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The US Had ~1.07 Million Padel Participants in 2025—Most Played Occasionally
SFIA estimates ~1.07 million US padel participants in 2025. See the frequency breakdown, survey definition and what the 2026 update establishes.
The US had an estimated ~1.07 million padel participants aged six and older in 2025. That includes people who played just once during the year—not only regular players, club members or tournament competitors.
The published estimate is 1,073,000, from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s 2026 Topline Participation Report, as reported by the US national governing body, then called the United States Padel Association (USPA). The report year is 2026; the participation year is 2025. It is not a live count of players in October 2026. Source: USPA announcement.
How often do those players play?
The frequency breakdown makes the headline more useful:
| US participation measure | Published estimate for 2025 | Share of total* |
|---|---|---|
| Played at least once | ~1,073,000 | 100% |
| Played 1–7 times during the year | ~835,000 | 77.8% |
| Played 8 or more times during the year | ~238,000 | 22.2% |
Shares calculated from the published estimates. Counts and frequency thresholds: USPA’s account of the SFIA report. A leading tilde marks an estimate; the published digits do not make it an exact count.
Almost four in five participants were in the 1–7 occasions group. The smaller, higher-frequency group is useful for understanding repeat participation, but the eight-occasion threshold does not establish weekly play. Neither number establishes how many people buy a club membership or book a court every month.
For a market overview, ~1.07 million is the relevant annual participation figure. For assessing recurring club demand, the frequency split matters more than the headline alone—and still needs local booking and retention data.
Who counted them?
This is a survey-based population estimate, not a registration census. The governing body describes SFIA’s study as surveying 18,000 Americans aged six and older in a nationally representative sample. Those respondents support estimates across the activities tracked; they are not 18,000 padel players. Source: USPA.
SFIA independently confirms that its 2026 report covers Americans aged six and older, measures 2025 participation and added padel to its annual tracking for the first time. That makes this a national survey baseline, not evidence of a multi-year padel growth rate within the same annual series. Source: SFIA’s March 12, 2026 release.
Is there a newer 2026 number?
There is a newer growth update, but not a published replacement total in that update. SFIA’s August 20, 2026 release reports padel participation increasing 14.5% in its mid-year analysis, covering the rolling 12 months ending June 2026. Source: SFIA’s research releases.
Sports Business Journal’s coverage explicitly says SFIA’s mid-year reports do not include actual participant totals by sport. The update therefore supports a more recent growth claim, but should not be presented as a new official headcount. Source: Sports Business Journal, September 1, 2026.
Why federation figures can look much smaller
In July 2026, the governing body renamed itself USA Padel. Its announcement referred both to more than a million Americans playing and to the association serving over 10,000 players while sanctioning more than 250 tournaments annually. Those are different measures: the association’s stated service reach is not the national participation estimate. Source: USA Padel’s name-change announcement.
When quoting the US figure, keep the definition attached: “~1.07 million people aged six and older played padel in 2025, according to SFIA data reported by USA Padel.” For international comparisons, check that other countries use a comparable participation threshold; our worldwide padel player analysis examines that broader estimate problem.