History of Padel

Padel originated in Acapulco, Mexico in 1969. Enrique Corcuera, a Mexican industrialist in search of a less strenuous family-oriented racquet game, altered tennis court dimensions, rules and the racquet to create the new sport.

 

The Mexican elite enjoyed padel for several years before it was picked up by the Spanish royal family and taken to Madrid, where it was first introduced to Europe. In the late 1970’s, the game was introduced into Argentina, again as a game for a wealthier set of people.

 

In the early 1980s, several public courts were built on a popular Argentine beach resort allowing the general public to access the game. By the mid 1980s many more public courts were built in Buenos Aires and since then, the sport has grown at a tremendous pace.

 

Spain and Argentina continue to lead in terms of number of courts and players ranked on the professional tournament circuits.  Currently, over 10 million participants play the sport in 40 countries.

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The first Canadian padel court was built in mid-1992 inside a Calgary warehouse where it operated for nearly one year.  Padel then moved outdoors to the Edgemont Club where, for 10 years, players played on two brick walled courts.

 

In 2003, PAC created its own court facility at AE Cross School where unused tennis courts were converted to three wood-walled padel courts.  Currently, Padel Alberta runs its programs and shares the location with PAC as its headquarters.

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Padel is growing worldwide under the International Padel Federation.