Padel Makes Its Mediterranean Games Debut in Taranto

A New Stage for Padel: Taranto 2026 Opens in Six Weeks

In six weeks, padel will take centre stage at a multi-sport event for the first time in Mediterranean history. At the 20th Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy — running from August 21 to September 3, 2026 — padel debuts as a full medal discipline, with competition scheduled from August 22 to 28 at the brand-new Salinella Mediterranean Park. Organisers confirmed this week that 136 athletes from 19 national federations plus Athletica Vaticana as a guest delegation are registered to compete.

The field stretches across the entire Mediterranean basin: Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Libya, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Türkiye have all sent delegations. Each nation may enter up to two men's pairs, two women's pairs and one mixed pair, meaning medals are on offer across all three categories — a compact format that guarantees high-quality matches from the opening round.

Officials Underline the Historic Weight of the Moment

FIP President Luigi Carraro did not undersell the occasion. "The debut of Padel at the 2026 Mediterranean Games marks another historic milestone for our sport and a further recognition of its international growth," he said in a statement published by the International Padel Federation. Games Director Carlo Molfetta echoed that sentiment from the host-city perspective: "The inclusion of Padel in the Mediterranean Games programme marks a historic milestone for the sport and a source of great pride for Taranto 2026."

ICMG Secretary General Iakovos Filippousis pointed to a wider generational shift: "The inclusion of padel represents much more than adding a new discipline. It modernises the Mediterranean Games by embracing sports that resonate with younger generations."

A Permanent Legacy for Taranto

The competition venue is not a temporary installation. Five new padel courts have been built at the Salinella Mediterranean Park as a permanent addition to the city's sports infrastructure — a deliberate decision to leave a lasting padel legacy in a region of southern Italy where the sport has been growing rapidly. The park will continue to host recreational and competitive padel long after the Games close.

One More Step on the Olympic Pathway

Padel's appearance in Taranto adds another line to a growing roster of institutional appearances within the Olympic Movement. The sport has already featured at the Asian Games, European Games, South American Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games — a track record that FIP continues to point to as evidence of readiness for a future Olympic programme. Each continental multi-sport inclusion strengthens that case.

For the professional players currently competing at the Premier Padel Málaga P1 — with quarter-finals on the card today and semi-finals set for Saturday — Taranto represents a parallel ambition: the chance to represent their countries in a format that increasingly resembles Olympic competition. Spain, the world's largest padel nation by court count, is among the 19 nations registered in Taranto. The medallists will be decided on August 28.