History of Padel

Padel was invented in 1969 by Alfonso de Hohenlohe, a Mexican-based Spanish aristocrat. Inspired by Enrique Corcuera's improvised enclosed tennis court in Acapulco, de Hohenlohe built two dedicated padel courts at his Marbella Club resort on the Costa del Sol. The courts were deliberately smaller than tennis courts — roughly 20m × 10m — surrounded by walls, making the game faster and more accessible. De Hohenlohe wrote the first official rules and introduced the sport to his jet-set social circle.

Through the 1970s, padel spread rapidly through Spain's upper-middle class, driven by its accessibility — far cheaper to build courts than tennis clubs, and easy to learn. By the early 1980s, padel clubs had appeared in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and Valencia. The sport was formally organized under Spanish tennis federation oversight. Spain would remain the sport's global capital: today it has over 20,000 courts and an estimated 6 million regular players.

The first Padel World Championship was held in 1991, with Spain and Argentina contesting the final. Spain won. This tournament established padel as a genuinely international sport and created a competitive pathway that continues today through the FIP (Federación Internacional de Pádel) World Padel Championship, held every two years.

Argentina became padel's second home in the 1990s, developing a passionate domestic scene and producing some of the sport's greatest players. Buenos Aires hosts more padel courts per capita than almost anywhere else in the world. Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil followed — Latin America accounts for roughly a third of the world's padel players today, with Argentina in particular punching well above its weight in international competition.

The World Padel Tour (WPT) was established in 2005 as padel's premier professional circuit. The tour elevated the game's visibility through live streaming, sponsorship, and a structured ranking system. Top players like Juan Martín Díaz, Fernando Belasteguín, and later Alejandro Galán became household names in Spain and Argentina. The WPT's media reach transformed padel from a local leisure sport into a televised professional spectacle.

The 2010s saw padel explode across Europe beyond its Iberian heartland. Italy became Europe's third biggest market, building thousands of courts and launching Serie A Padel. France, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium followed, each developing national federations and club infrastructure. Sweden's cold climate proved no barrier — thousands of indoor courts were built. The UK, historically wedded to tennis, began its padel journey, with the LTA officially taking padel under its umbrella in 2020.

A significant split in professional padel occurred in 2021 when the APT Padel Tour launched as an alternative professional circuit, giving players more competitive options and expanding the global tournament calendar. The WPT and APT coexisted, each building their own ecosystems. Premier Padel — backed by the Qatar Sports Investments group — later emerged as a further rival circuit, attracting top WPT players and signalling massive investment interest in professional padel.

Padel's rise accelerated through digital platforms. YouTube channels dedicated to padel highlights accumulated millions of subscribers. Premier Padel signed streaming deals with DAZN and other global sports broadcasters, bringing professional matches to audiences outside Europe for the first time at scale. Player-led social media content — tutorials, match vlogs, coaching tips — drove organic growth, particularly among 25–45-year-old urban professionals who found padel more social and accessible than tennis.

As of 2024, padel is not an Olympic sport, but the International Padel Federation (FIP) has been actively pursuing IOC recognition. The sport's rapid growth, standardised international competition structure, and broad geographic spread make it a strong candidate. Recognition would unlock public funding in many countries and accelerate court construction. Several national Olympic committees have already recognised their domestic padel federations, a prerequisite for the pathway ahead.

Padel is now played in over 90 countries with an estimated 25 million players worldwide — a figure that has more than doubled in five years. Europe leads with 10+ million players, Spain still dominant but Italy, Sweden, France, and the UK growing fast. The Middle East has embraced the sport heavily, with Dubai becoming a regional hub. The USA is in early-growth mode with padel courts appearing in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York. Every major city now has padel infrastructure, and the sport consistently ranks as one of the fastest-growing recreational activities globally.