Is padel threatening tennis? Inside the revolution shaking up the established order
Since the early 2000s, one word keeps coming up in tennis federations around the world: padel. Long a niche activity, this hybrid sport halfway between tennis and squash has now emerged as a serious rival for the little yellow ball. Spain has made it its number one racket sport, France is seeing record growth in participation, and professional tours are multiplying.
Confronted with this spectacular boom, tennis stars – led by Novak Djokovic – are asking themselves tough questions: does tennis need to rethink its format, its economy, its image to withstand this new wave? Between real threats and strategic opportunities, this feature explores the driving forces behind a quiet revolution that could permanently reshape the world of racket sports.
From a Mexican garden to the world stage
Padel emerged back in the late 1960s and has been enjoying growing success ever since. Seen as a sport similar to tennis but played on a smaller court, it was invented by a Mexican, Enrique Corcuera, in 1969.
A tennis fan, he wanted to build a tennis court in the garden of his Acapulco residence, but he didn’t have enough space. So he built a court with smaller dimensions (20x10 meters), with a net and a three‑meter‑high wall around the court.
From the 1970s onward, the sport then gained popularity in Latin America but especially in Spain. It is played exclusively in doubles and has its own International Federation. Depending on the country, padel may be directly integrated into the same organization as the Tennis Federation, as is the case in France and Italy, among others. There are two professional padel tours: Premier Padel and A1 Padel.
Similar rules and a real threat?
The rules of padel in official competition are as follows: it works just like tennis, with sets played to six games and each game scored using the 15, 30, 40 system. At 40‑40, you must win two consecutive points to take the game. As with tennis, padel is accessible to people with disabilities, and it is possible to compete in wheelchair padel.
With exponential growth since the early 2000s, padel has fundamentally changed status. Why is this activity gaining so much ground in professional sport, and does it represent a genuine long‑term threat to tennis?
THE STATE OF PADEL IN FRANCE
On its website, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) sums up the success of padel in France with a brief statement: “In France, padel has been booming since the early 2000s and the number of players has kept growing since the FFT obtained ministerial delegation in 2014.”
In June 2025, the federation released new figures for padel: for the first time in its history, France surpassed the 100,000‑licensee mark, an increase of 42.5% compared with the previous survey conducted in 2023/2024 (70,500 license holders at that time).
A sharp rise in facilities
In charge since 2014 of structuring the development of padel in France, the FFT continues to welcome the surge in the number of players in the discipline, but also the resources made available to fans of the sport. As stated in its press release of June 17, 2025, the French Tennis Federation has seen a 40% increase in the number of padel courts.
Nearly 3,000 courts (2,917 to be exact) are now available in France: “The FFT intends to continue and step up the development of padel in France, notably through the construction of new courts and the organization of tournaments across the country,” the governing body of French tennis concluded.
French padel on the professional stage
At professional level, Johan Bergeron is the highest‑ranked French player among the men. As of November 24, 2025, he sits at No. 111 in the world. Bastien Blanqué (117th) and Dylan Guichard (119th) are close behind. On the women’s side, you have to look inside the top 30 to find the highest‑ranked Frenchwoman. Alix Collombon is 27th, while Léa Godallier is 60th and Carla Touly 79th.
France has also hosted two Premier Padel 2025 events, the sport’s main professional circuit. In 2025, Bordeaux staged a tournament from June 30 to July 6, just as Paris did from September 8 to 14.
The tour keeps expanding year after year. In 2023, only the capital hosted a Premier Padel event on French soil. Bordeaux only appeared the following year, in 2024, before being renewed a year later.
A new tournament in Marseille from 2026
Every year in early February, some of the best players on the planet usually gather in Marseille to play the Open 13 (an ATP 250 event). But from 2026 onward, another sport will be on the program: padel.
The “Ville de Marseille FIP Platinium Padel” will take place from February 2 to 6, 2026 at the Palais des Sports in the Phocean city (the arena that hosted the Open 13 for more than 30 years). Marseille thus becomes the third French city to stage a professional padel event after Paris and Bordeaux.
