From the draws to “Super Friday” and the medals: the Padel programme at the Mediterranean Games

• The historic Padel debut will begin on 21 August with the draws for the three events: men’s, women’s and mixed.

• Men’s and women’s matches will begin on Saturday 22, followed by the first round of the mixed event on Sunday 23. A total of 88 male and female athletes from 18 countries will compete.

• Friday 28 will be the highlight, with the bronze-medal matches and the finals that will decide the first Mediterranean titles in Padel history.

 

A week of top-level action, with 88 athletes from 18 countries set to be part of a historic first. Parco Mediterraneo Salinella is preparing to host Padel at the XX Mediterranean Games Taranto 2026: for the first time in the history of the event, Padel will be a medal sport, with the venue in Taranto at the heart of the competition from 22 to 28 August.

 

DRAWS AND CATEGORIES The event will feature the best athletes from the Mediterranean region competing in the men’s, women’s and mixed single-elimination draws. The first step will come on Friday 21 August, when the highly anticipated draws will be held and the seeds determined according to the FIP Ranking.

 

It will be a highly competitive tournament, with best-of-three-set matches featuring tie-breaks and Star Point. Athletes competing in the men’s and women’s events may also take part in the mixed draw; in this case, adequate rest time between the two matches will be guaranteed to allow for physical recovery between one match and the next.

 

THE PROGRAMME Competition will begin on Saturday 22 August with the first round of the men’s event, followed in the afternoon by the women’s opening matches. On Sunday 23, with the mixed draw getting under way, the competition will enter its decisive stages, leading to the quarter-finals on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26, followed by the semi-finals on Thursday 27.

 

The highlight will be on 28 August with “Super Friday”, entirely dedicated to the medals. During the morning, the players will take to the court for the bronze-medal matches in all three categories, a rich appetiser ahead of the race for gold: the mixed final will open the final phase of the tournament, followed by the women’s final and the grand finale in the men’s event. Three matches to follow until the final point, when the first historic Padel champions at the Mediterranean Games will be crowned.