Mehdi Rhazali says he’s “always been a racket sport person.”
“I started playing tennis growing up and back home in Morocco,” he said. “I came to college and played tennis here at Drexel University, where I competed and graduated from there.”
Now the director of Tennis and head coach of Men’s Tennis at Drexel University, Rhazali has a new passion project: he will open the VIVA Pickleball & Padel Club, the first of its kind in Philadelphia, sometime this spring. He will retain his duties at Drexel.
To make time, he will step down as the Head Rackets Professional at the Germantown Cricket Club. That role, he said, provided experience that will help with his new venture.
“My role comes from managing racket sports programs, enhancing the member experience and at the same time offering a lot of programming — events, clinics, open plays and all of that.”
The idea and vision
Rhazali said the facility, at 1300 N. 8th Street, will offer a variety of amenities.
“We are putting [in] four padel courts and four pickleball courts, with a viewing and social area where people can hang out and watch or mingle,” he said. “We also have a convenience store in there to buy rackets or rent rackets and balls.”
He said the pro shop will be housed inside of an old Airstream Overlander. He adds there will also be modern showers and bathrooms so players can freshen up before or after work.
Rhazali emphasized the VIVA Pickleball & Padel Club will aim to host events and provide a variety of social and educational materials.
“We will be offering private lessons,” he said. “We’ll be offering educational clinics that can teach all different levels. We’ll be offering a junior program as well for kids, and we will have theme events, because this sport is very social. And our goal is to host tournaments – a big one and a smaller one – once a season, to start, and kind of will go from there.”
Rhazali emphasized his vision in opening this club centers around accessibility and awareness.
“Our goal is to increase the participation in padel and pickleball space,” he said. “A lot of people that live in downtown, for example, they don’t have that access. So that was our first goal, to make sure people have access.”
Some people have preferences when it comes to tennis or pickleball. Rhazali said he wants people to appreciate all racket sports and find the ones that work for them.
“I coach competitive tennis at the collegiate level, and sometimes people need a mental break, for example,” he said. “And now we have the tools to go and play padel – it’s different. You go play pickleball – it’s different.”
He said adding in pickleball or padel to a weekly routine can be good for wellness, health and community-building.
What is padel?
Rhazali explained the club’s two sports – padel and pickleball – are somewhat different.
Pickleball is played on an open court, and the ball has to bounce within certain parameters of the court. Padel is played on a court within a glass wall, Rhazali said, and the ball can bounce against the wall or even outside of the court.
“Padel is a little bit more of an active, fast-paced kind of sport,” he said. “I think it’s also great for people that have a little bit of squash background and tennis background.”
Padel is more similar to tennis – in terms of scoring and mechanics, while pickleball is more like a “miniature” version of tennis.
According to a 2023 report from the Association of Pickleball Professionals, over 48 million Americans – nearly 1 in every 5 adults – had played pickleball at least once over a 12-month period. That data was a 35 percent increase from the APP’s last survey in August 2022.
Pickleball is also very popular with younger people – with more than 70 percent of avid pickleball players between 18 and 44.
Rhazali said while pickleball is already popular in the U.S., padel is still growing.
“Padel, I think it’s what we call ‘the pickleball of the world,’ ” he said. “It’s pretty big in Europe already, and I think we’ll just want to bring it here to the U.S.”
Rhazali said he thinks bringing these racket sports together in one club will help to enhance social interactions for the community.
“I think these sports are social and bring the community together a little bit more than tennis, because the court is small, so you feel closer to people than a tennis court,” he said. “And at the same time, people tend to have a lot of communities and clubs already, and this will just kind of increase their audience, their community. It will give them more access to more friends, or more people that they did not meet before.”
The location and facilities
The club is built on a converted parking lot that was originally a SEPTA depot. Rhazali said he saw an opportunity to create an engaging space.
“Being on an elevated lot is a really cool feature, like a nice destination spot with the skyline of Philadelphia behind you in the background when you’re playing,” he said.
His team found the location when looking for a “high-traffic” area in Philadelphia for the project. It will include parking.
Players will have the ability to book a court, or schedule clinics, open play and events using an app. There will be various tiers of membership, ranging from $50 to $400 annually, with discounts for students, children under 18, first responders, nurses, teachers and coaches. The club will also feature a family membership rate.
Rhazali said his goal with the options is to allow players of all ages, abilities and income levels to join.
“The goal is to increase participation and give accessibility,” he said. “That’s why our pricing is really, I think, more on the lower side than it is on the higher side.”
The club is projected to open in Spring 2025. Rhazali said his goal is to open by May.
