The facility is much improved, and it is run by a great group of guys.
If you have racket skills from tennis or squash and are in decent shape, I strongly suggest you take a padel lesson. If you can play five times and get proper instruction, you are likely to get addicted. Princess Kate is in love with padel, so you know it’s good. Additionally, I have made so many amazing friends across the country from my padel matches. I am really excited about the future of the sport.
Quick Bites
After a challenging weekend in the Middle East, hostilities paused Sunday afternoon and Hormuz shipping channels reopened. Trump announced that the US and Iran will hold fresh talks in Qatar on Tuesday and markets responded positively. Stocks were +1%+ on Monday, with tech outperforming, while oil only gained 1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq surged 14.1% and 21.4% in Q2 for their biggest quarterly gain since the second quarter of 2020. The Dow gained 12.9% in that time, marking its strongest quarter since Q4 2022. Oil posted a -20% June, for the largest monthly decline since March of 2020. I am still not convinced the war is over or that oil should be at $70/barrel given the storage issues and time to get the Strait of Hormuz and production back up and running. As of 2:45 pm on Wednesday, markets were little changed with the Dow and S&P up slightly and Nasdaq down less than .5%. Semiconductors were under pressure. Oil fell almost 2% to sub $69, after Trump said US/Iran talks were going well. How many times has Trump made such a statement? However, bond yields were up post Warsh’s statement that prices are too high and the 10-year yield was +5bps to 4.48%.
Good Bloomberg article outlining surging unemployment in Florida. While the US unemployment rate has been little changed over the past year, joblessness in Florida has surged. It’s climbed more than a percentage point to 4.8%, faster than nearly any other state, and is now among the highest nationwide. Job growth has slowed to a crawl amid a pullback in key industries like real estate, retail and tourism, all of which are highly sensitive to interest rates and consumer demand. That marks a reversal from Florida’s run as a magnet for workers and retirees coming out of the pandemic, when its economy was one of the hottest in the US. It also raises questions about the viability of the state’s growth model as a rising cost of living starts to send would-be Floridians elsewhere. Clearly, the cost of living is far higher today than pre-COVID. Florida lacks the infrastructure to handle the massive inflow of people as well.
Investors have never been more eager to ratchet up their stock returns through margin loans and funds that amplify gains and losses. It may be a sign of trouble.
U.S. margin debt, or what investors borrow from their brokerages to buy securities, rose 54% to a record $1.4 trillion in May from a year earlier, according to Finra data. Meanwhile, high-risk leveraged exchange-traded funds that produce double or triple the daily move of underlying stocks are growing rapidly, as is trading in options tied to them. “I’m fearful that we’re building unintended leverage that isn’t fully understood,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist for Nationwide’s investment management group. “You’ve got people with a lottery mentality using margin to buy options on levered ETFs. That’s three or four layers.” The risks of buying leveraged funds are well-advertised: a 30% drawdown in the underlying stock can turn into a 90% wipeout for the fund. But Wall Street sees a broader problem emerging: These funds, along with other forms of leverage, can also affect how the individual stocks behave. The recent action in South Korea, market participants said, offers a glimpse at the risks. On June 5, for example, the popular 3X semiconductor fund plunged 31% in a single session, roughly tripling its benchmark index’s decline, as intended. Leverage is lovely when it works and devastating it doesn’t.
The mother of all US reshoring projects, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s bid to turn the Arizona desert into its number-two production nexus, is exceeding expectations. At least it is exceeding the expectations of TSMC founder Morris Chang, who predicted that, barring a war in Taiwan, “the effort to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors is a wasteful and expensive exercise in futility”. Diversifying TSMC away from its birthplace is a geoeconomic necessity as the digital age morphs into the artificial intelligence age and China insists on “reuniting” the neighboring island of 23 million. Some 90 per cent of TSMC’s employees and all of its advanced chip production remain Taiwanese, notes Dylan Patel, CEO of US-based SemiAnalysis. “Three per cent of US GDP is dependent on one square mile in Southern Taiwan,” hre writes. Last March, TSMC expanded its US investment target from $65bn to $165bn — partly to “power the future of AI,” as a press release put it, implicitly to head off the threat of Trump administration tariffs. The pictures in the link are remarkable. The scale of these projects is impressive. The numbers are just staggering.
The world’s 20 most valuable sports empires are worth a combined $269 billion, 20% more than a year ago. The increase in sports empire valuations has been fueled by escalating prices for sports properties. In March, Stephen Ross sold 1% of his sports portfolio — which includes controlling stakes in the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and a Formula 1 race as well as a minority stake in the Miami Open tennis tournament — at a record $12.5 billion valuation. CNBC pegs the control valuation for Ross’ share of these assets to be worth $15.23 billion, 59% more than a year ago. Ross moves up to No. 6 on this year’s sports empires ranking, from No. 15 last year. The top 10 are below. The article gives lots of details. The Golden State Warriors were valued at $315mm in 2009 and $3bn in 2017. Now $13bn. Insanity.
