Professional padel has reached a major structural milestone. Long concentrated around a small core of elite players, it now rests on a much broader base of competitors with a official FIP ranking, integrated into a hierarchical, global, and constantly expanding system of competitions. The data from World Padel Report 2025, published by the International Federation of Padel, now allow us to draw up a precise assessment of the situation.

How many professional padel players are there?

Within the current institutional framework, a professional player is considered to be any player, male or female, who possesses a active FIP ranking.

In 2025, the census 11,125 FIP-ranked players in the world, including 8 men et 3 080 womenThese players represent 117 nations different. To this population are added 4,219 FIP-ranked junior players, distributed between 2,989 boys et 1,230 girls.

Note that these figures do not reflect the number of professional players. It's difficult to quantify what constitutes a professional player, or even if there's an exact definition. One thing is certain: there are still far too few professional padel players who make a living from the sport.

But today we have, more than 11,000 competitors officially integrated into the global system.

A clearly structured pyramid of competitions

Professional padel today is based on a pyramidal organization structured around three main levels, all recognized and regulated by the International Federation.

Premier Padel : the summit of world padel

The circuit Premier Padel constitutes the absolute elite of professional padel. Launched in 2022 and becoming the sole reference from 2024, it concentrates the bulk of the media visibility, the biggest prize money and the best players in the world.

The circuit is structured around three categories of tournaments: Major, P1 et P2These competitions take place on several continents and offer the highest level of FIP points. Access is mainly reserved for the highest-ranked players, supplemented by a few invitations (WC) and by players from the FIP Tour who have accumulated enough points.

Regarding the 2024 season, 2 matches were contested on the circuit Premier Padel, involving 581 playersincluding 373 men et 208 women, from 33 different nationsSince the creation of the circuit, 3 matches were played across all male and female editions.

Premier Padel This concentrates the world's top players, but only concerns one limited fraction FIP-ranked players.

The FIP Tour, the backbone of professional padel

Le FIP Tour represents the heart of the professional system. It is the essential step for the majority of FIP-ranked players, whether they are progressing, stabilizing, or seeking qualification for Premier Padel.

This circuit allows athletes to accumulate FIP points, finance a sports season, and gain international recognition. Since 2024, it has been structured around four categories: FIP Platinum, FIP Gold, FIP Silver et FIP Bronze.

In 2025, 318 FIP Tour tournaments are confirmed in the international calendar, including 165 males et 153 femalesDuring the 2024 season, 3,539 distinct players took part in at least one tournament, with a distribution of 71% men et 29% women, from 78 nations.

In fact, this circuit is where the bulk of the world's professional population is concentrated, including the vast majority of the FIP top 500.

FIP Promises, the structuring of junior padel

The circuit FIP Promises It is intended for young players in the U14, U16 and U18 categories. It plays an essential role in building high-level performance in the medium term.

The FIP Promises allow young talents to gain their first international experience, obtain an official junior ranking, and gradually prepare for their integration into the FIP Tour. In 2025, 90 FIP Promises tournaments are organized, confirming the rapid growth of this segment.

FIP Promises Paris by WME – Results, schedules and live broadcasts

A very contrasting economic reality

Behind the dramatic increase in the number of ranked players lies a far more selective economic reality. While professional player status is now widely recognized in the sporting arena, it remains financially very difficult for the majority of competitors to maintain.

Fewer than a hundred players can currently make a comfortable living from padel solely through prize money. For the vast majority of FIP players, the season relies on a fragile balance combining private sponsors, federation support, tournaments played on various circuits, and, in many cases, partial self-financing.

The FIP Tour represents both an essential sporting opportunity and a significant logistical and financial constraint, particularly due to frequent international travel.

An ecosystem that is now fully global

Professional padel is now part of a structured global environment. Padel is present in 150 countries, with 36 to 49 nations organizing tournaments each season under the FIP label. It is estimated that more than 30 million the number of amateur practitioners worldwide, while 850 players are officially licensed with the national federations affiliated with the FIP.

By 2025, professional padel will no longer be limited to an elite visible in the finals of Premier PadelIt rests on a broad base of over 11,000 FIP-ranked players, a coherent pyramid of competitions and an intermediate circuit which has become essential to the balance of the system.

The professionalization of padel is now an undeniable reality. The real challenge in the coming years will not so much be to further increase the number of professional players, but to to make this status sustainably viable for a larger population, beyond the top of the global hierarchy.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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