In a historic first for the growing sport of Padel, it will be featured at this year’s upcoming European Games, held in Krakow, Poland. It’s the biggest event yet for the sport and the first of many major international competitions. It’s also an opportunity for 128 of the best players in the European Padel circuit to demonstrate their skills on the court. There will be three categories in the event: men, women, and mixed. The tournament will take place over five days between 21 June and 25 June 2023.

The European Games is a major international sporting event organized by the European Olympic Committee (EOC), the European Branch of the IOC. The decision to include Padel is the first rung on the ladder towards recognition as an Olympic Sport in years to come.

Padel joins the roster

Padel will join a roster of other sports, including 3 × 3 basketball, archery, badminton, beach handball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, karate, modern pentathlon, Thai boxing, sport shooting, climbing, taekwondo and triathlon – many of which have made the transition to become established Olympic sports, most recently 3 x 3 basketball which debuted at the last games in Tokyo.

International Padel Federation President Luigi Carraro said of the decision: “It is a huge emotion, for all those who love padel, for those who play it and for the athletes who have contributed to the growth of our discipline over the years. Looking at the five Olympic rings and seeing a padel racket in the background is the biggest reward for the hard, serious, unceasing work that has allowed us to be chosen by the European Olympic Committees”.

How pairs are chosen

Each competing nation will be made up of four male and four female athletes, although some lower-ranked nations will only be submitting one pair per category. The final date for selection for the games is 2 June but it is safe to assume that some of the world’s best pairings will be in attendance. This includes Spanish men’s pairing Juan Lebron and Ale Galan and Spanish women’s pairing Martita Ortega and Bea González.

Also in action will be the home crowd favourites Marcin Maszczyk together with Jerzy Janowicz who have been pioneers of the game in Poland. This pairing is sure to pull in the big crowds.

Each national Padel association will select its pairings for the tournament in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for more information about some of the brightest sports stars of professional Padel who will compete in the games. It will be fascinating to see which pairs will be pitted together on the court, battling out for the sport’s biggest prize so far. It’s sure to be a fantastic spectacle, being played in the city’s main square and giving the game great exposure to a whole new generation of fans. Hopefully, the next stop will be seeing Padel at the Olympic Games themselves.