what is padel: the 2026 encyclopedia entry

what is padel: the 2026 encyclopedia entry

what is padel is now one of the most asked questions in racket sports. padel is a doubles-dominant racket sport played on a 20 m × 10 m enclosed court, with glass and mesh walls that are part of the playing surface. the ball is a pressurized rubber core with felt, the racket is a solid perforated bat, and the rules are a stripped-down version of tennis scoring. padel originated in Mexico in 1969, took root in Spain in the 1970s, and is now the fastest-growing racket sport in Europe, the Gulf states, and Latin America. this encyclopedia entry covers origin, court, rules, racket, ball, scoring, and the padel vs tennis comparison. send a plot plan to Request a quote if you are building a court; read on for the full picture.

the short answer: padel in one paragraph

padel is a racket sport played in doubles on an enclosed court roughly one third the size of a tennis court. the walls are glass and mesh, and they are live — players bank shots off them the way billiards players use the cushion. scoring follows tennis: 15, 30, 40, game, six games to a set, best of three. the racket is solid (no strings), and the ball is a pressurized rubber core with felt, similar to a low-compression tennis ball. a typical session runs 90 minutes, and the four-player rotation makes it one of the most social racket sports in the world. if a single sentence had to answer what is padel in 60 seconds, it would be: tennis scoring, smaller enclosed court, walls in play, solid racket, social doubles.

origin and history of padel

padel was invented in 1969 in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera, a wealthy Mexican businessman who adapted his friend’s squash court by adding walls and lowering the net. the sport crossed the Atlantic in 1974 when Alfonso de Hohenloe, a Spanish prince, saw Corcuera’s court and built the first two padel courts in Marbella, Spain.

1970s–1990s: Spain and Latin America. padel spread through Spanish resorts and Argentine social clubs. the Federación Española de Padel was founded in 1991. by the late 1990s, Spain had a few thousand courts, mostly private and club-based.

2000s–2010s: institutional growth. the Federación Internacional de Padel (FIP) was founded in 1991 and started running World Championships from 1992. Sweden adopted the sport in the 2000s through a tax-favored club model. Italy and Portugal followed. by 2015, padel had roughly 15,000 courts worldwide.

2018–2026: global boom. padel crossed 50,000 courts globally in 2024. the Premier Padel tour (FIP-backed, 2022 onwards) and the World Padel Tour (private, 2013–2023) professionalized the sport. by 2026 padel is played in 90+ countries, with the largest court counts in Spain (~22,000), Italy (~8,500), Sweden (~4,000), Argentina (~3,500), and the Netherlands (~2,800). the Gulf states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) and Brazil are the fastest-growing new markets.

the padel court: dimensions, walls, surface

the FIP 2024 rulebook specifies a 20 m × 10 m interior court, enclosed on all four sides by walls 3 m high on the short sides and 4 m high on the long sides. the walls combine 10–12 mm tempered glass on the back walls with either glass or 50 × 50 mm welded mesh on the side walls.

back walls. two back walls, each 4 m wide and 3 m high, made of tempered glass per EN 12150. they form the 10 m back boundary.

side walls. two side walls, each 20 m long, with the first 4 m and last 4 m at 4 m height (glass or mesh) and the middle 12 m typically at 3 m height. the lower center section is where the ball goes out most often during a low-volley exchange.

the net. 10 m wide, 0.88 m high at the center, 1.05 m at the posts. runs the full width of the court.

the playing surface. artificial turf, typically 12–15 mm pile height, sand-dressed with kiln-dried silica at 5–8 kg per square meter. the surface is poured concrete or asphalt underneath, with a 0.5–1% slope for drainage.

enclosure cost. in 2026, a turnkey padel court runs €35,000–€55,000 installed in Europe, $40,000–$60,000 in the Gulf, and $30,000–$50,000 in Latin America. the enclosure (frame, glass, mesh, anchors) absorbs 35–45% of the budget; the surface and lighting absorb the rest.