As a reminder, at the end of August 2025, the director of the future Lyon tournament, Thierry Ascione, confirmed that the event would be moving to the LDLC Arena in Lyon‑Décines from 2026. It will be played in an arena with a capacity of around 11,000 in tennis configuration.
In Marseille, the aging Palais des Sports was increasingly falling short of ATP standards, forcing the tournament organizers to find a fallback solution. “We can’t wait to welcome you and share unique emotions with you. Tennis is entering a new dimension… and the story is only just beginning,” Ascione said to justify the choice of Lyon.
France is progressing but still lagging behind the major nations
In an interview with Padel Magazine in October 2025, Carla Touly, whom we mentioned earlier, discussed padel’s progress in France, even though countries like Spain remain far ahead: “Being French is a real advantage compared to some higher‑ranked Spaniards.
The French market is of great interest to brands and is increasingly structuring itself around padel. I feel that right now we have more potential among the men than among the women. But the opening of new clubs like Vichy and the democratization of padel in France are positive signs.
Future generations need to come directly from padel, without going through tennis. That’s how we’ll close the gap, even if it will take time. Spain is unbeatable, even when their best players aren’t there.
They’re still five to ten years ahead before they really get bothered in the European Championships,” explains Touly, who played tennis before switching to padel.
THE INCREDIBLE SUCCESS OF PADEL IN SPAIN
Even though France is one of the countries where padel is booming, Spain already enjoys a considerable lead in developing the discipline. Today, the Iberian nation has made padel its number one racket sport, ahead of tennis, despite Carlos Alcaraz’s exceptional achievements.
On November 14, 2025, the Spanish Padel Federation confirmed in a statement on its website that it had set a new record for the number of padel licensees (111,866), nearly double the figure from 2015 (56,263).
Padel now ranks among the top four sports in terms of licensees, behind only soccer, basketball and volleyball. As for tennis, there were 96,413 license holders in September 2024, and the little yellow ball ranked eighth among the most practiced sports.
Padel, an affordable and accessible sport for all in Spain
Spain also has 6 million regular or occasional padel players (representing a quarter of the sport’s participants worldwide, compared with just 500,000 regular padel players in France despite the growing number of licensees). So how can we explain the tremendous growth of this sport in the country of Rafael Nadal?
According to the outlet “El Periódico de Yecla,” several factors make padel more than just popular. In terms of physical effort, it’s a sport that improves coordination and reflexes, muscle development and mental well‑being. Padel is played only in doubles, which means it also promotes sociability.
In addition, it’s a friendly sport and accessible to everyone. In terms of cost, Spain also manages to attract large numbers of new participants. Just like tennis, padel has apps that allow anyone, regardless of age or level, to book courts at affordable prices.
Padel, a significant marketing product in Spain
If you live in Barcelona, you can let off steam after work to unwind, or simply on weekends, for 4 to 8 euros per hour. In almost every sports store in Spain, padel equipment is available at reasonable prices, while the number of padel courts across the country is constantly growing (more than 15,000 according to 2022 figures).
Padel is also a marketing product in its own right, as Iñaki Cabrera, Global Business Director at Wilson Padel, explained to L’Équipe in November 2024: “Padel is so widespread in Spain that many non‑sport brands see it as a way to reach their target audience. The obvious example is Cupra, the Spanish car brand, which sponsors many players as well as tournaments,” he noted.
Padel’s brand image also enjoys a solid reputation, with the sport’s big names more approachable than in tennis: “Unlike in other sports, padel players are much more accessible. People and brands see that as something very positive,” Cabrera continued.
Nadal, padel ambassador through his academy
When he launched his Rafa Nadal Academy project in 2016, Rafael Nadal, the legend who has won Roland‑Garros fourteen times, also developed a padel program accessible to all adults, regardless of level.
Weeklong training camps on one or two courts, including during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays, are available. You can also take group lessons on weekends. It’s a concept that the Rafa Nadal Academy, which is expanding on every continent, will spread even further by opening its first complex in South America, in Porto Belo, Brazil, in 2028.
