I played Padel for the first time on a recent trip to Tenerife, and understood why you can’t get on the Padel courts near me in Hove.
Most people associate padel with Spain. That makes sense, because Spain helped turn the sport into a mainstream cultural force. But the official history and origins starts somewhere else: Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969, when Enrique Corcuera created the first recognised padel court at his home, Las Brisas. From there, the game moved to Spain, spread quickly into Argentina, and eventually grew into a governed international sport with global professional tours and millions of players.
What is padel?
Padel is a fast-growing racket sport, usually played as doubles on an enclosed court. It’s a hybrid of squash and tennis, and great for beginners.
It uses tennis-style scoring, but points start with an underarm serve and the walls stay in play after the ball bounces.
Where padel began
Padel was born out of a practical problem. Corcuera wanted to play tennis at home, but he did not have enough room for a full-sized tennis court. His solution was to build a smaller 20 x 10 metre court, enclosed by walls, with a tennis net in the middle. That compact, walled layout became the basic template for modern padel. The first rules were drafted by his wife, Viviana Corcuera, which helped turn an improvised backyard game into a sport with recognisable structure.
There is an important nuance here. The LTA notes that earlier racket-and-wall games existed, including a similar paddle game played in Washington in the 1910s. But when official padel bodies describe the sport’s origin, they point to Corcuera’s Acapulco court in 1969 as the first official padel court. That distinction matters because it explains why padel has deeper roots than many people assume, while still having a clear modern starting point.
From Acapulco to Spain
Padel’s move from a private Mexican invention to a visible sport happened through personal networks. According to the International Padel Federation, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe discovered the game while visiting Corcuera in Acapulco and later introduced it to Spain by building courts at the Marbella Club Hotel in Andalusia. The LTA places that Spanish arrival in 1974, which is why Marbella remains such a symbolic location in the sport’s story.
Spain did not invent padel, but it gave the sport something just as important: a social and club-based environment in which it could spread quickly. That is one reason so many people still think of Spain as padel’s home and take dedicated padel holidays there. Historically, Mexico is the birthplace; culturally, Spain became the place where padel embedded itself and expanded.
Why Argentina became so important
Argentina is the other country that shaped padel’s early identity. FIP says Julio Menditeguy, an Argentine member of Alfonso’s tennis club in Marbella, brought the sport to Argentina in the 1970s. The LTA dates that move to 1975. Once the game arrived, it spread fast, with early courts appearing at venues including Club Tortugas and Mar del Plata Ocean Club.
By the late 1980s, Argentina had become central to padel’s competitive development. In 1988, the country formed the world’s first national padel association, and that same year Spain and Argentina contested the first international competition in Mar del Plata. So if Mexico explains the invention and Spain explains the cultural take-off, Argentina explains a large part of the sport’s early competitive muscle.
When padel became an organised international sport
The sport’s institutional phase began in the early 1990s. On 12 July 1991, the International Padel Federation was founded in Madrid by the Argentine, Spanish and Uruguayan padel associations. A year later, the first World Padel Championships were held in Madrid and Seville, giving the sport an official international framework rather than just a fast-growing network of clubs and national scenes.
The 1990s also helped standardise the game. The LTA says Spain’s Sports Council recognised padel as a sport in 1993, while FIP says that in 1997 Spain and Argentina agreed to unify the rules and standardise the name Padel, replacing the more variable use of “Paddle” in some countries. Together, those milestones gave padel a more consistent identity across borders.
The professional era
Padel’s next leap came when the professional game took shape. FIP says the first international professional circuit, the Padel Pro Tour, launched in 2005 and ran for eight seasons. The LTA likewise marks 2005 as the start of the first professional world tour. In 2013, that circuit was replaced by the World Padel Tour, which became the dominant name in the professional game through the 2010s.
FIP launched its own international circuit in 2019, later renamed the CUPRA FIP Tour, to support wider global growth. Then, in 2022, Premier Padel became the official global professional tour governed by FIP and backed by Qatar Sports Investments. By 2024, FIP says that tour featured 24 tournaments in 16 countries, showing how far the sport had moved beyond its original Spanish-Argentine centre of gravity.
How padel reached Britain
Britain came later to the sport, but its early history still goes back further than many people realise. The LTA says the British Paddle Association was formed in 1992 by British expats who wanted to compete in that year’s World Championships. For a long time, British padel remained small compared with Spain or Argentina, but the foundations and community were there.
A more modern turning point came in 2019, when the LTA announced that it would integrate British Padel into its day-to-day operations. In 2020, the LTA was confirmed as the national governing body for padel in Britain. That shift gave the sport stronger institutional support, a clearer development pathway, and access to infrastructure and funding structures that helped accelerate growth.
The results are now visible. The LTA says 860,000 people played padel in Britain in 2025, with over 10 million expressing interest in trying it and roughly 1,600 courts in place across hundreds of venues. That does not change the sport’s Mexican, Spanish and Argentine roots, but it does show how rapidly padel’s popularity has moved from a regional story to a genuinely international one.
Why this history still matters
Padel’s history helps explain why the sport feels distinctive today. Its Mexican origin explains the court and the rules. Spain explains the social club culture that made the game explode. Argentina explains why padel became so competitive so quickly. FIP explains how it became a governed international sport with unified championships, tours and rankings.
It also explains why padel now feels bigger than any one country. FIP says that by 2026 it had 100 affiliated federations, the sport was played in more than 150 countries, and there were around 35 million amateur players worldwide. What began as a compact court designed to fit a backyard is now a global racket sport with its own culture, travel economy and professional ecosystem.
If this is inspired you to try this great sport, have a read of our beginners guide to Padel.
FAQs
Who invented padel?
The first recognised version of padel was created by Enrique Corcuera in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969, when he built a smaller enclosed court at his home.
Was padel invented in Spain?
No. Official histories from FIP and the LTA place the sport’s origin in Mexico, not Spain. Spain was the first major growth market and became the sport’s strongest cultural centre, but it was not the birthplace.
When did padel arrive in Spain?
FIP says padel reached Spain in the early 1970s, when Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe brought it to Marbella. The LTA dates that move more specifically to 1974.
Why is Argentina so important in padel history?
Argentina helped transform padel from a fast-growing pastime into a serious competitive sport. It formed the first national association in 1988 and played in the first Spain-Argentina international competition that same year.
When did padel become a professional sport?
The first international professional circuit, the Padel Pro Tour, began in 2005. It was replaced by the World Padel Tour in 2013, and Premier Padel became the official global professional tour in 2022.
When did padel really take off in Britain?
Britain’s earliest formal milestone was the creation of the British Paddle Association in 1992, but the sport’s modern growth accelerated after the LTA integrated British Padel in 2019 and became the national governing body in 2020.
Further Reading
