Three stories from the padel world this week: the numbers behind the sport's growth, a new date for the calendar, and a first World Cup in five years for Great Britain's women.
1. Padel is now a €8.6bn sport
The FIP's World Padel Report was published on 14 October, and it is the clearest picture yet of how big padel has become.
- 40 million padel players worldwide
- 91,234 padel courts
- €8.6 billion of GDP generated by padel
- €6.84 billion spent by players each year
- 235,000+ jobs supported by the sport
- 90% rise in Google searches for "padel" in Great Britain this year
Why it matters: padel is no longer a niche club sport. It is an industry, and the UK is one of its fastest-growing corners.
Source: FIP World Padel Report, 14 October 2026.
2. 20 October is now World Padel Day
The FIP and Premier Padel have named 20 October World Padel Day, and used the launch to restate their bid to get padel into the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
Their case rests on about 40 million players across 191 countries, 47% of them women.
The timing follows padel's first appearance at the Asian Games, which crowned its first champions:
- Women's gold: Kae Tokumoto and Saki Tsukamoto (Japan), winning on home soil
- Men's gold: Mashari and Rashed Naif (Qatar)
3. Team GB women head to the FIP World Cup
Great Britain's women have qualified for the FIP World Cup for the first time since 2021. The squad:
- Aimee Gibson, world No.91
- Catherine Rose, world No.93
- Tia Norton, world No.171
The tournament runs from 2 to 7 November in Doha, Qatar, with 16 national teams in each draw. Its prize money is the biggest ever in official padel, split equally between the men's and women's events.
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