Will padel soon become an Olympic discipline? As an enthusiastic padel player, you have probably asked yourself these questions before.
Some sports in the Olympic program are only played professionally by a few athletes around the world, but have been an integral part of the Olympics for a long time. So why is padel, currently the fastest growing sport in the world, not yet an Olympic discipline?
Padel tennis is played by millions of athletes around the world. Perfect conditions to see padel at the Olympics soon. Unfortunately, it's not that easy.
The conditions for the Olympics
Before a new sport can be included in the Olympic program, certain requirements must be met. Padel already meets some of these, but not others.
One of the most important criteria for an Olympic discipline is that the discipline must be practiced in at least 75 countries and 4 continents in the men's category, and in at least 40 countries and 3 continents in the women's category.
The current status
The current numbers do not quite reach the required minimum of 75 countries. However, the exponential growth of our sport worldwide leaves no doubt that this milestone will soon be reached.
A look into the future
So it's hard to say when we'll finally see padel at the Olympics for the first time. It remains to be seen whether it will be a demonstration sport in Paris in 2024. If it doesn't work out in Paris, we'll have to hope for Los Angeles in 2028 or Brisbane in 2032 so that the best padel players can finally fight for Olympic gold.
