Canadian actor Simu Liu attends BERO Padel Classic at Pura Padel on April 29, in Sherman Oaks, California.Leon Bennett/Getty Images
The weather is warm and you’re looking for excuses to be outside. Want to join a social sport like pickleball, but with a little more athletic intensity? Then padel might be for you.
Padel originated in Mexico and gained traction in Central and South America and Spain more than 50 years ago but has exploded in popularity in the rest of Europe and North America in recent years. More than 35 million people in 150 countries played the sport in 2025, according to the International Padel Federation, with over 14,000 courts built that year alone – a 15.2 per cent increase in courts built the year before.
What is padel and how do you play it?
People play a padel match at a court in Sao Paulo, Brazil in March. The passion for padel has spread rapidly across the Americas, and now its glass-walled courts are popping up in clubs, public parks and luxury hotels.NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images
Padel is a racket sport, and a cross between tennis and squash. The sport is played on a 20-metre by 10-metre court encased in glass (a tennis court is 10.97 metres by 23.77 metres), and like tennis, there is also a service box.
The game is played solely in doubles, and players are allowed to hit the ball off the glass and metallic mesh walls that surround the court.
Padel’s scoring is the same as the system for tennis. To win a match, you must achieve two sets more than your opponent. To get a set, a team must win at least six games, and be ahead by at least two games from their opponent. A game is won when a team gets four points, which is at least two points more than the opponents.
What is the difference between padel and pickleball?
Padel is often played at a faster pace than pickleball, but both have similar shots.Gregorio Borgia/The Associated Press
Pickleball and padel are both racket sports that started to gain popularity recently, but are vastly different in execution.
Pickleball is played on a smaller, more open court (six metres by 13 metres) and can be played solo or in pairs. There is no service box or rebounds. The sport uses a rectangular racket and a plastic ball with holes. A person wins a game by a best-to-11 points, and must be two points ahead of the opponent.
In contrast, padel uses a smaller, rounded racket with holes. The ball in padel is a tennis ball, but with lower pressure that reduces how much it bounces, as opposed to a plastic ball used in pickleball.
Pickleball is also often played at a slower pace than padel, but both have similar shots and an underhand serve.
Why is padel getting so popular?
Padel is a great sport for sociability, as it’s played in pairs. Having a lower pressure ball and a smaller court size is more forgiving than a sport such as tennis, with the rebounds allowing rallies to continue further. A lower pressure ball also allows players to have more time to register a shot, as the ball is not moving as quickly.
The sport has a lower barrier for entry compared to tennis and squash, with no official dress code and less expensive equipment required. Padel is also an easily accessible unisex sport that can be picked up at any age, with less physical demands than other sports.
Is there a professional padel league? Are any famous athletes playing?
Padel has a professional league, called the Premier Padel tour. Premier Padel is a worldwide circuit, and, similar to the pro tennis tours, features four major tournaments at venues such as Roland Garros in Paris and the Foro Italico in Rome.
Professional athletes including the likes of soccer players Lionel Messi and Neymar, former tennis star Rafael Nadal and Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly have all taken to the sport in their free time. Nadal and Gasly also own professional padel teams, while other celebrity owners include former tennis player Andy Murray, F.C. Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski and actor Eva Longoria.
Canada has close to 20 padel clubs across the country, located in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
With reports from the Associated Press and Reuters