Padel will make its debut as a medal sport at the 20th Mediterranean Games Taranto 2026, with men’s, women’s and mixed competitions. The tournament will take place from 22 to 28 August at the Salinella Mediterranean Park in Taranto and will bring together 136 participants entered by 19 Mediterranean national federations. The event has also been included in the official professional calendar of the International Padel Federation -FIP- to encourage the participation of elite players.
The registered delegations represent Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Libya, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Türkiye, while Athletica Vaticana will participate as a guest. “The debut of padel at the 2026 Mediterranean Games marks another historic milestone for our sport and a further recognition of its international growth”, said Luigi Carraro, president of the FIP.
Padel expands its presence at multi-sport events
Its inclusion follows padel’s entry into several events recognised by the Olympic Movement. Carraro cited the Asian Games, the European Games, the South American Games and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games as part of that institutional progression. “Being included among the official sports of the Mediterranean Games confirms the growing importance of padel and reinforces the path that the International Padel Federation is pursuing together with the national federations for the future of our sport”, he said.
The International Committee of the Mediterranean Games -ICMG- and the FIP announced padel’s inclusion in the core programme in February 2025 after evaluating its development across the region. At the time, the 26 countries involved in the Games had more than 32,000 courts and 9.5 million active players; nearly half of the world’s padel clubs and courts were located in those territories, while 51% of players in the FIP World Ranking came from Mediterranean nations. Each national Olympic committee may enter a maximum of two men’s pairs, two women’s pairs and one mixed pair. The collaboration also envisaged extending the sport’s presence to the Mediterranean Beach Games in Portimão and Lagoa in 2027.
Five permanent courts for the tournament in Taranto
The Salinella Mediterranean Park will feature five new permanent courts, built through a project valued at approximately €850,000. The facility will form part of the area used for skateboarding and will also contain the tennis training courts during the Games. “From the very beginning, we believed in the value of this discipline and worked to ensure that its debut would take place within an organisational framework of the highest standard”, explained Carlo Molfetta, director general of the Taranto 2026 Organising Committee.
The courts will remain in the city after the competition as a facility for the local development of padel. “We are confident that athletes, federations and fans will witness a spectacular competition, one that will leave a lasting legacy for the future of padel and for the entire Mediterranean sporting movement”, Molfetta added. Iakovos Filippousis, secretary general of the ICMG, linked its inclusion to the modernisation of the programme: “The inclusion of padel in the official sports programme represents much more than the addition of a new discipline. It is part of our broader vision to continuously modernise and upgrade the Mediterranean Games”.
Taranto 2026 will bring together 31 sports and delegations from three continents
The 20th Mediterranean Games will take place from 21 August to 3 September, featuring 31 sports and delegations from 26 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia. Taranto will serve as the main host city, alongside other locations in Apulia, including Lecce, Brindisi and Fasano. The programme will combine established sports such as athletics, swimming, gymnastics and volleyball with padel, 3×3 basketball, skateboarding and roller sports. The European Broadcasting Union -EBU- will distribute the competitions through its members’ television, radio and digital services, as well as the Eurovision Sport platform.
The organisers will use two cruise ships with a combined capacity of 6,000 beds as the Mediterranean Village for the delegations. The padel programme will begin the day after the opening ceremony and award its first Mediterranean Games medals on 28 August. “We are proud to welcome this dynamic sport to the Mediterranean Games family and to offer its athletes the opportunity to compete for medals for the very first time”, Filippousis said.
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