Padel in Australia
AusPlay reports padel together with pickleball, so the participation figures here cover both. The 42 venues listed are padel venues.
- people aged 15+ played pickleball or padel in 2025
- 297k
- of people aged 15+pickleball/padel combined
- 1.3%
- participants since 2024
- +142k
Find padel courts near you
Padel Courts by State and Territory
42 padel venues listed across 7 states and territories
Pickleball and Padel Participation in Australia
AusPlay does not publish padel on its own. Every figure in this section is for the combined category Pickleball/padel (Pickleball, Paddle tennis/padel, Virtual Pickleball). None of them is a padel-only figure.
- people aged 15 and over played pickleball or padel in 2025Margin of error about 29,000 either way
- 297,000
- of people aged 15 and over, at least once in the 12 months
- 1.3%
- children aged 0 to 14 in organised pickleball/padel outside school hours*0.08% of children aged 0 to 14
- 4,000
- people aged 15 and over took part through a club, centre or other organiser0.7% of people aged 15 and over
- 154,000
2024 to 2025, aged 15 and over
- 2024
- 155,000 participants, 0.7% of people aged 15 and over
- 2025
- 297,000 participants, 1.3% of people aged 15 and over
The 2025 estimate is 142,000 higher than 2024. The difference is larger than the combined margin of error of the two estimates.
By age, the rate was highest among people aged 55 to 64 (1.7%). By state, the highest published rate was Australian Capital Territory (2.1%). State estimates have wider margins of error than the national estimate.
By state and territory, 2025
| State | Aged 15+ rate | PeopleAged 15+ participants |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 1.4% | 98,000 |
| Victoria | 1.5% | 90,000 |
| Queensland | 1.2% | 54,000 |
| Western Australia | 1.3% | 32,000 |
| South Australia | 0.5%* | 7,600 |
| Tasmania | 1.4%* | 6,600 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 2.1% | 8,400 |
| Northern Territory | Not published | Not published |
Who organised it, aged 15 and over
- Sports club or association39,000
- Gym / fitness club / sports / leisure centre26,000
- Recreation club or association23,000
- Private or commercial business15,000
- Educational institution8,700*
- Individual personal trainer or coach6,300*
Source: Australian Sports Commission, AusPlay, January to December 2025, released 30 April 2026. Category: Pickleball/padel. * Flagged for caution by AusPlay. A person can take part through more than one type of organiser. About the data
Padel vs Tennis
What the two rule books specify for the court, equipment, serve and scoring.
| Rule | Padel | Tennis |
|---|---|---|
| Court size | 10 m by 20 m | 8.23 m by 23.77 m (singles) |
| Enclosure | Walls and metallic fence | None specified |
| Net height | 0.88 m centre, 0.92 m ends | 0.914 m centre, 1.07 m posts |
| Racket | Perforated hitting surface | Strung frame |
| Ball | 6.35 to 6.77 cm, 56.0 to 59.4 g | 6.54 to 6.86 cm, 56.0 to 59.4 g |
| Serve | Bounced, then struck at or below waist level | Hit before it reaches the ground |
| Scoring | Best of three sets | Best of three or five sets |
| Players | Two pairs | Singles and doubles |
Sources: International Padel Federation, Rules of Padel (application 1 January 2026); International Tennis Federation, Rules of Tennis 2026.
Calories Burned Playing Padel
No estimate is shown for padel
The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, the reference used for every other energy figure on this site, has no entry for padel. Rather than borrow the value for another racquet sport, no padel figure is given. For comparison only, see the tennis energy figures.Find Padel Courts Around Australia
No padel courts are listed yet for Northern Territory.
Related Activities
Padel: Questions and Figures
How many Australians play padel?
AusPlay does not publish a padel-only figure. Its combined category, Pickleball/padel, had an estimated 297,000 participants aged 15 and over in 2025, which is 1.3% of that age group. Source: Australian Sports Commission, AusPlay, released 30 April 2026.
Which state has the highest pickleball and padel participation rate?
In AusPlay 2025, Australian Capital Territory had the highest published rate for Pickleball/padel among people aged 15 and over, at 2.1%. State estimates have wider margins of error than the national estimate.
About the Data
- Participation source
- Australian Sports Commission, AusPlay, a national survey. AusPlay method
- Reference period
- January to December 2025, released 30 April 2026.
- Who is counted
- People aged 15 and over who took part at least once in the 12 months. Children aged 0 to 14 are counted for organised activity outside school hours only.
- Reporting category
- Pickleball/padel. AusPlay combines Pickleball, Paddle tennis/padel, Virtual Pickleball in this category and publishes no padel-only figure.
Figures are survey estimates and are shown rounded. * marks an estimate AusPlay flags for caution (relative margin of error between 50% and 100%). Estimates AusPlay marks as too unreliable to use are not published here. AusPlay moved from telephone to online collection in July 2023. The Australian Sports Commission states that results from July 2023 are not directly comparable with earlier results. These pages use the online series only, and year-on-year figures come from the release's own comparison table.