Padel
Racket sport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Padel (Spanish: pádel) is a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash. It is usually played in doubles (2 vs 2) on a small enclosed court with glass and mesh walls that are part of the game. It has the same scoring system as tennis, but different rules. For example: the rackets are solid (without strings) and perforated. Balls are played off the court walls, similar to squash. A serve must place the ball at or below the waist level in the opposite court. Padel originated in Mexico in 1969. It became hugely popular in Spain and Argentina.
 Padel players on outdoor padel courts | |
| Highest governing body | International Padel Federation (FIP) |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Paddle (US, Canada) |
| First played | 1968, Acapulco, Mexico |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Team members | Usually |
| Mixed-sex | Separate competitions (mixed sometimes in leagues) |
| Type | Racquet sport |
| Equipment | Padel racquet, padel ball |
| Venue | Outdoor or indoor padel court |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Worldwide |
| Olympic | No |
| Paralympic | No |
As of 2023, there are more than 25 million active players in more than 90 countries, according to the International Padel Federation (FIP).[a][2] In 2023, the global padel market was valued at approximately €2 billion[3] The Padel World Championship has been held every second year since 1992, with Argentina (every time), Spain, or Brazil reaching the final in each competition.
History
The sport is thought to have been invented in Acapulco, Mexico,[4] by Enrique Corcuera in 1968,[5] after he modified his squash court to incorporate elements of platform tennis.[6] Initially, courts utilized concrete walls and surfaces, which obscured visibility for spectators. To improve the viewing experience and gameplay, these were eventually replaced by transparent glass walls and artificial turf.[7]
Many well-known professional padel players have previously competed in tennis, including former WTA Tour players Roberta Vinci and Lara Arruabarrena.[citation needed] Padel remained a niche sport for decades but its popularity soared during the COVID-19 pandemic as it could be played outdoors and did not involve physical contact.[8][1]
Padel was included in the 2023 European Games in Kraków, Poland and nearby.[2] The International Padel Federation (FIP) plans to have 75 national federations for padel to become an Olympic sport for the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane, Australia.[3][2][8] Three padel courts can typically fit within the area of a standard tennis court; consequently, many clubs are converting facilities to accommodate a higher density of players.[9][8][10][1] In the U.S., padel courts cost between $60,000 and $80,000 to build.[7] In 2023, Deloitte projected the number of padel courts potentially will reach 84,000 by 2026.[2]
Rules
- Players: Doubles is the most common format, using a 10 by 20 meters court (32' 10" by 65' 7"). Singles uses a 6 by 20 meters (19' 8" by 65' 7") court instead.[citation needed]
- Serves: Serves are always underarm and the ball is hit below waist level. Balls which hit the walls around the court after bouncing on the ground are still in play. However, unlike shots during a rally, a service is considered a fault if the ball touches the wire fence after bouncing.
- Balls: Padel balls are similar to tennis balls but are slightly smaller and have less pressure. Official regulations mandate that the balls must be uniform in color, strictly limited to yellow or white.
- Rackets: Padel rackets are made of a composite material without strings. The striking surface is perforated by cylindrical holes measuring between 9 and 13 millimeters in diameter. The racket is similar to the one used in platform tennis but has its own specifications. The handle must feature a non-elastic safety cord with a maximum length of 35 centimeters (14 in), which is mandatory to wear around the wrist during play.[citation needed]
- Court: The court has a floor made of concrete, plastic, or artificial grass. It is similar to a tennis court, only smaller, measuring 10 by 20 meters, with a 0.88-meter (34.6 inch) high net in the middle. The court is surrounded by 4-meter high walls made of glass or brick, or a fence when outside.[citation needed]
Scoring
Padel has the tennis scoring system with an optional exception of a "golden point" similar to "no-advantage" scoring used in some tennis doubles and exhibition matches.[11] The golden point is used to determine a winner when the score reaches deuce during any game. The team which wins this point wins the game. The receiving team chooses whether the service will come from the right or left of the court. Golden point was introduced in the 2020 World Padel Tour for the main tournaments (Master Final, Master, Open, and Challenger).[12] Some tournaments did not implement this rule or later reverted to standard advantage scoring.[13]
Court
The playing field is a rectangle 10 metres (32 ft 10 in) wide (back wall) and 20 metres (65 ft 7 in) long (side wall) (with a 0.5% tolerance), enclosed by walls.[14] The net divides the court into two equal halves, measuring 88 cm (35 in) in height at the centre and 92 cm (36 in) at the ends (with a 0.5 cm (1⁄5 in) tolerance).[15]
The superstructure is made from connecting 3m-high, 2m-wide panels, with an additional 1m mesh height over the glass back walls (10m walls).[citation needed] This additional 1-meter height extends 2 meters along the side walls from each corner. Consequently, the back walls and service corners reach a total height of 4 meters, while the remaining side walls stand at 3 meters.[16][17]
Glass panels are used for the back walls and the adjacent corner side sections, while metal mesh panels constitute the remainder of the sides.[18] The service lines are positioned 3 metres (9 ft 10 in) from the back wall, while a central service line bisects the area into two equal service boxes.. All lines have a 5 cm (2 in) width and are clearly visible.[citation needed] The minimum clear height is 6 metres (19 ft 8 in) above the playing surface, which must remain free of any obstacles such as lighting equipment or ceiling structures.
