Padel Officially Included in 2026 Asian Games: A Milestone Towards Global Recognition

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has taken a historic step by ratifying padel as a new sport for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. This decision was announced following a meeting between International Padel Federation (FIP) President Luigi Carraro and OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam in Kuwait last week.

The inclusion of padel as a new sport in the Asian Games strongly signals the discipline's rapid advancement toward the global sports stage.

“We proudly welcome the International Padel Federation and Padel Asia as part of the OCA family,” stated Husain, as reported on the OCA's official website on Tuesday, 18 November 2025.

The announcement coincided with the inaugural FIP World Cup Pairs event. This timing further underscores OCA's determination to integrate padel into Asia's largest multi-sport competition—a significant milestone for a sport experiencing surging popularity in recent years.

Husain emphasized that padel's growth across Asia is accelerating rapidly, marked by emerging new athlete generations and expanding fan enthusiasm.

He noted that padel's inclusion reflects OCA's commitment to embracing modern sports that enrich the values of friendship, mutual respect, and excellence—core pillars of the Olympic movement.

FIP President Luigi Carraro hailed this decision as a major milestone in padel's journey toward global recognition.

“We will continue working day and night with nearly 100 national federations to develop padel worldwide,” he affirmed.

Regionally, Padel Asia President Tariq Zainal described OCA's move as inaugurating a new era for the sport's development across the continent.

He believes padel's Asian Games debut will provide a strategic platform for Asian athletes to demonstrate their capabilities at the highest competitive level.

Furthermore, padel's inclusion in the 2026 Asian Games represents a crucial stepping stone toward broader ambitions, potentially paving its way to becoming an official sport at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.

With this decision, padel transcends being merely a global trend sport. It now stands poised before substantial opportunities—consolidating its foothold in Asia while setting sights firmly on the Olympic stage.