What is padel? A complete guide to the world's fastest-growing sport

The short answer

Padel is a racket sport played in doubles on an enclosed court roughly half the size of a tennis court. The ball is similar to a tennis ball but with slightly less pressure. The racket is solid, perforated, and has no strings. The walls are part of the game — the ball can be played off the back glass after it bounces. Scoring uses tennis scoring (15, 30, 40, game, set), but the underhand serve and the wall play make the rallies feel completely different.

Where padel came from

Padel was invented in Acapulco, Mexico in 1969 by Enrique Corcuera, who built an enclosed court at his vacation home because the property wasn't big enough for a regulation tennis court. A Spanish friend, Alfonso de Hohenlohe, took the sport home to Marbella in 1974, where it caught on with the wealthy beach-club crowd. From Spain it spread to Argentina in the 1980s, then exploded across Europe and Latin America in the 2010s. The current global boom started around 2018.

Why padel is growing so fast

Three reasons. First, it's easier to start than tennis — beginners can sustain rallies in their first session. Second, it's social — always doubles, always with three other people, and matches are short enough to fit into a lunch hour. Third, the courts are cheap to build relative to tennis courts and can fit in spaces tennis can't, so supply has scaled with demand. Spain has over 20,000 courts. The UK went from a handful in 2018 to over 900 in 2026. The US doubled its court count between 2023 and 2024.

The court

The padel court is 20 metres long by 10 metres wide, divided by a net. The court is fully enclosed — back walls are made of glass (the cristal), and side walls are a mix of glass and metal mesh. Service boxes are marked at 6.95 metres from the net. The walls are a defining feature of the game: when a ball lands in your court and bounces off the back wall, it's still in play, and skilled players use the wall to defend, reset, and create attacking opportunities.

The basic shots

Forehand and backhand are the foundation, played similarly to tennis but with a shorter swing because of the smaller court. The lob is a key tactical shot — used to push opponents off the net. The smash and bandeja are the two attacking overheads — the smash is high-power, the bandeja is a controlled three-quarter overhead used to maintain net position. The víbora is a sliced spinning overhead. Glass play — playing the ball after it bounces off your own back wall — is the shot that has no equivalent in any other racket sport, and it's what makes padel feel different to play.

How padel differs from tennis, squash, and pickleball

Compared to tennis: smaller court, walls in play, doubles only, underhand serve, much shorter swings, easier to start. Compared to squash: bigger court, walls played indirectly (after the ground bounce), doubles instead of singles, slower ball, tactical instead of pure-pace. Compared to pickleball: bigger court, walls in play, more athletic, longer rallies, requires more strategy. Padel is closer in spirit to a chess game played at sprint pace than any other racket sport.

How to start playing

You need three things: a court (find one through Playtomic or a local club), three other players, and a racket. Most clubs rent rackets for a few euros if you don't have one. A first session typically costs €20–40 per court split between four players. A coaching session for absolute beginners — covering grip, serve, and basic positioning — is the fastest way to make your first matches enjoyable rather than frustrating.

How long it takes to get good

Most beginners can sustain rallies in their first hour on court. Three months of regular play (twice a week) gets you to a competent recreational level. Six to twelve months gets you to a level where you can play in club leagues. The hardest jump is from intermediate to advanced — that's where players plateau because they need objective technique feedback, not just more court time. AI coaching, video analysis, or a private coach is what gets most players past that plateau.

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