Padel is a ball sport played on a fully enclosed dedicated field. It is an emerging sport that combines the technical characteristics of tennis, table tennis and badminton. Because its racket structure is similar to that of a table tennis racket, it is called pad tennis.
Padel originated in Mexico in 1962, and was later introduced to Spain and further developed. From 1976 to 1990, padel developed rapidly in South America and spread rapidly in various places, such as Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, etc., and won a large number of loyal fans, and gradually extended to North America and Canada. The world’s padel tennis population has reached 10 million, and padel has also become the largest racket sport in Argentina and Spain.
The padel tennis court is 20 meters long and 10 meters wide. The bottom of the court uses tempered glass as a defense wall, and the surrounding area uses a mesh enclosure; the pad tennis racket has no net wire, and the main material is high-elastic EVA material. The pad tennis court consists of a galvanized steel structure frame, galvanized metal mesh, tempered glass, artificial turf and lighting fixtures.
As of 2023, according to the International Padel Federation (FIP) there are more than 25 million active players in more than 90 countries.Padel is worth about €2bn a year and growing fast.
Padel was included in the 2023 European Games.The International Padel Federation (FIP) wants to have 75 national federations for padel to become an Olympic sport for the 2032 Summer Olympics.
