The last  Global Padel Report 2026  Published by Playtomic and Strategy&, the report does more than simply analyze the global growth of padel. It also sends a more subtle but powerful message to the ecosystem: the figures often cited in recent years regarding the number of global players appear to have been largely overestimated.

Because behind the global euphoria surrounding padel, a crucial question now emerges:  What exactly is a “padel player”? 

From 30 million to 19,4 million players: a huge difference

In 2024, the International Federation of Padel (FIP) officially announced nearly  30 million amateur players  in the world.

The 30 million padel players mark has been crossed

At the time, these figures were widely circulated throughout the padel world:

  • more than 30 million practitioners,
  • 63,000 plots of land,
  • 130 countries affected,
  • growth presented as almost exponential.

But two years later, the Playtomic 2026 report takes a much more cautious approach. The document now estimates the number of global players at  19,4 million .

That's about  a third less  than the figures put forward by the FIP only two years earlier.

A colossal difference that obviously does not go unnoticed.

An implicit questioning of the FIP data

The Playtomic report never directly criticizes the International Federation of PadelBut the message is clear.

The document states explicitly that its estimate is based on a “more conservative” analysis, constructed from:

  • federal data,
  • field analyses,
  • cross-referencing of sources,
  • of “bottom-up” approaches.

In other words: Playtomic suggests that the overall figures reported so far were probably inflated by a far too broad definition of the term “player”.

And that's probably the heart of the debate.

Who is really a padel player?

Because ultimately, everything depends on what you measure.

Is a “padel player”:

  • Has anyone tried it once during their holidays?
  • A person who played a friendly match six months ago?
  • An occasional practitioner?
  • Or, on the contrary, a regular player who books tracks every week?

The difference is immense.

The FIP certainly used a very broad definition of practice, evidently including all profiles who have played at least once or practice occasionally.

Conversely, the Playtomic report seems to be based more on real-world usage:

  • land reservations,
  • frequency of play,
  • club activities
  • digital data,
  • actual consumption.

And this completely changes the picture of the global market.

In this context, announcing 30 or 35 million players also becomes a communication tool.

Moreover, the FIP went even further in 2025 by now mentioning more than  35 million active players  in the world.

Global padel in 2025: an established, structured and now global sport

The report also puts the “global explosion” into perspective.

The other important lesson from the document concerns the actual maturity of the market.

Yes, padel continues to grow very quickly:

  • 58,334 properties worldwide,
  • nearly 8,000 new courts by 2025,
  • approximately 5,000 new clubs opened.

But the report mainly shows that some markets are already beginning to slow down or correct:

  • Sweden is experiencing an overcapacity crisis.
  • Chile is experiencing massive club closures.
  • Some European markets are entering a phase of consolidation.

The era of “everything exploding everywhere” seems to be gradually giving way to a more rational approach.

The real indicator: regular players

Ultimately, the Playtomic report probably asks the right question:

The true indicator of the health of global padel may not be the number of people who have already tried the sport.

But rather:

  • the number of regular players,
  • their frequency of play,
  • the runway occupancy rate,
  • the clubs' ability to retain members,
  • the creation of lasting sporting habits.

And on this point, some data from the report are much more telling than the often-cited “30 million” figure:

  • The UK already has 85% occupancy during peak hours.
  • In France, this sometimes reaches 9 to 10 hours of daily usage per field.
  • Mature markets now rely more on customer loyalty than on discovery.

Ultimately, this 2026 report looks like a return to the economic reality of padel.

Sport is obviously continuing its globalization.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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