The History of Padel: Origins, Boom and 25 Million Players

Enrique Corcuera is the man regarded as the inventor of padel. In 1969 he had a court laid out on his private estate in Acapulco, not out of vision, but out of a lack of space. The plot was too narrow for a regular tennis court. So he used the boundary walls as part of the court, based the basic rules on squash and tennis, and replaced the racket with a stringless solid paddle. No ruleset, no federation, no intention of founding anything. Just a game among acquaintances. One of those acquaintances changed everything.

Alfonso de Hohenlohe played on Corcuera's court several times in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Spanish-German aristocrat lived in Marbella and played a key role in establishing the Costa del Sol as an international leisure destination. What he had seen in Acapulco stayed with him.

In 1974 de Hohenlohe had the first padel courts in Spain built, on the grounds of the Real Club de Tenis de la Baronesa in Marbella. The audience: well-off Spaniards, holidaymakers from the European high nobility, international business people. At first padel was a sport of the upper class, not a grassroots pursuit.

What then changed the game was less a strategic rollout than a simple observation: it was easy to learn and fun straight away. You do not need years of technical training to keep a rally going. With or without tennis experience, the game made sense after half an hour.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, padel spread out from Andalusia through the Spanish middle classes. New clubs opened, the first regional leagues formed, and manufacturers began to produce specialised equipment.

In 1991 the national federations of Argentina, Spain and Brazil jointly founded the Federación Internacional de Pádel (FIP). Until then, each country played its own variant, with slightly different rules and court dimensions. The FIP created the shared foundation: a uniform set of rules, official standards, the first world championships. Without it, padel would have remained a regional leisure sport.

The fact that Argentina was at the table is no coincidence. The country had developed padel entirely independently of Spain, with its own variants and an equally deeply rooted playing culture.

In 2005 the World Padel Tour (WPT) was created, the first professional world tour circuit. That was the decisive push. Because whoever watches professionals play wants to get on court themselves. The WPT created role models, gave the sport a face and attracted sponsors who funded its reach. Television broadcasts followed, training academies emerged, equipment manufacturers invested.

You will find the current state of the rules, including the FIP changes for 2026 such as the Star Point, compactly summarised in Padel rules explained simply.

In Europe, padel was an Iberian affair for a long time. In the 2000s, Spain boasted more than 10,000 courts and an estimated four to five million active players. The rest of Europe barely took notice. That changed noticeably from 2015 onwards, and dramatically after 2020.

Sweden became the most unlikely growth market: today, more than one million Swedes play padel, giving the country the highest number of courts per capita in Europe. In Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany, new indoor venues opened everywhere, local councils built outdoor courts, and tennis clubs expanded their facilities.

The numbers speak for themselves: in 2010, there were an estimated 4 million padel players worldwide. By 2020, that figure had reached around 10 million. In 2024, the FIP recorded over 25 million active players across more than 90 countries (sources: dpv-padel.de and FIP reports).

In Germany, this rapid growth is particularly tangible: from around 70 padel courts in 2020, the number soared to over 1,200 venues by the end of 2025 — a twenty-fold increase in just five years (source: Padelfinder). The German Padel Association (DPV, founded in 2010) now counts around 10,500 registered members. How this boom continues to unfold is detailed in our standalone Padel in Germany: Trend Report 2026.

What began in 1969 as a backyard experiment is now one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. Padel will not be featured at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles — instead, the sport is setting its sights on Brisbane 2032. The German Padel Association remains optimistic: "We consider the inclusion of padel in the 2032 Olympic programme to be very realistic, given that the sport has been growing dynamically and consistently across multiple continents for years, and together with over 100 member federations within the FIP, as well as our international governing body, we are working relentlessly every day to make the Olympic dream a reality," says DPV Managing Director Stefanie Steible.

For the first time, Germany has been awarded an international padel championship: the German Padel Association (DPV) will host the European Championship in 2029. The previous edition in 2027 was awarded to the Netherlands. For the DPV, hosting the tournament is far more than just a logistical project. "The trust placed in Germany by the FIP is recognition of the impressive growth that padel has experienced in this country in recent years, as well as an incentive to pursue even more ambitious goals," says DPV Managing Director Stefanie Steible, describing the event as a "defining milestone" to "permanently anchor padel at grassroots level." The exact venue has yet to be confirmed, but is expected to be announced shortly.

Sports do not grow by chance. Padel has a few structural features that explain its rise, without needing marketing budgets or federation campaigns to achieve it.

A low barrier to entry, instant fun. Tennis and padel offer different entry points. While tennis often requires a little more practice, padel lets many beginners keep longer rallies going early on. The smaller court, the slower pace of play and the usable walls quickly produce moments of success and leave you wanting more. Carmen Herrscher, padel coordinator at TG Nord, the largest tennis club in Düsseldorf, sums it up in an interview with NRW-Sport: „It is easy to learn, it is a lot of fun, and you always play it as a four. There is a very sociable factor to it.“

Mostly doubles: the social factor. Padel is usually played as a four, singles is possible but the exception. The game is built to be social: you almost always play with and against others. That makes it a team and leisure sport at the same time, without the organisational effort of team sports such as football or handball. Four people, one court, one hour. Done. The difference between singles and doubles is explained in detail in Padel doubles vs. singles.

Low infrastructure requirements. Two padel courts fit into the space of a single tennis court, at a higher hourly rate and with considerably less maintenance. For operators that is a clear calculation. Since 2020, padel facilities in Germany have been appearing not only in big cities but increasingly in smaller towns and regions away from the metropolitan areas.

The coolness factor. Padel has an aesthetic that combines tennis and squash: glass walls, tight doubles tactics, spectacular off-the-wall shots. The game is photogenic and made for short clips. Social media measurably accelerated its growth from 2018 onwards.

Padel is a team sport, and teams need their own identity on the court. Whether you are playing your first season together or are already a well-drilled side, custom padel jerseys let you show up as a team, not as four people who happen to have turned up in different shirts. Take a look at the padel clothing in the configurator, or jump straight into the design:

→ Design your team's padel kit now