On the occasion of the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel in Rome, Italy confirms year after year its central place in the global development of padel.
If Spain remains the absolute reference in the discipline and Argentina remains the great historic high-level nation, Italy has established itself in a few years as the most dynamic market in Europe behind Spain, both in terms of the number of fields and in the organization of international competitions.
More than 10,000 padel courts in the country
Italian progress is spectacular.
According to figures published by the International Padel Federation (FIP), in 2025 Italy crossed the symbolic bar of 10,000 padel courts.
Only Spain does better with around 17,000 plots of land. Italy is today the second nation in the world in number of tracks and structures dedicated to padel.
This growth is recent: in 2022, the country had around 7,700 plots of land. In three years, the increase exceeds 29%.
Rome, third world city of padel
The Italian capital occupies a special place in this expansion.
Still according to FIP data, Rome now has more than 1,500 padel courts, making it the third city in the world behind Madrid and Barcelona.
Nearly 250,000 people practice padel there, or around one in six Italian players.
A statistic which illustrates the importance taken by Rome in the global ecosystem of padel, to the point of having become one of the most influential cities in the discipline.
Between 1.5 and 2.2 million practitioners
The exact number of players varies depending on the calculation methods used.
Estimates from the FIP and several specialized studies today place the number of Italian practitioners between 1.5 and 2.2 million people.
Depending on the sources, these figures include regular, occasional or licensed practitioners. Even with the most conservative estimates, Italy is today among the most important markets in the world.
Le BNL Italy Major, vitrine du padel italien
Italian development does not rely solely on infrastructure.
Since 2022, Rome has hosted the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel at the Foro Italico, one of the most emblematic sports venues in Europe.
The tournament is one of the four Majors of the Premier Padel circuit, the most prestigious category on the world calendar. Every year, the biggest names on the circuit are present there
An extremely dense international calendar
Italy has also become one of the most active territories on the FIP calendar.
In addition to the Rome Major, the country regularly hosts numerous stages of the CUPRA FIP Tour with Silver, Gold or Bronze tournaments spread across several regions.
Among the international competitions organized recently are:
- the FIP Silver de Sandigliano;
- several stages in Rome;
- tournaments in Palermo, Cagliari, Turin, Milan or even Perugia depending on the season.
This density of competitions allows European players to accumulate experience and FIP points without depending exclusively on the Spanish circuit.
An Italian generation seeking to emerge
On a sporting level, Italy does not yet have a player established among the top places in the world.
Spain and Argentina continue to largely dominate the top of the international rankings.
But several Italian players are gradually managing to establish themselves on the professional circuits:
- Marco Cassetta ;
- Simone Cremona ;
- Lorenzo Di Giovanni ;
- Giulio Graziotti;
among women, Carolina Orsi remains one of the best-known figures of padel Italian.
Even if the gap with the great historic nations remains significant, the results obtained on the CUPRA FIP Tour show regular progress in the Italian sector.
A now essential player in padel worldwide
Italy is not yet a sporting power comparable to Spain or Argentina.
On the other hand, through its number of courts, its number of practitioners, its investments, its organization of international events and its capacity to host major competitions, the country has established itself as one of the nerve centers for the global development of padel.
In just a few years, Italy has gone from the status of an emerging market to that of a key player in the international landscape.
And seeing the current growth in the number of players, clubs and competitions, this progression still seems far from over.
I discovered Padel in Spain by chance in a campsite. The virus took hold immediately, passionate about padel for 3 years, I follow international and regional news while vibrating just as much as this sport.
