Jose Sanchez
Research expert covering society, economy, & politics for Latin America
Padel - statistics & facts
With the likes of Jürgen Klopp and Serena Williams picking up the racket in recent years, padel’s profile has grown rapidly all over the world. The sport, similar to tennis but played with stringless rackets and a walled court, is seen by many as a refreshing alternative: in 2023, two thirds of players in Spain identified fun as one of the main reasons for taking up padel. While still being relatively small in comparison to other sports, the global market size of padel amounted to around two billion euros in 2022, with padel clubs accounting for the largest share of this total. Meanwhile, increased attendance figures can also attest to the sport’s growth, with the all-time attendance record for padel hitting new heights in 2023. With all this in mind, can padel stay on course to become a key player in the world of sport, or is it just a one-serve wonder?
Where is padel popular?
Having originated in Mexico, padel is particularly popular in many Spanish-speaking countries across the world. The country with the most padel players is Spain, with an estimated 5.5 million participants as of early 2024. However, this is not to say that padel does not have a fully international following - in 2023, the number of national padel federations worldwide amounted to 71. The sport is also well followed online, with the first season of Premier Padel amassing a total of 22 million views on YouTube.Who are the best padel players in the world?
As of June 2024, the highest-ranked male padel player was Arturo Coello, with the Spaniard’s sporting partner AgustÃn Tapia ranking in second place. Meanwhile, Ariana Sánchez and Paula JosemarÃa jointly occupied top spot in the women’s padel rankings. At this level, many players have sizeable followings on social media, and the padel players with the most Instagram followers have online audiences stretching into the hundreds of thousands. The International Padel Federation (FIP) also had a sizeable online presence, with FIP’s total following amounting to over 315 thousand across all platforms.
