International Padel Federation

Auto-detected content change during sync (commit 06ffb34)

Recorded May 13, 2026

Foundational sport-origin milestone — padel's lineage traces to 1968 in Acapulco, Mexico. The sport is thought to have been invented in 1968 by Enrique Corcuera, after he modified his squash court to incorporate elements of platform tennis. The 1968 Corcuera invention established the modern padel court's defining characteristics — 20-meter × 10-meter dimensions, glass walls behind/around the playing area, wire mesh on the side surfaces — that have remained the federation-mandated court specification through every subsequent FIP rule revision. The 1968 invention predates FIP's 1991 founding by 23 years, and Corcuera's Acapulco residence is widely recognized as the symbolic birthplace of padel.

Recorded May 10, 2026

Foundational federation milestone — padel's international rule-making authority. The Federación Internacional de Pádel (FIP) was founded in 1991 in Madrid by representatives from the Argentinian, Spanish, and Uruguayan Padel Federations, organized as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting padel worldwide. The 1991 Madrid founding established FIP's authority over Padel World Championship sanctioning, court specifications, paddle (pala) regulations, ball standards, and contest format. Every modern FIP rule on competition descends from this 1991 founding, and the federation has been at the center of subsequent governance milestones including the 2022 strategic partnership with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).

Recorded May 10, 2026

Most consequential modern professional-tour milestone for padel. In 2013 the World Padel Tour (WPT) was founded by Catalonia brewery Estrella Damm with the approval of the Asociación de Jugadores Profesionales de Pádel (AJPP), whereas the Pro Padel Tour (PPT) was shut down. The 2013 WPT launch established padel's premier professional circuit and was the unified professional-tour standard through 2022, when Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) launched Premier Padel as a rival tour and acquired the WPT in 2023. Every modern professional padel competition operates under either the WPT or Premier Padel framework, both descending from the 2013 WPT founding model.

Recorded May 10, 2026