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Padel and the Olympics: Will It Be in LA 2028?
The honest answer is probably not — but inclusion is a question of when, not if. Here is where things actually stand.
2032the realistic earliest debut window for Olympic padel
By Khalid Al Mansoori, GCC Equipment & Scene EditorWhat you'll learn
- Padel is NOT in the LA 2028 Olympic programme — the window for inclusion closed before padel's candidacy matured
- FIP has IOC recognition and ARISF membership, which are necessary prerequisites but not guarantees
- Brisbane 2032 is the most realistic debut window, with 2036 as a fallback
- The main barriers are the racket sport quota (tennis and badminton already occupy slots) and political process
- Growing US player numbers strengthen the 2032 candidacy by demonstrating relevance in major IOC markets
- Inclusion would unlock country-level federation funding globally and accelerate infrastructure investment
Contents
- 1Current Olympic Status: What the FIP Has and Has Not Achieved
- 2Why Padel Missed Paris 2024 — and LA 2028
- 3Why LA 2028 Was Actually the Right Window — Just Too Late
- 4What Olympic Inclusion Would Do for the Sport
- 5Growth Metrics in the Countries That Matter to the IOC
- 6What Could Prevent Inclusion
- 7How Players and Fans Can Support Olympic Inclusion
Current Olympic Status: What the FIP Has and Has Not Achieved
As of 2026, padel is not in the Olympic programme for Los Angeles 2028. The FIP holds IOC recognition — a formal acknowledgment that the federation meets the governance standards the IOC requires — and padel is a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF). These are necessary prerequisites for Olympic consideration, but they are not the same as inclusion.
The IOC programme for LA 2028 was finalised well before padel's candidacy reached maturity. The review window for 2028 closed with padel not yet positioned to make a credible case — partly due to the governance disputes between the FIP and WPT that consumed much of the sport's institutional bandwidth between 2020 and 2023.
FIP President Luigi Carraro announced a formal 'Olympic Project' with a dedicated advisor appointed to pursue the 2032 Brisbane candidacy. This represents a more structured approach than the informal lobbying of previous years. The project involves building the statistical case for inclusion: player numbers by country, federation membership, broadcast reach, and the sport's penetration in emerging markets that the IOC values for global development.
The honest framing is: the FIP is pursuing Olympic inclusion seriously, the structural prerequisites are in place, and the 2032 timeline is realistic. LA 2028 is not happening.
Why Padel Missed Paris 2024 — and LA 2028
Several factors combined to keep padel out of both the Paris 2024 and LA 2028 Olympics.
The governance dispute was the most damaging. From approximately 2019 to 2023, the FIP and WPT were in active conflict over who controlled professional padel. The IOC requires a sport to be governed by a single, credible international federation. A sport with internal governance disputes signals institutional instability — exactly the wrong message to send during the review windows for Paris and LA.
The racket sport quota is the second major barrier. Tennis and badminton already occupy the racket sport slots in the Olympic programme. Adding padel creates scheduling, venue, and political complexity. The IOC does occasionally add sports — surfing and sport climbing joined in Tokyo — but adds them selectively, and every addition requires displacing or competing with existing sports for programme space.
Padel also lacked the US footprint that the IOC values highly for an LA Games. With fewer than 100,000 US players in 2023, padel could not credibly claim to be a relevant sport in the host country's sporting culture. That picture has changed significantly — 500,000 US players by end of 2025 — but too late for the 2028 review.
Finally, the sport's concentration in Spain, Argentina, and Sweden historically made it look like a regional sport rather than a globally distributed one, even though the player numbers were always large. FIP's geographic diversification efforts are addressing this.
Why LA 2028 Was Actually the Right Window — Just Too Late
In hindsight, the convergence of factors that would have made padel's 2028 case strongest arrived 18–24 months after the review window closed. By the time the programme was set for LA 2028, padel had resolved its governance crisis with Premier Padel establishing FIP supremacy, the US player base had begun its exponential growth, and the sport had its first major North American tournaments. The sport essentially became Olympic-ready just after the deadline passed.
Los Angeles is also an unusually padel-friendly Olympic host. The US market is now actively growing, with dedicated padel facilities opening in Miami, New York, Houston, and Los Angeles itself. The city's proximity to Latin American markets — where padel is deeply established — would have provided a natural fanbase and broadcast relevance. Spain, the sport's largest market, has substantial cultural reach in Los Angeles.
The infrastructure case is strong: padel courts are relatively cheap to build compared to swimming venues or velodrome facilities, and temporary court structures suitable for Olympic use have been demonstrated at Premier Padel events. The operational cost argument, which has helped other sports join the programme, favours padel.
All of this is moot for 2028. But it strengthens the 2032 Brisbane case considerably — by then, the US player base will likely be in the millions, the governance story will be seven years clean, and the sport's African and Asian expansion (evidenced by Premier Padel's Pretoria 2026 debut) will address the geographic concentration concern.
What Olympic Inclusion Would Do for the Sport
Olympic inclusion is a step-change event for any sport. The funding, visibility, and infrastructure investment that follow inclusion dwarf anything a professional tour can generate independently.
The most direct impact is country-level federation funding. In most countries, national Olympic committees allocate funding to sports based on Olympic status. A padel federation in Nigeria, Japan, or Canada that is currently operating on minimal budget would receive meaningful national funding the year padel joins the programme. This is how sports development accelerates in non-core markets — not through the professional tour, but through the state funding that follows Olympic recognition.