the padel racket: shape, weight, material

a padel racket is a solid, perforated bat — no strings, no head shape variation like tennis. the FIP rulebook allows rackets up to 26 cm long, 29 cm wide, and 38 mm thick. weight is typically 340–380 g.

shape. round, teardrop, or diamond. round gives a larger sweet spot and more control (best for beginners). teardrop is the intermediate balance. diamond gives more power but a smaller sweet spot (advanced players).

core. EVA foam (most common) or low-density foam. denser cores give more control; softer cores give more power.

face. fiberglass (cheaper, more flexible, beginner-friendly) or carbon fiber (stiffer, more powerful, advanced). faces have a pattern of holes drilled through them — 5–8 mm diameter, required for the ball to pass through with air resistance.

brands. Head, Bullpadel, Nox, Babolat, Starvie, Wilson, Adidas, and Dunlop dominate the market. a beginner racket runs €50–€120; an advanced carbon racket runs €150–€350.

the padel ball: spec, pressure, bounce

a padel ball is a pressurized rubber core covered with a wool–nylon felt blend. the FIP 2024 spec is 6.35–6.77 cm diameter, 56.0–59.4 g weight, 11–13 psi internal pressure (0.75–0.9 bar).

bounce test. dropped from 2.54 m onto steel, the ball must rebound to 1.35–1.45 m at 20 °C.

felt. wool 60–80% (livelier, more character), nylon 20–40% (more durable). a beginner rental ball is usually higher nylon for longer can life; a tournament ball is usually higher wool for liveliness.

pressure and temperature. pressure drifts with temperature: a 12 psi ball at 20 °C drops to ~10.5 psi at 5 °C and rises to ~13.5 psi at 35 °C. outdoor winter leagues budget 20–30% higher ball consumption. above 1,000 m altitude, ambient pressure drops ~12% and the ball plays softer — use cans at the top of the FIP band to compensate.

how padel rules work (scoring, serve, walls)

the question “what is padel without the rules” is half a question. padel scoring is identical to tennis: 15, 30, 40, game, six games to a set, best of three, tiebreak at 6-6. no-ad scoring (sudden death at deuce) is common in social play.

the serve. underhand only. the ball is dropped or released from hand and struck before it bounces (or on the bounce) below waist height. the server must stand behind the baseline and hit the ball diagonally into the receiver’s service box. let serves (net cord that still lands in) are replayed, no point lost.

the walls. after the bounce on the receiver’s side, the ball can hit any wall and still be live. the only exception: the serve must bounce in the box before any wall contact. once the rally is live, players can play the ball off the back glass, the side glass, or the mesh — and the ball can pass over the low center section of the side wall into the next court.

faults. ball hits the fence on the serve (not the glass), ball bounces twice before being returned, ball hits the ceiling (in indoor courts) without first bouncing, volleying an overhead smash that exits through the back wall.

padel vs tennis: the key differences

the most common follow-up to “what is padel” is “how is it different from tennis.” padel and tennis share a scoring system and a racket frame but diverge on almost every other dimension.

court size. padel is 200 m² enclosed, tennis is 670 m² open. padel is one third the area.

walls. padel has walls in play; tennis does not. the wall is the single biggest design difference.

format. padel is doubles-dominant; tennis supports singles and doubles equally. four-player padel is the default; tennis singles is common.

serves. padel serves are underhand; tennis serves are overhead. this single change removes the hardest shot from the beginner learning curve.

racket. padel uses a solid perforated bat; tennis uses a strung racket. the padel racket is more forgiving on off-center hits.

ball. padel ball is lower-pressure (11–13 psi) than a tennis ball (12–14 psi for regular, more for tournament); the padel ball is also slightly smaller and slower.

rallies. padel rallies are longer than tennis because the walls keep the ball in play and the court is smaller. a social padel rally averages 8–12 shots; a social tennis rally averages 3–5.

footwork. padel is mostly lateral movement in a 200 m² box; tennis covers the full 670 m² with sprints and stops. padel is lower-impact on joints.

learning curve. padel is faster to enjoy on day one (the walls help); tennis is faster to plateau (the power ceiling is higher).

