A few years ago, it was obvious that the padel could not have its place in Olympic Games : only two countries (Spain and Argentina) actively practiced this sport, thus not justifying the universal character that must have an Olympic sport.

Now things haven't changed completely, but the growth of padel in the world is so fast that it looks like we can see the padel in not so distant Olympics.

Get the Olympic card

To become an Olympic sport, the padel will have to fill all conditions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC):

  1. sport must be practiced in 75 countries from 4 continents for men
  2. sport must be practiced in 40 countries on 3 continents for women
  3. the world anti-doping code must be adopted and applied in this sport
  4. the sport must be accepted seven years before making its appearance at the Olympic Games
  5. a maximum of 28 sports can be found at the Olympic Games, thus forcing a sport to no longer be Olympic if a new sport were to enter.

The first four conditions are relatively easy to obtain for the padel, but the fifth is the problem. Competition is fierce between the different activities that deserve a place in the Olympics, and the large number of recurring sports leaves very little room for new disciplines.

Le padel at the Olympics, when is it?

According to IOC criteria, the padel could obviously not be Olympic for the Tokyo Olympics, nor for the Paris Olympics in 2024. The seven-year window between theobtaining the Olympic card and l'appearance of sport at the Olympics makes it seem complicated to see our sport at the Olympics before  Los Angeles 2028.

Even, the real possibility would rather be for 2032 : for this, the padel obtain the Olympic card before 2025. This five-year deadline for homogenizing its global development seems fair, given its speed of expansion in the world.

It will then be necessary to fight with the other sports which apply for a place in the Olympic Games.

No handipadel for the Tokyo Olympics

In 2017, 'handipadel was a sport in the race to be offered at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. According to the number 1 of the sport, Oscar Agea, it would even be “more easy to play padel in a wheelchair than in tennis."

We will have to wait to see the handipadel in Paralympic competition: the program of Paris 2024 Paralympic Games was unveiled and the padel in a wheelchair is not included. Other sports such as wheelchair football, disabled golf, surfing or even arm wrestling have been preferred to him.

The Olympics to create a virtuous circle

Le padel is in a phase of massive expansion around the world. This sport with mexican roots, is gradually appearing on all continents, gradually gaining the universal character imposed on an Olympic sport.

The Olympic Games would be the definitive spotlight for the padel who will have, at that moment, succeeded in conquering the world.

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !

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