Secondary impacts include youth development pipelines, school sport inclusion, and the kind of grassroots infrastructure investment (public courts, certified coaching programmes) that grows player bases sustainably. Spain and Argentina already have this infrastructure because padel is culturally embedded. The Olympics would begin building it everywhere else.
For professional players, the Olympic stage represents a legitimacy and visibility boost that no private tournament can match. A padel Olympic final in Brisbane would introduce the sport to the 3–4 billion people who watch the Games but do not otherwise follow padel. The marketing value is incalculable.
Finally, inclusion would accelerate the sport's already strong media deal trajectory. Broadcasters commit to Olympic sports in ways they do not commit to sports outside the programme, regardless of those sports' actual quality or viewership.
Growth Metrics in the Countries That Matter to the IOC
The IOC cares about a sport's footprint in its host country and in the regions the Games are designed to engage. For Brisbane 2032, the relevant markets are Australia, Southeast Asia, and — as always — the US and Europe.
Spain remains padel's most developed market by absolute numbers: approximately 5 million active players, more than any other country. Argentina is the second-largest market. Sweden punches far above its weight in padel depth relative to population, contributing disproportionate numbers of world-class players.
The growth story the FIP needs to tell is about emerging markets. The UAE had fewer than 10,000 padel courts in 2020; by 2025 it had become one of the most active padel markets per capita in the world. Saudi Arabia's investment in padel — through Premier Padel hosting and domestic infrastructure — has created a genuine ecosystem in a country that barely played the sport five years ago.
The US trajectory is the most important number for 2032. Five hundred thousand players in 2025, growing at a rate that suggests two to three million is achievable by 2030, would position padel as a mainstream sport in the world's largest sports market. That is the argument the FIP needs to make in front of the IOC programme committee, and the numbers are on track to support it.
Australia, as the 2032 host, is a currently small but growing padel market. The FIP's investment in Australian federation development is not coincidental.
What Could Prevent Inclusion
Realistic Obstacles
Olympic inclusion is not inevitable, and several factors could delay or prevent it.
The racket sport quota is the most structurally stubborn barrier. Tennis occupies a significant programme footprint (men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, mixed doubles). Badminton takes five events. Squash has been campaigning for inclusion since the 1980s and remains outside the programme. Adding padel to the racket sport cluster requires either displacing events from tennis or badminton — politically very difficult given those sports' IOC relationships — or creating a new programme slot that displaces another sport entirely.
Pickleball is an emerging competitor for any open racket sport slot. With a much larger US player base and strong North American political connections, pickleball's own Olympic candidacy could complicate padel's if both are being evaluated simultaneously for the same limited space.
Governance backsliding is a risk. If the WPT conflict re-escalates or a new governance dispute emerges within padel's professional ecosystem, the FIP's institutional credibility with the IOC would suffer. The current stability must be maintained for the duration of the 2032 review period.
Finally, the IOC itself is under pressure to reduce the programme size, not expand it. Sport additions require political will that varies across IOC leadership cycles.
How Players and Fans Can Support Olympic Inclusion
What Actually Moves the Needle
The FIP's Olympic case is built on numbers and political relationships, and ordinary players contribute to both.
Register with your national padel federation. Player registration numbers are the first figure the FIP cites in IOC presentations. Many recreational players play for years without ever formally registering — taking five minutes to join your national federation adds directly to the statistical case.
Play at clubs that report to the national federation. Commercial club chains sometimes operate outside federation structures for business reasons. Choosing clubs that maintain federation affiliation and report court usage data strengthens the infrastructure case.
Follow and share Premier Padel content. Broadcast viewership numbers are a key metric in the Olympic programme evaluation. Streaming events, engaging with Premier Padel social content, and introducing the professional game to people outside the padel community builds the visibility numbers the FIP presents to rights holders and ultimately the IOC.
Support padel in your country's Olympic committee. National Olympic committee decisions on sport advocacy are influenced by member federation lobbying and public interest signals. If your national federation is active in pursuing Olympic representation, that work matters.
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Our Verdict
The Verdict: When, Not If
Padel will be in the Olympics. The question is whether it happens at Brisbane 2032 or is delayed to 2036. The FIP has the governance structure, the player numbers, and the growth trajectory to make a credible 2032 case. The primary obstacle is political — specifically the racket sport quota and competition from pickleball for the same theoretical slot. LA 2028 is closed. 2032 is the target.
More likely 2032 Brisbane than 2028 LA — but inclusion is a question of when, not if.Get SmashIQ to analyse your racket technique
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Join the waitlist →FAQs
Is padel confirmed for the LA 2028 Olympics?
No. Padel is not in the LA 2028 Olympic programme. The review window for 2028 closed before padel's candidacy had matured, and the sport was not selected. The FIP is now focused on a formal 2032 Brisbane candidacy.
What does FIP IOC recognition actually mean?
IOC recognition means the FIP meets the governance, anti-doping, and organisational standards the IOC requires. It makes padel eligible for Olympic consideration but is not the same as inclusion. Many sports have IOC recognition without being in the Olympic programme — squash has had it for decades.
Could pickleball beat padel to the Olympics?
Possibly. Pickleball has a much larger US player base, which matters for LA 2028 and carries residual weight for 2032 North American political support. Both sports are pursuing inclusion and may be competing for the same theoretical racket sport slot. This is a genuine uncertainty — framing the outcome as a race between the two sports is not inaccurate.
What happens to padel if it gets Olympic inclusion?
Inclusion triggers country-level Olympic committee funding for national padel federations, school sport programme inclusion in many countries, accelerated infrastructure investment, and a massive broadcast visibility boost. It is a step-change event — the difference between a successful professional sport and a mainstream global sport.