how big is padel in 2026?

the sport has crossed 50,000 courts in 90+ countries and roughly 25–30 million active players. the question “what is padel” lands in the search box from a few hundred thousand unique users every month in 2026, and the trajectory is still up. padel is the fastest-growing racket sport globally.

country leaders. Spain (~22,000 courts, ~6 million players), Italy (~8,500 courts, ~2.5 million players), Sweden (~4,000 courts, ~1 million players), Argentina (~3,500 courts, ~2 million players), Netherlands (~2,800 courts), France (~2,500 courts), UAE (~1,800 courts across 200+ venues), Saudi Arabia (~1,200 courts, ~600 planned for 2030), Brazil (~1,500 courts and growing fastest in LATAM), USA (~1,000 courts, mostly in California, Florida, Texas, and New York).

professional tour. Premier Padel (FIP-backed, founded 2022) is the top tour with 24 tournaments a year and a €600,000+ average prize purse per event. the World Padel Tour ran from 2013 to 2023 before merging into Premier Padel.

Olympic status. padel is not yet an Olympic sport. FIP has been pushing for inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Games. as of 2026, padel remains a candidate sport under IOC review.

what equipment do you need to play padel?

for a first session: a rented racket (€3–€8 from most clubs), trainers with non-marking soles, and a partner. for regular play: a personal racket (€50–€120 for a beginner fiberglass round), padel-specific shoes (€60–€110), and a few cans of balls (split with a partner).

for a court (operator side): a 20 m × 10 m enclosed structure with 10–12 mm tempered glass back walls, 50 × 50 mm welded mesh side walls (or hybrid glass–mesh), a galvanized steel frame per EN 1090-1, artificial turf with sand dressing, four to eight LED lighting columns at 6 m, and a net at 0.88 m center height. full kit pricing in 2026 runs €35,000–€55,000 installed in Europe. this is the scope XTZ Padel covers from Bologna: frame, glass, mesh, turf, lighting, and net under one CE-marked system.

padel is a doubles-dominant racket sport on a 20 × 10 m enclosed court, with walls in play, an underhand serve, tennis-style scoring, and a solid perforated racket. it originated in Mexico in 1969, took root in Spain in the 1970s, and became the fastest-growing racket sport globally between 2018 and 2026. the walls are the design feature that makes the sport beginner-friendly and the rally length what it is. padel is not tennis with walls — it is its own sport, with its own tactics, its own tour, and its own learning curve. the kit is modest, the rules fit on one page, and the social loop is what keeps players coming back. for players, the question what is padel answers itself on the first session. for operators, the answer starts with a plot plan and ends with a turnkey court. the sport grows one court at a time, and the next court is the one you build.

frequently asked questions

is padel the same as padel tennis?

yes. “padel” is the FIP-sanctioned name. “padel tennis” was an early marketing term, still used in some regions. the sport, court, and rules are identical — when someone asks what is padel tennis, they are asking about the same sport as what is padel.

how many players are needed to play padel?

four for a standard doubles match. singles exists but is rare. two players can rally for practice; four is the social format.

what is the difference between padel and paddle?

“paddle” usually refers to platform tennis, a North American sport with a heated aluminum court and a wired mesh screen. “padel” is the European and global format with a permanent court and tempered glass walls.

is padel an Olympic sport?

not yet. FIP has applied for inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Games. as of 2026, padel remains an IOC candidate sport. the sport’s rapid global growth is the main argument the FIP delegation uses when answering “what is padel” to IOC voters.

what age can you start padel?

from about age 8 with a junior racket and lighter ball. there is no upper age limit — padel is popular with 50+ players because the walls reduce running load.

how much does it cost to build a padel court?

€35,000–€55,000 installed in Europe in 2026, with regional variation. the enclosure (frame, glass, mesh, anchors) absorbs 35–45% of the budget. a single court typically pays back in 18–30 months at 75% utilization. turnkey delivery of the full enclosure under one CE-marked system is what XTZ Padel ships from Bologna: frame, glass, mesh, turf, lighting, and net together.