The Alboran Sessions

Alex Robinson

Alborán Sessions is the podcast of Alborán Social Club — an independent publication about padel and the life that has grown up around it. Each episode, Alex sits down with the people building the sport's culture and its business: founders and federations, coaches and club-owners, the players changing how the game is watched and the characters changing how it is sold. The conversations are unhurried and on the record. We are interested in how things actually work — who counts the players, who pays for the courts, what a boom does to a quiet game — and in the people willing to say so plainly.We record where the sport is happening: a summit floor in Barcelona, a club terrace on the coast, a tournament between matches. No press releases read aloud, nothing traded for access. Just a long table, a good guest, and the time to follow the thread.New episodes monthly. If you play, watch, build, or simply sit on the terrace afterwards, pull up a chair.Alborán Social Club · alboransocialclub.com

Episodes

  1. Aug 4

    The Alboran Social Club Podcast - Episode 2, Jethro Binns

    🎙️ ALBORAN SOCIAL CLUB PODCAST | Episode 2: Jethro Binns | Live on court at Padel4All Lockleaze, Bristol Welcome to episode two of the Alborán Social Club podcast, filmed on court at Padel4All in Lockleaze, Bristol. This month we're joined by Jethro Binns, co-founder of Padel Levels, for a deep dive into one of the biggest questions in UK padel right now: do we have a levels and ratings problem? Jethro's path into padel is anything but conventional, a former professional squash player (peaked at #86 in the world), he built Squash Levels into the trusted global rating system for squash before bringing that experience into padel via Level Tech and Padel Levels. We talk about: His transition from squash to padel (including ripping a nail off on his first session) Why the Padel World Summit in Barcelona matters, and what changed between his first and second year attending The "27% worse" article that crystallised the problem with existing rating scales Why he sees Playtomic, PadelMates and Nettla as booking platforms with ratings "bolted on," not real ratings platforms How Padel Levels' algorithm compares actual results to expected outcomes rather than just rewarding wins The unique challenges of rating a doubles sport, cold starts, and messy match data The story behind Level Tech's £360k Innovate UK grant (a ~1.5% success rate program) Ongoing conversations with the LTA and FIP about becoming an official national/global rating standard Where AI and camera tracking could take padel ratings next Find Padel Levels at padellevels.io, and follow them on Instagram and LinkedIn. #padel  #JethroBinns #PadelLevels #AlboranSocialClub #PadelBusiness #barcelona  #podcast  #sportsbusiness  #padelcommunity

About

Alborán Sessions is the podcast of Alborán Social Club — an independent publication about padel and the life that has grown up around it. Each episode, Alex sits down with the people building the sport's culture and its business: founders and federations, coaches and club-owners, the players changing how the game is watched and the characters changing how it is sold. The conversations are unhurried and on the record. We are interested in how things actually work — who counts the players, who pays for the courts, what a boom does to a quiet game — and in the people willing to say so plainly.We record where the sport is happening: a summit floor in Barcelona, a club terrace on the coast, a tournament between matches. No press releases read aloud, nothing traded for access. Just a long table, a good guest, and the time to follow the thread.New episodes monthly. If you play, watch, build, or simply sit on the terrace afterwards, pull up a chair.Alborán Social Club · alboransocialclub.com