Padel is only 57 years old. It started on one court at a holiday home in Mexico in 1969. In August 2026 it sold out an arena in west London.
Plenty of pages tell the origin story. Fewer give you the dates in order, with a source you can check. So here's the whole thing as a timeline, then the bits worth knowing behind each chapter.
Padel history timeline
| Year | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | A similar game, platform tennis, catches on in Washington and New York | LTA |
| 1969 | Enrique Corcuera builds the first recognised padel court at his house at Las Brisas, Acapulco. His wife Viviana drafts the first rules | FIP |
| 1974 | Alfonso de Hohenlohe plays the game in Mexico and builds Spain's first two courts at the Marbella Club | LTA |
| 1975 | Julio Menditeguy takes padel from Marbella to Argentina | LTA, FIP |
| 1988 | Argentina founds the world's first national padel association. Spain and Argentina play the first international match, in Mar del Plata | FIP |
| 1991 | The International Padel Federation (FIP) is founded in Madrid on 12 July by the Argentine, Spanish and Uruguayan associations | FIP |
| 1992 | First World Championships, held in Madrid and Seville. British expats form the British Paddle Association to take part | LTA |
| 1993 | Spain's Sports Council recognises the sport and the spelling becomes "padel" | LTA |
| 1997 | Spain and Argentina agree in Barcelona to unify the rules and the name | FIP |
| 2005 | Padel Pro Tour, the first professional world tour, begins | FIP |
| 2013 | World Padel Tour replaces it and runs until 2023 | FIP |
| 2019 | The LTA announces it will bring British Padel into its day-to-day running | LTA |
| 2020 | The LTA is recognised as the governing body for padel in Britain | LTA |
| 2022 | Premier Padel is set up under the FIP. Its first event, the Qatar Major in Doha, ends on 2 April. Italy hosts its first Major the same year | FIP, Qatar Tribune, FIP |
| 2024 | Premier Padel runs 24 tournaments in 16 countries | FIP |
| 2025 | Spain counts about 17,000 courts. Italy passes 10,000 in June | FIP, FIP |
| 2026 | Britain reaches 1 million players in May. The FIP has 100 member federations. The London P1 at Olympia, 4 to 9 August, is the first Premier Padel event in the UK | LTA, FIP, ESPN |
1969: a court at a holiday home
The FIP's version is simple. In 1969, at Las Brisas in Acapulco, Enrique Corcuera put up a court at his house. His wife, Viviana, wrote the first rules.
It wasn't the first game of its kind. The LTA points to platform tennis in the US in the 1910s, and to passengers on British cruise ships playing something similar with tennis rackets. But Corcuera's court is the one the sport counts from.
So the answer to "who invented padel" is really a couple. The FIP's history names Viviana. The LTA's history page doesn't mention her at all.
The 1970s: Marbella, then Argentina
Within a few years, the game had crossed the Atlantic twice over.
Alfonso de Hohenlohe, a friend of Corcuera, played the game in Mexico and built two courts at the Marbella Club back in Spain. The LTA dates his Mexico visit to 1974. The FIP only says "the early 1970s", and adds that he spent his summer holidays at Corcuera's home. The Spain guide covers what Spain did with it next, so I won't repeat it here.
Argentina is the part people forget. The LTA says an Argentine, Julio Menditeguy (the LTA spells it Menditenguia), found padel in Marbella in 1975 and took it home. The FIP says the first Argentine courts went up at Club Tortugas and the Mar del Plata Ocean Club. By 1988, Argentina had founded the world's first national padel association. That's three years before an international federation even existed.
1988 to 1997: rules, a federation and a new spelling
For years, the rules changed from country to country, and Argentina called the game "paddle".
Things got formal quickly after that first Spain v Argentina match in 1988. The FIP was founded in Madrid in July 1991. A year later, Madrid and Seville hosted the first World Championships.
The spelling has two dates, depending on who you ask. The LTA puts it at 1993, with Spain's Sports Council. The FIP puts it at 1997, when Spain and Argentina met in Barcelona and agreed one set of rules and one name. The full story of the name is in padel or paddle. The short version: it has been padel with one d for about three decades.
2005 to 2022: the pro tours
The pro game has had three main homes.
- Padel Pro Tour, 2005. The first international professional circuit, launched by private organisers. The FIP says it ran for eight seasons.
- World Padel Tour, 2013 to 2023. It replaced the Padel Pro Tour. The FIP's history gives its run as 2013 to 2023.
- Premier Padel, 2022 onwards. Set up as the global pro tour, governed by the FIP with backing from Qatar Sports Investments. Its first event was the Qatar Major in Doha. The final was on 2 April 2022, and Francisco Navarro and Martín Di Nenno beat Alejandro Galán and Juan Lebrón 6-3, 7-6.
By 2024, Premier Padel was running 24 tournaments in 16 countries. Padelism is not affiliated with Premier Padel or the FIP.
Italy: the second-biggest padel country
Italy is the newer story. When it hosted its first Major in 2022, it had 7,798 courts. By June 2025, the FIP counted 10,017, plus about 1.5 million players.
Rome alone had 1,563 courts. The FIP ranks it third in the world for courts, behind Madrid and Barcelona. Only Spain has more courts than Italy as a country.
Britain: from expat team to sold-out arena
The UK's padel history is longer than you'd think. British expats formed the British Paddle Association in 1992, just to field a team at that year's World Championships.
The real growth came after the LTA took over. It announced the move in 2019 and became the governing body in 2020. In May 2026, the LTA said Britain had passed 1 million players, with 1,825 courts at 551 venues. If you want to find one of them, the UK clubs guide is the place to start.
Then came August 2026. ESPN called the London P1 at Olympia the first-ever Premier Padel event on UK soil. Premier Padel's co-chief executive told the Press Association that Olympia sold out, and over 20,000 spectators were expected across the week. Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia took the men's title. Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo took the women's. The scores, and what's known so far about next year, are in the London Premier Padel 2027 guide.
That's 57 years from one villa court to a full London arena.
Where Padelism comes in
I'm a tiny footnote to all this. I've played in Malaga and Madrid, and at a lot of clubs around London, Essex and Manchester. Every one of those courts goes back to Corcuera's.
What I make is the stuff for after. Heavyweight tees in 100% cotton at 305 g/m2, with an oversized unisex fit. Size down if you want it regular. And sweatshirts for the drive home, like the Coffee Padelism Repeat in a 350 g/m2 cotton blend. The Sunday Padel Club Sweatshirt is a Padelism original since 2025, so it has a short history of its own.
If you're new to the game itself, read the beginner's guide next. Or see how the game is played today in the padel rules guide.
FAQ
Was padel invented in Spain? No. It started in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969. Spain got its first two courts at the Marbella Club in 1974, according to the LTA. The FIP says the early 1970s.
Which country had the first national padel association? Argentina. The FIP says the Asociación Padel Argentino was founded in 1988, three years before the FIP itself.
When did padel arrive in the UK? British players were organised by 1992, when expats formed the British Paddle Association for that year's World Championships. The LTA became the governing body in 2020.
What happened to the World Padel Tour? The FIP's history dates it from 2013 to 2023. Premier Padel, set up in 2022 and governed by the FIP, is now the global professional tour.
