Will padel become an Olympic event?

With the rapid development of padel around the world, this sport that combines fun, competition and social attributes is gradually entering the public eye, especially in Europe and Latin America. Today, the topic of "whether padel will join the Olympics" has become a focus of widespread attention in and outside the industry.

Global popularity continues to rise

According to data from the International Padel Federation (FIP), as of 2024, the number of people participating in padel tennis worldwide has exceeded 25 million, and has maintained an average annual growth rate of more than 20%. Many countries and regions, including Spain, Italy, Argentina, Sweden, France and Middle Eastern countries, are accelerating venue construction and event promotion.

Even more exciting is that starting in 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recognized FIP as an official international sports federation, which is an important step for padel tennis to join the Olympics. This recognition and the resulting standardized event management, refereeing system and global ranking mechanism have laid the foundation for its move to the Olympic stage.

The "threshold" to become an Olympic event

The Olympics has a strict evaluation mechanism for new events. First, there must be a global organization and management, and second, it must be widely carried out in at least four continents and 75 countries or regions. In addition, the event must have clear rules, be highly entertaining, and embody the Olympic spirit.

Padel tennis has met most of the conditions: international events such as the **Premier Padel Tour and the World Padel Championship** have received widespread attention and attracted athletes from different continents to participate. Today, the only obstacle is that its popularity in Asia and Africa is still relatively low, which is the focus of FIP's development in the next few years.

Is the 2032 Brisbane Olympics the best opportunity?

The Australian government has clearly stated its intention to include emerging events in the Olympics, and padel tennis is being seen as "one of the potential new events." Especially after the construction boom in Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, the 2032 Brisbane Olympics may be the best window for padel tennis to enter the Olympic stage.

In May 2024, FIP reached a cooperation agreement with the Olympic Committees of many countries, planning to complete the establishment of associations in at least 20 developing countries by 2026 and promote the implementation of regional championships. This move is seen as "a sprint to enter the Olympics."

Safety and facility standards continue to improve

In the past, people's doubts about whether paddle tennis is suitable for entering the Olympics mainly focused on "venue standardization" and "safety assurance." However, with the popularity of panoramic courts and movable courts, as well as the widespread application of international standard lighting and glass wall systems, the viewing and safety of events have been greatly improved.

For example, suppliers such as UNIPADEL have exported standardized court systems to more than 100 countries around the world, and participated in the construction of venues for multiple international events, laying the foundation for a global unified facility system.

The future is promising, but efforts are still needed

Whether paddle tennis can join the Olympics is not a decision made overnight, but a process of long-term development and international recognition. It already has the "hard conditions" to enter the Olympics, and is gradually overcoming the "soft barriers."

Before the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, paddle tennis still needs to be more widely spread around the world, strengthen the construction of youth training systems, and establish cooperation mechanisms with more national Olympic committees. If all goes well, we may see paddle tennis make its debut on the Olympic stage at the 2032 Olympics.