Padel is set to make its Asian Games debut at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games in Japan, bringing a rapidly expanding racquet sport to one of Asia’s largest multi-sport competitions. The competition is scheduled to take place from September 28 to October 3, with the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center serving as the venue. Two medal events will be contested, covering men’s doubles and women’s doubles.
The inclusion of padel is one of the notable changes to the sports programme for the 20th Asian Games. The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed in March 2026 that padel and teqball had been added as medal sports for the Aichi-Nagoya Games. The additions increased the total number of sports on the programme to 43.
Padel is a racquet sport that originated in Mexico in the late 1960s and later became particularly popular in Spain and Argentina. The sport combines characteristics of tennis and squash. It is normally played as a doubles game on a smaller enclosed court, with reinforced glass and wire-mesh walls forming part of the playing area. Players can use the walls during rallies, creating a style of play that differs from conventional tennis. The Aichi-Nagoya organising committee describes padel as a two-on-two sport that can be played by people of different ages and experience levels.
At the Asian Games, the competition will focus on two disciplines: men’s doubles and women’s doubles. The competition schedule published by Nagoya City lists the opening rounds for September 28, followed by further first- and second-round matches on September 29 and September 30. The quarter-finals are scheduled for October 1, while the semi-finals will take place on October 2. The medal matches, including the finals and third-place matches in both categories, are scheduled for October 3.
The daily schedule begins with the men’s and women’s first-round matches on September 28 at 11 am. The second day will feature first- and second-round matches, while September 30 is scheduled for the remaining second-round contests. The quarter-finals will begin at 10 am on October 1, followed by the semi-finals at 1 pm on October 2. The men’s and women’s finals and third-place matches are scheduled to begin at 11 am on October 3. These timings are based on the schedule published by Nagoya City and were current as of September 16, 2026.
The competition will be staged at Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center, officially approved as the venue for both padel and teqball. The Aichi-Nagoya 2026 organising committee announced in August that the Olympic Council of Asia had formally approved the venue following checks with the respective international federations to ensure that the facility met the required technical and competition standards.
Unlike many major Asian Games sports, padel is being introduced with a relatively compact competition format. There will be no singles medal event in the Asian Games programme. Instead, the focus will be entirely on doubles competition, with players competing in pairs for the men’s and women’s titles. The format is therefore expected to place considerable importance on teamwork, communication, court positioning and consistency between partners.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games will be held from September 19 to October 4, 2026, with athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees and regions participating across the overall Asian Games programme. The Games feature 43 sports and hundreds of medal events, with several new sports introduced or expanded for this edition. Padel is among the sports making its first appearance at the Asian Games, alongside disciplines such as teqball, surfing, mixed martial arts and virtual taekwondo.
The International Federation of Padel has also listed the Asian Games competition as an Aichi-Nagoya event running from September 28 to October 3. The federation’s tournament information confirms the men’s and women’s categories for the competition.
The introduction of padel reflects the sport’s wider international expansion. Padel has increasingly appeared in multi-sport competitions, and its inclusion in Aichi-Nagoya gives players and national teams another major continental platform. The sport was also included in the 2023 European Games and the 2026 Mediterranean Games, highlighting its growing presence in multi-sport events.
Japan will also have a home representation in the competition. The Japan Padel Association held a selection tournament in May 2026 to determine its Asian Games representatives. The association announced Kazuki Tomita and Seigo Hatakeyama as the selected men’s pair, while Yoshie Tokumoto and Saki Tsukamoto were selected in the women’s category. The selections followed the Road to Nagoya Padel Japan national selection event.
The Asian Games debut therefore gives padel an opportunity to reach a wider audience across the continent. With its enclosed court, wall-assisted rallies and doubles format, the sport offers a different style of racquet competition compared with tennis, badminton and squash. The Aichi-Nagoya event will also provide an important international stage for players from Asian countries and regions to compete under a multi-sport Games environment.
For spectators, the competition will run across six days from September 28 through October 3. According to the Nagoya City information, there will be no ticket sales for the padel competition, and admission will be free on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to venue capacity.
With the first matches scheduled for September 28 and the medals to be decided on October 3, padel will be one of the new sports to watch at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Its debut will introduce the sport to a new Asian Games audience while giving participating players an opportunity to compete for the first Asian Games medals in padel history.