Having played various sports throughout my life – basketball, football, ice hockey, and beach volleyball – my transition from managing clubs in Alicante, Spain, to becoming the Sales Director for Lightbooth, and eventually entering into the world of padel, has been a fairly seamless and rewarding, if unconventional, journey. 

Leveraging my studies in finance and economics, growing Padel Alba into one of the leading padel court manufacturers worldwide has been a joy, and we are eager to continue driving the sport's growth with groundbreaking projects and innovations. 

And yet, as an avid sports fan and now key industry stakeholder, I, like many, couldn’t help but take a keen interest in the recent Paris 2024 Olympic Games -– which surely has to go down in history as one of the best. 

With the addition of some of the weird and wonderful sports which had the chance to perform on the world stage, such as the likes of breaking and sports climbing, it did raise the question of when – not if – padel gets its time to in the Olympic sun. 

Olympic competition is like nothing else in elite sport. As a padel fan – something I am certainly not alone in, given the buzzing activity across our WhatsApp groups during the Games – we have all been asking this very same question: If breaking can break into the Games, then surely so can padel. 

When will padel become an Olympic sport? 

We have heard "the fastest growing sport in the world" tagline many times, so let me quantify that for you. Padel has seen a 27% court growth year on year, with 30 million players hitting the court from across 100-plus nations. In 2023 alone, over 9,500 new courts were built (yes, you read that right), and by 2026, we are projected to have a total of 68,000 courts worldwide. 

It is pretty clear, padel is big, very big. The growth is significant, with courts, players (across all demographics and ages), retail value and interest all heading on a meteoric rise. 

As for the Olympics, sadly, padel has missed the boat for inclusion in Los Angeles 2028. However, with squash making its belated debut, there is hope that the future of racket sports on the world stage is secure and that padel will have the opportunity to further this trend at Brisbane 2032. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for both the sport and the International Olympic Committee, which as an organisation, has faced challenges in securing host city bids in recent times. Surely, yes surely, an organisation like the IOC must be looking at padel with huge optimism.

Now, Australia, as arguably the most passionate sporting country in the world and a future key market for padel, presents an ideal stage to introduce this dynamic sport to the Olympic roster. It would be a strategically smart move for the likes of the IOC to welcome padel into the fold, on the one hand, and the International Padel Federation and other padel stakeholders to lobby hard for its inclusion, on the other.

It would be a win-win scenario. So, what is holding it back? Well, there are four key criteria that a sport must meet to be considered for Olympic inclusion: an international governing body, compliance with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code, no use of motors or machines, and sufficient global reach. 

With the FIP recently announcing the entry of 10 new federations, bringing the total to 81 members, padel is on track to meet the necessary criteria for Olympic inclusion by the time of the Brisbane 2032 Games. 

Although still a work in progress, the sport’s rapid growth suggests this milestone is within reach. Having achieved recognition from the IOC as an 'Association of IOC Recognized International Sport,' padel's progress is being closely monitored, and with the 2032 sports roster not being finalised until 2027, there is still time to showcase padel’s potential to the IOC. 

With its unique blend of athleticism, strategy, and social interaction, I firmly believe padel is the perfect fit for the Olympic stage. Now, it is up to FIP and the powers that be to play their cards right, and to the IOC to make the strategic decision to include the sport to ensure that padel and the Olympic movement grow their audience and give the Olympics a new lease of life for the generations to come. 

The time to strike is now.

By Ray Brinkmanis.