How Padel Was Invented: The History of Padel from Mexico to the World

If you have ever wondered how padel was invented, the answer takes you to a sun-drenched backyard in Acapulco, Mexico. What started as one man's creative solution to a space problem has grown into the fastest growing sport on the planet, with over 25 million players across more than 90 countries. Here is the full story of how padel started and conquered the world.

Enrique Corcuera and the Birth of Padel (1969)

The history of padel begins with a Mexican businessman named Enrique Corcuera. In 1969, Corcuera wanted to build a frontenis court at his holiday home in the Las Brisas neighborhood of Acapulco. The problem was that his property did not have enough space. Walls and fences bordered the area on every side.

Rather than abandon the idea, Corcuera turned the limitation into an innovation. He enclosed the court with concrete walls on the back and sides, making them a playable part of the game. He lowered the net, introduced solid paddles instead of strung rackets, and wrote a set of rules for what he called "Padel" — a sport that combined elements of tennis, squash, and frontenis into something entirely new.

"The walls are not boundaries — they are part of the game." This simple idea is what made padel different from every other racket sport.

The enclosed court meant rallies lasted longer. The ball stayed in play off the walls, creating dynamic points that rewarded strategy and positioning over raw power. Friends and family who played at Corcuera's home were immediately hooked. The game was fun, social, and accessible to players of all ability levels from the very first point.

From Acapulco to Marbella: Alfonso de Hohenlohe

The next pivotal chapter in how padel started its global journey came through a chance connection. Alfonso de Hohenlohe, a Spanish aristocrat and the founder of the famous Marbella Club Hotel on Spain's Costa del Sol, was a friend of Corcuera. After playing padel in Acapulco and falling in love with the sport, Hohenlohe brought the concept back to Spain in the early 1970s.

Hohenlohe built the first padel courts in Marbella, introducing the game to the jet-set crowd that frequented the resort. The social nature of padel was a perfect fit for the club atmosphere. Doubles-only play meant four people could share the court, making every game a social event. Word spread quickly among Spain's elite, and within a few years, padel courts began appearing at sports clubs and hotels across the country.

The Argentina Explosion

While padel grew steadily in Spain, it was Argentina that turned the sport into a cultural phenomenon. The game arrived in Buenos Aires in the mid-1970s, and Argentines took to it with extraordinary enthusiasm. By the 1990s, padel had become one of the most popular sports in the country, rivaling football as a recreational activity.

Argentina's contribution to padel history cannot be overstated. The country developed a deep talent pool of professional players, pioneered advanced tactics and shot-making, and built thousands of courts in every neighborhood. The Argentine playing style — aggressive, creative, and full of flair — shaped the modern game. To this day, Argentine players consistently rank among the best in the world.

Padel Goes Global

From its strongholds in Spain and Argentina, padel began spreading across Europe and beyond in the 2000s and 2010s. Several factors drove this rapid expansion:

• Easy to learn: New players can enjoy competitive rallies within their first hour on court, unlike tennis which requires months of practice for basic consistency.
• Social by design: Doubles-only format means every game is a group activity, perfect for building community at clubs and sports centers.
• Space efficient: A padel court is roughly one-third the size of a tennis court, making it feasible to build in dense urban areas where space is at a premium.
• Addictive gameplay: The walled court keeps the ball in play, creating longer rallies and more dramatic points than most racket sports.

Countries like Sweden, Italy, Portugal, the UAE, and the UK saw explosive growth. Sweden alone went from a handful of courts to over 4,000 in just a few years. In the United States, padel has gained serious momentum since 2022, with new facilities opening in major cities from Miami to New York to Los Angeles.

Padel Today: 25+ Million Players and Counting

Today, padel is played in over 90 countries with more than 25 million active players. The professional scene has matured with Premier Padel (backed by the FIP and Qatar Sports Investments) and the World Padel Tour, attracting top athletes, major sponsors, and growing television audiences.

The sport is also knocking on the door of the Olympics. The International Padel Federation has been actively campaigning for Olympic inclusion, and with padel's global growth trajectory, many expect to see it on the Olympic program within the next decade.

What Enrique Corcuera started as a creative workaround in his Acapulco backyard has become a global sporting movement. The core of what made padel special in 1969 — the walls, the social doubles format, the accessibility — remains exactly the same today. That is why padel is not just a trend. It is a fundamentally better way to play racket sports, and the world is catching on.

Why Padel Is the Fastest Growing Sport in the World

The history of padel explains why the sport grows so fast. Every element that Corcuera designed into the original court — the enclosed walls that keep rallies alive, the smaller dimensions that favor positioning over power, the doubles format that makes every game social — solves a problem that other racket sports have struggled with for decades: keeping beginners engaged long enough to fall in love with the game.

In padel, that happens in the first session. And once it does, players come back again and again.