New York Atlantics Presented By Sphere: Connecting Culture & Markets
Sphere Labs is the new presenting partner of the NY Atlantics professional padel team. Here's why a cross-border payments company is betting on one of the world's fastest-growing sports.
Tech and finance companies are showing up in sport more deliberately than ever as one of the few spaces that moves across markets, cultures, and conversations. The most compelling partnerships are in the sports still on the way up.
Sphere Labs is the presenting partner of the New York Atlantics professional padel team. Beginning in 2026, the reigning City's Cup champions will compete as the New York Atlantics presented by Sphere: a one-year, fully integrated partnership.
Why padel and why now
Padel is among the fastest-growing sports in the world. The FIP World Padel Report 2025 counts more than 35 million players across 150 nations, with 77,300 courts globally, a 15.2% jump in a single year. It's already mainstream across Latin America and much of Europe, accelerating across Asia and the Middle East. The US, with New York at the center, is where the next wave of growth is being built.
That footprint maps almost exactly onto where Sphere is going commercially. Sphere's infrastructure is built for moving money across borders with speed and reliability, supporting connectivity across the corridors where padel is already embedded in the culture. The Atlantics are how we plug into it.
What the partnership looks like
The partnership runs deep across the Atlantics' identity. Over the course of the 2026 season, Sphere will be integrated throughout:
- Jersey and on-court branding
- Co-branded merchandise
- Digital and social content across the team's channels
- On-site fan experiences and activations at home events
The 2026 season opens with a marquee home event in New York City, July 9-12, the first public moment for the partnership.
The bigger picture
This partnership is built on a shared foundation: global by nature, and designed for scale. The Atlantics are coming off a championship 2025 season, and Sphere is proud to be part of what comes next.
"Padel has serious momentum right now, with capital, talent, and audience flooding into the sport. Payments infrastructure is a hard category to make tangible, and in partnership with the Atlantics, we're excited to expand the ways we show up in the markets we care about."
— Mohit Bhalodkar, VP of Global Expansion and Strategy, Sphere Labs
Read the full story in Sports Business Journal
Subscribe to Sphere Blog
No spam. Just the latest releases and tips, interesting articles, and exclusive interviews in your inbox every week.
At the Wyoming Stable Token Commission
Luciana Miranda and Gbenga Omosuyi traveled to Cheyenne to engage directly with policymakers shaping responsible stablecoin innovation in the U.S.
White-Label Wire Payouts: Your Brand On Every Bank Statement
Named Wire Payouts ensure your customers' company name appears as the sender on USD wire transfers — not your payment processor's. Auto-enabled on approval, no configuration required.