Eight padel courts in the Rafa Nadal Academy’s next complex
Eight padel courts will be built there. They will allow some promising young players in the discipline to enroll at the Rafa Nadal Academy, which is gradually becoming a leading institution for padel. A sporting icon like Nadal, through the importance he gives it, clearly shows that this is a sport likely to enjoy growing success in the years ahead.
With complexes in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and soon South America, padel should logically gain even more traction on the global sporting landscape.
On its website, the Rafa Nadal Academy has a clear objective: “To offer an unforgettable padel experience in a unique setting.” By choosing its development program with skilled personal coaches, players can make very rapid progress.
Numerous professional tournaments held in Spain
Proof that Spain dominates padel internationally, thirteen of the world’s top twenty male players are Spanish. Among the women, this dominance is even greater, with sixteen Iberian players in the top twenty. Self‑proclaimed national pastime, padel broadly satisfies young and old alike. This legitimacy extends to the professional level in Spain.
On the Premier Padel tour in 2025, no fewer than five prestigious tournaments were scheduled in Spain: Valladolid (in June), Malaga (in July), Tarragona (from July to August), Madrid (from August to September) and, above all, Barcelona, which will host the season‑ending Finals from December 8 to 14, 2025.
Spain ahead of the rest of the world
As with the ATP Finals and WTA Finals in tennis, only the top eight men’s and women’s pairs can take part in the Barcelona year‑end championships. By staging some of the world’s most prestigious tournaments and placing many of its players at the very top of the rankings, Spain shows that it is clearly the sport’s leading nation.
Carla Touly offers one explanation: “The big difference between playing with a Frenchwoman and a Spaniard is the way they handle the glass walls. For Spanish players, it’s natural. In France, Italy or Portugal, lots of women struggle more because they come from tennis.”
INNOVATION, UTS: TENNIS MUST REINVENT ITS COMMUNICATION
The data illustrating padel’s rise is increasingly compelling, to the point where tennis – still far more prominent on television than padel – could be threatened by the discipline’s growth. The best tennis players have taken up the issue.
During Wimbledon 2024, Novak Djokovic himself addressed padel’s emergence in a press conference. And for the Serbian legend, a 24‑time Grand Slam champion, tennis lacks innovation and must do everything it can to attract a younger audience.
“We have to do better,” says Djokovic
Djokovic at the time suggested changing the Grand Slam format, with the first week played as best‑of‑three sets, before reverting to the current best‑of‑five format from the quarterfinals onwards.
More broadly, he believes tennis must reinvent itself, or risk seeing emerging sports like padel or pickleball (another tennis offshoot that is hugely popular in the United States) gradually take its place in the long run.
“I think it’s necessary for tennis to innovate. With the Grand Slams, we need to make sure we attract a younger audience. When you see what they’ve done in Formula 1 in terms of marketing and growing the sport…
I think we have to do better. I respect the governing bodies (the ATP and WTA). The Grand Slams will always manage, but the ATP and WTA need to improve in this area. We’re lucky to play a historic sport that’s known worldwide.
“There’s a lot of room”
I think there was a 2021 PTPA statistic (the organization founded by Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil to defend tennis players’ interests) that said tennis was the third or fourth most watched sport in the world, behind soccer and basketball and tied with cricket.
But tennis is only the ninth or tenth sport in terms of making the best use of its popularity. There’s a lot of room to grow in that regard. There are many things we need to look at collectively and improve,” Djokovic first said.
“Something really very concerning”
The Serb also believes that if tennis wants to retain a minimum of credibility, it must enable more professional players to make a living from prize money.
“We need to increase the number of people who can make a living playing tennis. I very rarely see the media write articles pointing out that only 400 players on the professional tour, men and women combined in singles and doubles, actually live off the sport.
For me, that’s something really very concerning. When a player wins a Grand Slam, the focus is on the financial side: ‘He earned this much money.’ But what about the lower‑tier circuits?
“Padel courts more viable economically”
Tennis is loved by millions of young children around the world who pick up rackets. But we’re not making the sport accessible and affordable for everyone, especially in countries like mine where the federation doesn’t have a huge budget,” Djokovic lamented, putting the tennis authorities on notice.