Middle East
I have been critical of the Trump Administration for the handling of the situation with Iran. Trump has made so many promises, as well as aggressive threats only to fall down every time. Last weekend, Iran bombed an oil tanker in Hormuz and sent missiles to Bahran and Kuwait. Trump “responded,” although I have a feeling it was a statement and not anything substantive. After, the IRGC media said, “Iran must develop a nuclear bomb to protect peace and calm.” This is after multiple other comments by IRGC officials suggesting they will not agree to nuclear inspections. On Sunday, Iran doubled down on control of the Strait. It just does not end. I have been consistent. Iran is not to be trusted and right now, Iranian leadership smells blood. Trump clearly does not want escalation and is looking for off-ramps. What a disaster.
Israeli defense chief blames Trump for halting all-out Hezbollah push in Lebanon
Canada's new advisor on antisemitism is himself an antisemite and a terrorism-supporter
I thought this post was interesting and concerning:
Politics
Over a million people are on Obamacare with no Social Security Number
As the Democrats are looking to raise taxes on the wealthy, we have massive fraud, waste, and abuse in the government costing US taxpayers hundreds of billions per year.
Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s restrictions
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. Almost every major country has banned birthright citizenship. The same with voter ID for elections, where at least 176 countries require it.
Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports
In the latest of a string of losses for LGBTQ rights, the high court allowed states to bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. For the life of me, I will never understand the argument for a biological boy to compete against girls. I support the Supreme Court’s decision. Keep boys out of girl’s locker rooms.
Hunter Biden-style sleaze is just as slimy when the Trump boys do it
I was very critical of Biden and the millions the crack-addict was being paid by various foreign entities. I called them out repeatedly. The same is happening with Trump and Lutnick’s kids and it is outlined in this article. I am an equal opportunity hater.
Trump bought as much as $5 million in Axon stock before ICE sought $220 million Taser deal
It just does not read well. I am critical of insider trading by anyone.
Trump’s annual financial disclosure shows more than $580M in crypto-related income
Mamdani weighs in on changing the Constitution so he can run for president
This should never happen. The thought of this clown being the President of the United States is revolting. He hates America, Jews, capitalism, the wealthy, billionaires, and all that America stands for. However, I do believe he is the leader of the Democratic party and has serious sway within it.
Fink is a lifelong Democrat and is incredibly critical of Mamdani. He talks about deploying resources outside of NYC.
‘We F*cking Hate You!’ Liberal CA Lawmaker Heckled at San Fran Trans March
Why? His policy on the “genocide” in Gaza. Do you know what happens to gay people in Gaza?
Watch this short video about what is happening in Europe. This is absolutely disgusting. A French man was filming in front of a grocery store and there were Afghan immigrants sitting on the ground behind him. He was speaking about how his small town has changed due to immigration. He posted the short video explaining this was the new norm in the French countryside. Police came and took him into custody for 48 hours. Questioned his life, relationship with kids and prosecuted him requiring him to pay 4,650 Euros in fines and retribution for the illegal immigrants sitting on the floor. Welcome to the new world in Europe. Nothing could get me to move there now. Who is the criminal here? This historian believes by 2030, Muslims will dominate the population and vote in Sharia Law. Nothing to see here folks. Look away. History shows us the way forward.
Putin’s fuel shortage admission signals growing strain on Russia’s energy infrastructure
Other Headlines
China Has Matched Anthropic in Cybersecurity, Resetting AI Race
Clampdown on top U.S. artificial intelligence is fueling concern that Washington is handing Beijing a cyberwarfare advantage
Oil prices near pre-war levels — but persistent supply risks could spark a rebound, analysts warn
Fed Chief Kevin Warsh declines to hint at July rate decision, but says inflation ‘too high’
Lower oil will help if it stays around $70, but costs in general are just too high. Kalshi suggests that inflation peaked in May.
Private Landowners in the US by Visual Capitalist
For perspective, there are 2.27 bn acres of land in the USA.
AeroVironment soars 19% on earnings beat, backlog grows to $1.2 billion
Nike results top estimates even as China sales drop 12%; retailer expects $986 million tariff refund
The stock is -42% of the past year and -36% YTD.
Meta pops 10% as company makes cloud push to sell excess AI compute power capacity
This is a company with a $1.5 trillion market cap. 10% moves are massive.
Ford rehires human engineers after AI fails to match quality checks
Jonathan Pettigrew (41) asks a "teen" on an MTA bus to lower his phone volume — the "teen" kills him
Check out this insane video of a woman being mugged and fighting back
Couple charged with murder after son, 7, dies weighing 17 stone - ‘only ate chips’
He weighed 255 lbs at 4’2.5” tall. Parents refused to take him to the doctor despite having health insurance. This is a disgusting example of child abuse that resulted in death.
Gambling disorder diagnoses spike in states that legalized sports betting, study shows
Researchers analyzed millions of electronic health records and found a major difference between states that greenlit sports gambling and those that didn’t.
