North Shore native behind Alma Padel makes Forbes’ 30 Under 30

Former Wilmette resident Abigail McCulloch is helping put the international sport of padel on the map, both locally and nationwide.

Because of that, she has been recognized alongside athletes and sports leaders on the Forbes’ 2026 30 Under 30 – Sports List. 

“It was super exciting and a complete surprise,” McCulloch said of the accolade, adding that she received the news via a wake-up phone call from her sister.

McCulloch, a 2014 New Trier High School graduate and former Trevians tennis player, opened the social and sports club Alma Padel in the spring of 2025 at 2300 Ridge Drive in Glenview. Alma in Spanish means soul or spirit, a definition that is painted inside the facility.

Five padel courts anchor the club, which also features a golf simulator, a lounge for playing mahjong and backgammon, a bar and cafe, locker rooms, showers, saunas and a warmup area. 

“The North Shore really values things that bring the community together, I found growing up, and anything that allows people to learn something new while further connecting with their community,” McCulloch said of how Alma Padel fits into the North Shore’s community-focused ecosystem.

Padel is a fast-growing racket sport played on a court approximately one-third the size of a tennis court. It is played in 130 countries worldwide, but it was introduced to the U.S. in the 1990s with increased growth coming only in recent years

The number of padel clubs in the U.S. is expected to grow by 52% year over year, according to the 2025 State of Padel in the U.S. report.

Although McCulloch explored several cities and states as the home for Alma Padel, the stars aligned near her hometown where she found a warehouse space with ceilings high enough for the sports and, as a bonus, one of the best sunset views in the North Shore, she said.

The sport is always played in doubles, so Alma Padel often sets up a player with three new peers at their shared level, facilitating even more community building.

“I think the nicest part of it is being able to bring people who are talented racket players [together and introduce] local community members who have been in the North Shore for three generations … to players who just moved here from Argentina, Mexico, Spain, England, where the sport is huge,” McCulloch said. “Those folks that have been living in the North Shore but aren’t as connected into that kind of generational North Shore community are now kind of integrating themselves through Alma and through padel. That’s the most gratifying thing to be a part of and to see.”

McCulloch is also the founder of Padel Au Pair, a staffing rotational program that brings skilled padel instructors from around the world to clubs in the United States. The lack of lifelong padel players in the U.S. has created a gap in the market for skilled instructors, which Padel Au Pair works to fill. 

It’s safe to say McCulloch has found her passion and calling — and she found it quickly, too. It took just three months from her first padel gameplay until she decided to develop her own club. 

McCulloch was introduced to the sport from an international friend while attending Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Once you’re playing the sport, you find that it’s really as easy to pick up as pickleball, and that’s not an exaggeration,” she said of one of the many facets of the game that instantly drew her in. “It might even be easier. But it’s much more strategic. There’s a lot more you can learn and master with the game that is really nice for people who want to continue to improve and utilize different strategies on a court.” 

After McCulloch came up with the idea for Alma Padel, she applied to a competitive accelerator program at Penn, where she gained guidance, advisors and investors.

Upon completion of the accelerator program one year into her two-year MBA program, McCulloch left Wharton to build her club full time — a decision that she noted was “the right call” as she ended up signing a lease for the Alma Padel space that summer.

Of her advice to fellow and budding entrepreneurs, McCulloch said passion and perseverance are key.

“You just need to go for it and use all the resources you have at your disposal to give it your best try,” she said. “Build what you have your heart set on. I didn’t know what Alma would look like when I first decided to build something in the padel space, but it came together the more I worked on it and thought about it and spoke to others about it, so just getting started and sticking with it was really the most important step in creating Alma.”

As her entrepreneurial journey continues, McCulloch said she is excited to introduce “more players to the sport at [Alma Padel] or at other clubs with the right instruction through Padel Au Pair.”

McCulloch is currently working on a “big project” and, though she cannot say where, hopes the future will bring more Alma Padel locations.

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