Padel was invented by Enrique Corcuera, a Mexican businessman, in 1969. He built the first padel court at his holiday home in Acapulco, Mexico, adapting an existing walled area into a racket sports court.

Where was padel invented?

Padel was invented in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969. It quickly spread to Spain and Argentina, which became the two countries most associated with the sport's global growth.

How many padel players are there worldwide?

As of 2024-2026, there are an estimated 25-30 million padel players worldwide, across more than 90 countries. Spain and Argentina have the largest player bases, but the sport is growing rapidly across Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.

Is padel in the Olympics?

As of 2026, padel is not an Olympic sport. The International Padel Federation (FIP) has been pursuing Olympic recognition, and the sport has been included in multi-sport events such as the Pan American Games.

History of Padel — From Mexico 1969 to a Global Sport

Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world — but its origins are surprisingly simple: a holiday home in Acapulco, a walled space that needed to be fenced off, and an instinct to turn it into a game. From that accidental beginning in 1969, padel has grown into a global sport played by an estimated 25 to 30 million people across more than 90 countries.

This is the full story.

The Beginning: Acapulco, 1969

The inventor of padel was Enrique Corcuera, a Mexican businessman and sports enthusiast. In 1969, at his holiday home in Acapulco, Corcuera had a limited outdoor space that he wanted to use for a racket sport. He enclosed the area with walls — partly glass, partly concrete — to contain the ball, and drew a net across the middle. The walls were not originally a design choice; they were a practical solution to the limited space.

Corcuera developed the rules by adapting tennis, keeping the same scoring system and net height but adding the walls as integral to the game. Players could use the walls after the ball bounced — this was not an error, it was part of the game.

One of the first visitors to play on Corcuera’s court was his friend Alfonso de Hohenlohe, a Spanish-Austrian prince with extensive connections in Spain’s high society. Hohenlohe was immediately captivated by the sport and brought it back to Europe.

Spain: The Sport Finds Its Home (1970s)

Alfonso de Hohenlohe introduced padel to Spain in the early 1970s, building the first courts at the Marbella Club on the Costa del Sol. Marbella was then — as now — a playground for European aristocracy and wealthy Spanish society, and padel quickly became fashionable among the Spanish upper class.

The sport’s social nature — always doubles, enclosed court, easy to learn — made it ideal for clubs and social venues. Courts were built at tennis clubs, hotels, and private estates across Andalusia and Madrid. Unlike tennis, padel could be learned in an afternoon, making it accessible to people who had never played racket sports.

The Spanish Democratisation (1980s–1990s)

Through the 1980s, padel moved from the elite clubs of Marbella and Madrid to public sports centres and municipal facilities. Spain invested heavily in sports infrastructure during this period (partly driven by the 1992 Barcelona Olympics), and padel courts were an affordable, space-efficient option.

By the 1990s, padel was the second most popular sport in Spain after football. The number of registered players reached the hundreds of thousands, and amateur leagues and regional federations sprang up across the country.

Why Spain? Several factors made Spain uniquely receptive to padel:

Existing strong racket sports culture (tennis and squash)
Perfect climate for outdoor year-round play
The social doubles format suited Spanish social patterns
Courts are cheaper to build and maintain than tennis courts
The walls keep the ball in play longer, reducing the skill barrier

Argentina: The Other Padel Nation

While Spain developed the sport in Europe, Argentina became the other padel superpower — though through a slightly different route. Padel arrived in Argentina from Spain in the early 1980s, brought back by Argentinian players who had seen it in Spain.

Argentina had an existing culture of competitive doubles racket sports, particularly frontón (a handball/racket wall sport). Padel fit naturally into this culture and quickly took root in Buenos Aires and the wealthier suburbs. Argentine players developed a more aggressive, athletic playing style than the Spanish game of the same era.

Today, Argentina produces some of the world’s best players, including multiple world number ones, and has a domestic padel culture almost as deep as Spain’s.

The Competitive Era: WPT and Global Expansion (2000s)

The World Padel Tour (WPT)

The professionalisation of padel accelerated in the 2000s. The World Padel Tour (WPT) was founded in 2005 as the premier professional circuit for padel, hosting tournaments across Spain, Argentina, and later across Europe and the Americas. The WPT brought television coverage, prize money, and international visibility to the sport.

The WPT era produced the first generation of padel superstars — players whose names became known beyond the sport’s core following. Pairings like Juan Martín Díaz/Fernando Belasteguín dominated the men’s game for over a decade, while Gemma Triay and Alejandra Salazar became icons of women’s padel.

Fernando Belasteguín, an Argentine-born player who adopted Spanish nationality, is widely considered the greatest padel player in history. He was ranked world number one for an unbroken stretch of approximately 16 years (2002–2018) — one of the longest number-one runs of any professional sport.

The FIP and International Governance

The International Padel Federation (FIP) — founded in 1991 as the Federación Internacional de Pádel — became the global governing body, representing national federations across all continents. The FIP sets the official rules (most recently revised in January 2026), organises the World Championships, and works toward Olympic recognition.

