The city’s sports scene is evolving rapidly as padel continues to gain momentum around the world. New courts are opening across the capital, reflecting the sport’s remarkable rise in popularity. According to the International Padel Federation, more than 30 million people were playing padel worldwide by 2024, making it one of the fastest-growing sports globally.

The sport’s appeal extends far beyond amateur players. Global stars including David Beckham, Novak Djokovic, and Lionel Messi are among the high-profile fans who have embraced padel, helping fuel its international popularity and inspiring millions of newcomers to step onto the court.

The Origins of Padel: From a Private Court to a Global Sport

The story of padel began in 1969, when Mexican businessman Enrique Corcuera purchased a home in Acapulco. His wife, Vivian Corcuera, was passionate about tennis and dreamed of having a private court. However, the property’s uneven landscape made it impossible to build a regulation-sized tennis court.

Instead, Corcuera created a smaller playing area measuring 20 by 10 meters, enclosed by three-meter-high walls. What began as a practical solution soon evolved into an entirely new racket sport, with the surrounding walls becoming a defining part of the game.

The sport’s breakthrough came when Spanish aristocrat Alfonso de Hohenlohe experienced the game during a visit to the Corcuera family. Recognizing its potential, he introduced padel to Spain, where it quickly gained popularity among both the country’s elite and recreational players.

In 1974, Hohenlohe built Europe’s first dedicated padel courts at the prestigious Marbella Club Hotel in Marbella. This milestone helped transform padel from a private pastime into an organized sport, laying the foundation for its rapid growth across Spain and, eventually, around the world.

Padel Rules: How the Game Is Played

Padel is played in teams of two on an enclosed court surrounded by glass walls and metal fencing. Before the match begins, a coin toss determines which team serves first and chooses its starting side.

Like tennis, padel uses the familiar scoring system of 15, 30, 40, and game. A standard match is played as the best of three sets, meaning the first team to win two sets claims the victory. If both teams win one set each, the match is decided by a third and final set.

One of the biggest differences between padel and tennis is the underhand serve. Every serve must be struck below waist level after the ball bounces, making the game easier for beginners to learn while encouraging longer, more strategic rallies.

A team wins a point when the ball bounces twice on the opponents’ side of the court or when the opposing team commits a fault. If the receiving player—or their partner—hits the ball before it bounces for the first time on their side of the court, the point is automatically awarded to the serving team.

The biggest difference is the walls,” says Shalva Dzhanashia. “They’re an essential part of the game. Players can play the ball off the glass, much like in squash.”

How Padel Compares to Tennis, Table Tennis, and Squash

Padel combines the most engaging elements of tennis, squash, and table tennis, creating a sport that is fast-paced, highly social, and easy to learn.

From squash, padel adopts the glass walls that surround the court and remain in play throughout every rally, adding a unique tactical dimension. Players can use rebounds off the walls to extend points and create creative shot opportunities that simply don’t exist in tennis.

The padel racket also has an interesting history. Early versions were made of wood and resembled beach tennis paddles, which inspired the sport’s name. The word padel is derived from the Spanish term closely related to the English word “paddle.” Today, modern padel rackets are manufactured from lightweight composite materials, feature a distinctive perforated surface, and typically weigh up to 380 grams.

From tennis, padel inherits its netted court, ball, and the familiar 15–30–40 scoring system. However, every point begins with an underhand serve, making the game more accessible to beginners and encouraging longer rallies rather than outright power.

As coach Shalva Dzhanashia explains:

“The serve is underhand, just like in table tennis. But what truly makes padel unique is that you’re never playing alone. It’s always a doubles game, and success depends just as much on teamwork, positioning, and strategy as it does on powerful shots.”

This combination of strategy, communication, and continuous action is one of the main reasons padel has become one of the world’s fastest-growing racket sports.