In his view, tennis is clearly increasingly competing with other sports and must in particular deal with padel’s constant growth. Djokovic continued: “Tennis is the king of racket sports, and that’s true. Now there’s also padel, which is constantly growing. People have fun when they play it. And at club level, tennis is in danger.
If we don’t do something about it, governments will turn every tennis court into padel and pickleball courts because they’re more economically viable. From one tennis court, you can make three padel courts. If you do the math, it’s more profitable for clubs to have those courts.”
UTS, the first sign of change
Yet tennis has undergone a kind of revolution in recent years. In 2020, French coach Patrick Mouratoglou created the UTS Tour, an exhibition circuit launched with the aim of reaching a younger audience. Seven‑minute quarters, a single serve instead of the two allowed on the ATP Tour, special cards to activate, and other innovations to speed up the tempo of matches.
So a significant shift has been at the center of debate for several years already. Top‑10 players regularly take part in UTS events. That said, it’s not yet clear whether this will be enough to spark the deep changes required.
Ronaldo wants to promote the UTS Tour in Brazil
On its website, the UTS Tour describes itself as the tennis of tomorrow: “The UTS Tour is a revolutionary reinvention of tennis, created to meet the needs of the current generation.
With fewer breaks, more interaction with the public and exciting innovations such as sudden‑death points and live music during matches, UTS is truly a combination of sport and entertainment.”
Sporting legends like Serena Williams, Mike Tyson and Ronaldo, the former Brazilian soccer star, have endorsed the format. The latter, a big tennis fan, even hopes to promote UTS in his home country.
IS THE FUTURE OF TENNIS THREATENED BY PADEL?
The most popular racket sport in the world, tennis is still followed by millions of people. However, as Novak Djokovic has already warned, there is good reason to be wary of the rise of padel and pickleball.
Highly popular, especially in Spain and Latin America as we have seen, padel continues to grow across the globe. Financially affordable and accessible to people of all ages and skill levels, the sport keeps spreading and experiencing immense growth in popularity.
Tennis still appears to have the edge on padel, particularly in terms of broadcast coverage and the popularity of its top players. But it must first address several internal issues, in order to improve its credibility and avoid sinking into a sort of stagnation in the eyes of observers.
Padel complements tennis rather than competing with it
However, José Viesca, director of the Royal Léopold Club (a tennis and padel club in Brussels), believes that padel complements tennis rather than competing with it. That’s mainly because the similarities between the two sports actually work in tennis’s favor in this case: “Overall, the number of tennis members has been stable for 4 to 5 years, while the number of padel members has clearly been increasing every year.
The two sports are developing in parallel, but not competitively. For tennis, I think padel is an opportunity. It’s still a racket sport, and the rules are quite similar.
So if people want to make a transition, it’s pretty easy,” he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF in April 2025. “In padel, it’s mostly people over 40, or people who hadn’t done any sport for a few years. It’s still struggling to catch on with younger people,” Viesca noted.
For Arnaud Clément, a former French professional tennis player, padel is also a complement to tennis and not a long‑term threat: “I’ve always thought that those who quit tennis to play padel would have quit anyway, so they might as well stop to keep playing another racket sport,” the former world No. 10 told France Info.
Taking inspiration from padel in terms of innovation
Viesca nevertheless acknowledges that although padel is still struggling to win over young people, the strategy adopted by clubs aims to change this trend and must therefore be addressed: “We have to try to reinvent ourselves in some way, which also means modernizing facilities.
We also need to create different events and take a leaf out of padel’s book in that area. To me, it remains something positive because it’s a racket sport after all and it brings people into the club. If parents play it, maybe they’ll later enroll their kids in tennis,” he concluded.
In other words, for now, padel should not be seen as a medium‑ or long‑term threat to tennis, nor treated as a rival to the little yellow ball – quite the opposite.
Despite its rapid growth in recent years, padel can also be an opportunity for tennis to reinvent itself, notably by changing how it communicates in order to gain credibility.
Despite the warning signals sent by a legend like Novak Djokovic, tennis does not appear to be in immediate danger, provided it finds a way to coexist – and even cooperate – with its younger cousin.
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