Krakow, Santa Fe, Nagoya, Riyadh, and now the Mediterranean Games in Taranto: Padel travels in the medal zone

• Padel’s debut at a multisport event dates back to the 2023 European Games in Poland, with its place in the programme also confirmed for Istanbul 2027;

 

• Between September and October, more gold medals will be at stake at the South American Games in Santa Fe and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya; the year will close in Riyadh in December with the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games;

 

• Exactly one week from now, the competition will get under way in southern Italy, with 88 athletes from 18 nations taking part

It all began in 2023, in Krakow‘s Rynek Główny, the city’s main market square. Padel was present for the first time as a medal sport at a continental multisport event, the European Games: it was an extraordinary celebration, with a record crowd and Padel brought to an iconic location for a debut destined to open a new path, in the name of inclusion, social interaction, passion and respect for the values of the Olympic Charter. The journey that began in Poland has continued over the years, in parallel with the ambitions of a sport that has now become a global phenomenon, and which in Taranto from 22 to 28 August — exactly one week from now — will add a new chapter with Padel’s debut at the Mediterranean Games.

 

The growth of Padel and the Olympic dream also pass, but not exclusively, through multisport events: new medals, in men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, will be awarded in Italy, but they will not be the only ones in the second half of 2026, when Padel will be present in the Mediterranean as well as on other continents. This is recognition of the sport’s global development and of the work carried out by the International Padel Federation and the National Federations. After Taranto and the Mediterranean Games, which will feature 88 athletes from 18 countries, it will be the turn of the 13th edition of the South American Games, scheduled from 12 to 26 September in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, with Padel officially included among the medal sports after having featured as an exhibition sport four years ago in Asuncion, Paraguay.

 

After South America, the journey around the world will continue in Asia, as medals will also be awarded at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games from 19 September to 4 October, with the continent’s leading nations taking part. Padel is developing rapidly across Asia, as demonstrated by the more than 600 courts built between April 2024 and October 2025, bringing the total to more than 1,700 (source: FIP World Padel Report 2025). And still in Asia, from 13 to 21 December, it will be the turn of the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games in Riyadh, another multisport competition in which Padel will be a medal sport. For 2027, one event is already marked on the calendar: the European Games in Istanbul, with Padel confirmed in the programme following its inclusion in 2023. From Krakow to Istanbul via Taranto, Santa Fe, Nagoya and Riyadh: a circle that does not close, but keeps expanding.