A former professional tennis player from Uruguay was arrested in the city of Doral, in Miami-Dade County, after being involved in a violent altercation at a sporting goods store that was captured on video and went viral on social media, according to local news.
The protagonist of the incident is Nicolás Xiviller Pardodeir, 27 years old, identified by the Doral Police as the man seen in the security footage and in the videos captured by the establishment's employees.
The incident at Tennis Plaza
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at Tennis Plaza, located at 2600 Northwest 87th Avenue, inside the Westend Doral Mall.
According to the authorities, Xiviller Pardodeir deliberately damaged two tennis rackets inside the establishment, with a total value of 568 dollars.
The images also show the suspect hitting the front door of the establishment before the employees asked him to leave.
It was at that moment when, according to the police report, the former athlete threatened the staff before leaving the store.
Employees of the store described the suspect as "visibly agitated in his behavior", according to statements made to the press.
The arrest at a gas station
After receiving the report of the incident, Doral Police officers went to Tennis Plaza and assessed the damages.
That very night, the authorities located the suspect at a gas station near the establishment and proceeded with their arrest.
The police reported that the former tennis player is facing four formal charges:
- Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
- Assault.
- Criminal damages amounting to more than 200 dollars and less than 1,000 dollars.
- Disruption of public order within an establishment.
The total joint bail set amounts to $5,900, with the most serious charge - aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - accounting for the majority, at a bail of $5,000.
Who is Nicolás Xiviller Pardodeir?
On his social media, Xiviller Pardodeir describes himself as a former player of the professional ATP circuit, a professional padel player, and a coach in both disciplines.
His appearances in the ATP ranking are recorded in singles and doubles during 2017 and 2018, with positions around 1,100 in singles.
According to his professional profile, he competed in the Pro Padel League from March 2023 to January 2024, and served as the high-performance tennis director at the Riviera Tennis Center from 2021 to 2023.
Telemundo 51 ranks him in seventh place in the men's ranking of the United States Padel Association, according to the standings as of July 22, 2026.
The incident is not the first of its kind involving a Latin American athlete with a public profile in the Miami-Dade area.
In April 2026, Cuban boxer Frank Zaldívar was arrested in Miami for aggravated assault, and in 2023, former volleyball player Yuniesky Ramírez Martínez was detained for sexual offenses.
The investigation remains open, and authorities have not disclosed details about what may have motivated the suspect's behavior.
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