LeBron James informs Lakers he plans to play elsewhere in 2026-27
Although I believe Jordan is the GOAT, I feel LeBron has had the best total career. I believe Barry Sanders was the best running back of all time, but feel Emmitt Smith had the best career. LeBron will be returning for his 24th season. Truly remarkable. Leading contenders are the Warriors, Heat and Cavs.
Health
On Monday, I started my protocol of peptides and will be updating my readers on my progress. I did a lot of research and went with Dr. Jason Shapiro in Miami who is doing integrated medicine with primary care and longevity. I am cautiously optimistic that I will see a difference. I am trying a 90-day protocol, and I will see how I feel. To be clear, I will be giving myself 16 shots/week. However, the needles are small and painless. I am giving shots in my stomach. Numerous readers swear by these peptides. I am not looking for miracles, but hopefully, I will notice a substantial difference. I am taking the supplements below as well.
Shingles vaccine may also offer protection against dementia, studies increasingly show
Shingles, a condition triggered by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus in the body, can cause a “war zone” of inflammation in the brain.
The surprising reason a sleep tracker can wreck a good night’s sleep
Sleep trackers can be helpful but relying too much on the data and not listening to body cues can make you anxious about what the night will bring. Orthosomnia is, at its core, a form of insomnia triggered by obsessive tracking of sleep data and the use of wearables,” said Andrew Spector, a sleep medicine specialist. I am in complete agreement. I feel there is data overload and it makes you more anxious about getting a good night’s sleep.
Going through menopause? Vital therapy slashes risk of low bone density by 69%
Seniors in Medicare are about to get landmark obesity drug coverage — but many may not know it yet
Doctors thought man had brain cancer — they found live tapeworms instead
Real Estate
Owning a home in America has never been more expensive: The average annual cost of homeownership has surged +39% since 2019, to a record $28,596/year in 2025. This outpaced the +26% increase in CPI inflation over the same period.
Interest payments are now the largest single cost, rising +35% since 2019, to over $10,500 last year. Emergency repairs and home maintenance soared +175% and +85%, respectively, over the same period. Meanwhile, property taxes are up +31%, to $5,900/year, making them the 3rd-largest component of homeownership costs in 2025. When you consider the number of adults living with parents, it is no wonder given home ownership costs. Of note, a typical homeowner has a net worth of $430k, while a renter has a net worth of $10k. Homeownership is proving to be elusive due to bad Fed policy and Biden Administration policy of free money for too long. Also contributing was the Global Financial Crisis which caused a significant drop in housing starts from 2010-2020.
This link is to a Kobeissi Letter report about how the US housing market is getting weaker, with 46% of seller offering concessions to buyers. The concessions have more than doubled since the 2022 COVID-induced buying spree. This comes as the US now has ~47% more home sellers than buyers, near the highest on record, with elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty continuing to weigh on buyer demand. In Nashville, 76% of sellers gave concessions in May, the highest among the 28 major metropolitan areas.
This was followed by Charlotte and Atlanta, at 71% and 69%, respectively.
By comparison, just 3% of New York home sellers offered concessions last month. Homebuyers are gaining negotiating power across much of the US housing market.
I plan on writing a more substantive piece on the idiotic rent laws in NYC, but this Bloomberg article does a good job of highlighting the massive losses taken by rent stabilized unit owners. Ballooning costs and strict limits on rent increases have spurred losses for many investors in New York City apartments. Google co-founder Sergey Brin offloaded his stake in a New York real estate fund for pennies on the dollar last year after its bets on rent-stabilized apartments soured. Amphitheatre LLC, an entity affiliated with Brin, sold shares in the fund that holds nearly 5,900 units back to its manager, A&E Real Estate. “A&E bought out one of our long-term investors, who was willing to accept six cents on the dollar on their original equity investment to divest itself from the New York City multifamily sector,” a representative for A&E said in a statement. A&E’s troubles started long before the latest blow. Like many landlords, it has faced new restrictions on the ability to raise rents following legislation passed in 2019. The pandemic then made it harder to collect tenant payments, while borrowing costs and insurance premiums climbed sharply. The firm has faced foreclosure on dozens of apartment buildings and found itself targeted by tenant activists and local housing agency lawyers, who sued it over living conditions in its properties including mold and bedbugs. The future is bleak for the landlords of rent-stabilized units in NYC due to bad laws that do not allow them to raise rents despite skyrocketing cost increases (labor, electricity, taxes, maintenance, insurance…). I have spoken with major NYC landlords, and nothing could get me to invest in the space right now.
© 2026 The Rosen Report LLC. All rights reserved. Does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult with your lawyers and professional financial advisers. Rosen Report™ #902 ©Copyright 2026 Written By Eric Rosen.
Love to. Email me at rosenreport@gmail.com. Nyc is hard. Where to play?
Would love to play next time youre in NY!