By the 2010s, the FIP had affiliated federations in over 60 countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and the UAE.

The European Boom (2010s)

Sweden

Sweden was the first major non-Spanish, non-Argentinian padel nation. Swedish players began competing internationally from the early 2000s, and Sweden rapidly built one of the densest padel court networks per capita in the world. The Swedish padel federation became one of the best-organised in Europe, running national leagues and development pathways.

The indoor court model — important for northern climates — was pioneered and perfected in Sweden, and Swedish court-building companies became global exporters of padel infrastructure.

Italy, Belgium, the UK, and Germany

Italy, Belgium, and the UK all saw padel grow rapidly through the 2010s, driven largely by tennis clubs converting or adding padel courts to attract a younger demographic. Padel’s lower skill barrier made it an ideal gateway sport for people who had tried and abandoned tennis.

Germany followed later — traditionally a tennis and football country — but accelerated rapidly from 2019 onward, with hundreds of new clubs opening in Munich, Berlin, and Frankfurt.

The Second Global Expansion (2019–Present)

Premier Padel and the WPT Split

In 2021–2022, a seismic shift occurred in professional padel. The FIP, in partnership with the Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) group, launched Premier Padel, a new professional circuit designed as the official FIP-sanctioned tour. This created a rivalry — and eventually a split — with the existing WPT.

The top players faced a difficult choice between the two circuits. After a period of dispute, the circuits operated in parallel, with most top players eventually affiliating primarily with Premier Padel, which had the backing of FIFA (through its ownership by QSI) and offered significantly larger prize funds.

By 2024, the landscape had consolidated, with Premier Padel emerging as the dominant professional circuit, recognised by the FIP and featuring prize money in the millions of euros across its global calendar of events.

The Middle East

The UAE — particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi — became a significant padel market from around 2018 onward. The sport appealed to the expatriate community (large numbers of Europeans with padel backgrounds) and the local sports-loving culture. Dubai hosted major professional events, and purpose-built padel centres opened across the Emirates.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Gulf states followed, with significant investment in padel infrastructure and events as part of broader sports tourism strategies.

Padel in the United States

The US was a relatively late adopter, given the dominance of tennis, pickleball, and other racket sports. However, from approximately 2019, padel growth in the US accelerated rapidly. A combination of European expatriates, celebrity endorsements (several NBA and NFL players became early adopters), and the sport’s ease of learning drove club openings in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

The USA Padel Association (USAPA) affiliated with the FIP and began organising domestic competitions. By 2026, the US had become one of the fastest-growing padel markets globally.

The Numbers: How Big Is Padel Today?

As of 2025–2026:

Metric	Figure
Estimated global players	25–30 million
Countries with padel courts	90+
Countries with FIP-affiliated federations	60+
Padel courts worldwide	~50,000
Professional prize money (Premier Padel)	Tens of millions of euros per year

Spain remains the world leader in absolute numbers — estimated 4–6 million players and 20,000+ courts. Argentina is second in terms of player base and competitive depth. Sweden has among the highest player-per-capita rates globally.

The 2026 FIP Rules Revision

The most recent update to the official rules came in January 2026, effective after ratification at the FIP General Meeting held in Acapulco in November 2025 — fittingly, in the city where it all began.

The headline change was the Star Point format for deuce resolution, replacing the Golden Point at professional level. The Star Point gives the receiving team the choice of service side at deuce, adding a tactical element absent from both the Golden Point and traditional deuce-advantage formats.

For full details, see Padel Rules 2026 and Star Point Rule.

Key Milestones: Padel at a Glance

Year	Event
1969	Enrique Corcuera builds the first padel court in Acapulco, Mexico
1974	Alfonso de Hohenlohe introduces padel to Spain at the Marbella Club
1980s	Padel spreads from Marbella to public sports centres across Spain
1982	Padel arrives in Argentina, brought back from Spain
1991	International Padel Federation (FIP) founded
1992	First Padel World Championship (organised by FIP)
2002	Fernando Belasteguín begins his record world number one run
2005	World Padel Tour (WPT) founded as the main professional circuit
2010s	Rapid growth in Sweden, Italy, Belgium, UK; indoor court model develops
2018	Padel included in Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires (demonstration event)
2019–2022	Global acceleration: US, UAE, Germany, UK all see explosive growth
2022	Premier Padel launched with FIP/QSI backing; circuit rivalry begins
2024	Premier Padel consolidates as the leading professional circuit
2025	Estimated 25–30 million players globally; 90+ countries with courts
2026	FIP Star Point rule revision (January); Acapulco General Meeting (November 2025)

Useful Links

What is Padel? — sport overview for beginners
Padel Rules 2026 — current official rules
Star Point Rule — 2026 deuce format
Court Dimensions — official court specifications
How to Play Padel — beginner’s guide