Adoption
Europe
The Padel Pro Tour (PPT)[19] was the professional padel circuit created in 2005 as a result of the agreement between a group of organisers of padel matches and the Association of Professional Players of Padel (AJPP) and the Spanish Feminine Association of Pádel (AFEP). In 2013 the World Padel Tour (WPT) was founded by Catalonia brewery Estrella Damm with the approval of the AJPP, whereas the PPT was shut down.[20][21] The WPT was based in Spain but included tournaments in other European countries as well as Argentina, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates.[citation needed]
In 2022, Premier Padel was founded in a partnership between the FIP and Qatar Sports Investments.In August 2023, Qatar Sports Investments acquired the World Padel Tour. This agreement unified the two rival tours into a single global circuit under the Premier Padel brand, effective from the 2024 season.[3] Despite padel's origins in Spanish-speaking countries, the number of padel players and clubs in the northern part of Europe is growing. Due to climatic conditions, Northern European nations such as Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway primarily utilize indoor facilities. Conversely, outdoor or semi-covered courts are more common in Central and Southern European countries like Belgium, Italy, and France.[citation needed]
In Spain, Sweden, and Portugal there are more people playing padel than tennis.[22] According to the Playtomic Global Padel Report 2025, around 3,200 clubs were formed in 2024.[23]
Spain
Padel is the second most popular participation sport in Spain behind association football. As of 2022, there were five million players in Spain and more than 20,000 courts.[8][24] In October 2023, the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) invested in the Hexagon Cup, a Madrid-based padel competition involving six franchise teams owned by celebrities.[10]
Sweden
The Swedish Padel Association (Svenska Padelförbundet) was included as a member of the Swedish Sports Confederation in 2021.[25] The number of courts in Sweden grew from 560 in 2019 to more than 4,000 in 2022, exceeding demand at some point.[2][26] From August 2022 to August 2023, over 120 Swedish padel courts went bankrupt due to market saturation, according to SVT.[27]
France
France has emerged as a key growth market for padel in Europe, where the sport is officially managed by the French Tennis Federation (FFT). As of 2024, the country is estimated to have over 500,000 players and is on track to surpass 3,000 courts by early 2025.[28] The player base is predominantly male, typically aged between 30 and 50, with many having a background in tennis.[29]
UK
The sport's popularity along the Costa del Sol in southern Spain and the Algarve in southern Portugal has exposed it to a large number of British visitors, leading to an increased popularity of the sport in the UK and a launch of the UK Padel Federation in 2011.[30] Padel is competing with tennis and squash, whose popularity is declining.[8]
As of 2023, according to the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport’s governing body in the UK, there were 90,000 padel players in the country, compared with 915,000 tennis players.[2] By 2025, the Lawn Tennis Association said that there were 1,000 padel courts open across 325 venues in the UK, up from only 68 in 2019.[31]
North America
The US Padel Association[32] was founded in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1993, and opened two courts in the Chattanooga area. The American Padel Association was formed in 1995 and built its first courts at a private club in Houston for exhibition games.[citation needed] As of 2022, there were 180 padel courts in the U.S.,[2] and according to an interactive Google Map built by the U.S.-focused padel site Padel Nation, there are now over 1,000 courts at more than 220 padel clubs around the U.S. as of January 2026. The A1 Padel tour is based in the US.[2] The US Padel Association forecasts there may be 30,000 courts in the U.S. by 2030.[10]
Asia
In Aug 2013, the Swiss Club in Singapore opened the first padel court in Singapore, making it the first in Asia.[33] Since 2022, Indonesia—particularly Bali—has experienced rapid growth in padel infrastructure, driven by high participation from locals, expatriates, and tourists.[34] Jungle Padel is one of Bali's earliest leading clubs, with branches in Canggu and Ubud. However, the pace of this expansion has led some to question its long-term sustainability, suggesting a future need to prioritize facility quality over quantity.[35]
South Asia
In Islamabad, the sport has expanded with the establishment of private facilities, as well as public initiatives including the auction of five padel court sites by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for commercial development.
Middle East
In the Gulf countries, the number of courts soared from 20 in 2016 to 1,850 in 2022, mostly in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.[2]
Oceania
Uptake of padel in Oceania has been limited. In January, 2016, the first padel courts in Oceania were opened in Sydney.[36]
Australia
As of late-2023 there are just seven registered padel clubs in Australia, with two in Sydney, two in Melbourne, one in Perth, one on the Gold Coast, and one in the regional town of Albury, with a total of 25 courts in the country.[37] The governing body is Padel Australia.[38]
Padel has also been supported by Tennis Australia which aims to grow its popularity. At the 2022 Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam tournament a pop-up padel court was erected for public access and exhibition games, while in 2023 the first "Australian Padel Open" was held alongside the Australian Open tennis near to the tennis centre court at Rod Laver Arena.[39]
New Zealand
The first padel court in New Zealand was opened in October, 2023, with a single court in Auckland at a suburban sporting and tennis club.[40] A court at a second club in Auckland was under construction, with plans for courts in other cities.[41] A national governing body, Padel New Zealand, was established, with plans to run national and international competitions.[40] New Zealand's first indoor padel center has opened in Wellington, offering 3 doubles and 1 singles court; the club is called Padel House.
Africa
South Africa
The first padel courts in South Africa opened in late 2020 in the Western Cape province.[42] As of 2025, the sport's infrastructure had grown to around 864 courts at 264 venues nationwide.[43]
Padel vocabulary
Most padel vocabulary originates from Spanish, reflecting the sport's established popularity in Spain. However, with rapid growth in regions such as the Middle East and Africa, the vocabulary continues to expand:
- Bandeja (literal translation: 'tray'): An overhand shot hit with spin rather than power towards the back of the court
- Víbora (literal translation: 'viper'): Similar to the bandeja but hit with more power and spin, typically diagonally down
- Bajada: When a ball takes a high bounce off the wall and is brought down with an overhand hit
- Chiquita: Similar to a drop shot
- Salida (literal translation: 'exit'): A player running off the court to save a ball that has bounced off the wall and out of the 20 by 10 court
- Cadete: A behind-the-back shot
- Boast: A shot hit against the rear or side wall
