US juniors head to Colombia for Pan American circuit stop

The US junior pipeline is no longer just about sending talented kids abroad and hoping they come back better. The stop in Pereira will be a test of whether the American program can keep turning exposure into a pathway, with ranking points, category qualification and a shot at the season-ending finals all tied to what happens at Padel House Galicia.

The US Padel Association has named Matthew Toro, Alejo Kalil, Santi Castro Varela, Niko Palacios, Camilo Velasco, Franco Emiliano González, Matias Vazquez and Santi Costantini to the roster for Pan American Junior Circuit II, set for July 2-4 in Pereira, Colombia. Paloma Varela will serve as team delegate. The event will be run by the Federación Colombiana de Pádel at Padel House Galicia, a venue listed with six courts and described in directory listings as a modern facility with six covered courts and Mondo turf.

That matters because this is not a standalone trip. Padel America’s circuit rules say the first three tournaments award ranking points by category, and the top six pairs in each category earn places in the final future stars event. In other words, Pereira is part performance review, part talent audit. For the US players, the scoreboard in Colombia will shape where they stand when the circuit narrows later in the year.

The schedule around the junior program shows how deliberate the structure has become. The 2026 circuit opened in April in Asunción, Paraguay, then moves to Colombia before continuing to Mexico from August 6-8. The finals are scheduled for October 8-11 at TAKTIKA Padel in San Diego, which gives the American side a home-stage finish if it can stay in the qualification mix. USPA’s junior national team also lists its ultimate target as the FIP Junior America Padel Cup in Mexico from November 10-14, which will serve as the qualifier for the 2027 FIP Junior World Cup.

That is the clearest sign yet that US junior development is being wired into a real international ladder. USPA says the junior national team competes in the Padel America Junior Circuit and represents the United States in the Padel America Cup and World Championships, with Lorena Rouillon Jimenez and Jaume Rouillon Jimenez leading the coaching staff. The task now is obvious: identify the best juniors, put them in pressure against stronger foreign pairings and make sure the experience translates into results, not just travel miles.

If the Americans want to close the gap with countries that have deeper junior systems, this is the kind of circuit they need. Pereira will not solve that problem on its own, but it will show whether the US pathway is finally becoming coherent.