From Concrete Walls to Glass Arenas: How the Padel Court Evolved

The padel court we recognise today—artificial turf, transparent glass and a modular steel structure—is a long way from where the sport began.

Modern courts can be installed inside purpose-built clubs, converted warehouses and major sporting arenas. Multiple courts can operate beneath one roof, while spectators and television cameras can see almost every part of the game.

But the defining idea behind the court has never disappeared.

Padel began inside walls.

Those walls became part of the game.

And the evolution of those walls may be one of the most important chapters in padel’s story.

1969: The Original Padel Court

The International Padel Federation identifies 1969 as the beginning of modern padel.

At his home in Las Brisas, Acapulco, Mexican businessman and racket-sport enthusiast Enrique Corcuera did not have enough room to construct a full-sized tennis court.

Instead, he created a smaller playing area measuring approximately 20 by 10 metres. Walls around the court helped contain the ball, while a net divided the playing area through the middle.

But the walls did more than solve a practical problem.

They became part of the game.

Players could continue the rally after the ball rebounded from the enclosure, creating the characteristic that still separates padel from most other racket sports.

The court was simple, private and enclosed.

Yet the central DNA of modern padel was already there. International Padel Federation

From Mexico to Marbella

n the early 1970s, Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe encountered the game while visiting Corcuera in Mexico.

He subsequently introduced padel at the Marbella Club in southern Spain, where new courts were constructed and the sport began attracting interest from an influential circle of players and visitors.

That Spanish connection would prove crucial.

Argentine Julio Menditeguy encountered padel through Marbella and helped introduce it to Argentina. Early courts appeared at locations including Club Tortugas and Mar del Plata’s Ocean Club before the game began spreading across the country. International Padel Federation

Padel had travelled from Mexico to Spain and then Argentina.

Its next stage of development would transform both its popularity and the architecture in which it was played.

The Concrete Era

Padel began developing rapidly in Argentina during the 1980s.

Many Argentine courts used painted concrete surfaces and solid walls. This created a playing environment that looked and behaved differently from the glass-and-turf court now familiar to modern players.

One particularly interesting distinction emerged between Argentine and Spanish padel.

Argentine courts were frequently built on concrete, while synthetic turf became more characteristic of the Spanish game. According to Aspetar’s historical review, the Spanish turf courts produced a slower game than the concrete courts commonly used in Argentina.

The countries also differed in rules and court details before later attempts at standardisation.

Padel was not yet one completely uniform game. The court underneath and around the players helped shape how it was played. Aspetar Sports Medicine Journal

Argentina Turns Padel Into a Social Phenomenon

Argentina did not simply adopt padel.

It helped turn the sport into a mass-participation phenomenon.

Courts multiplied. Tournaments developed. Institutions formed. Recognisable generations of Argentine players and champions began to emerge.

FIP records that padel’s growth into a social phenomenon in Argentina began around 1982. In 1988, the Argentine Padel Association became the world’s first national padel association.

As the sport became increasingly organised and visible, one Argentine innovation changed what a padel court could become. International Padel Federation—Argentina

1989: The Glass Court Changes Everything

In 1989, Mar del Plata coach Jorge Galeotti introduced an innovation known as the Crystal Palace.

FIP describes it as the first detachable and transportable glass padel court.

This was a fundamental development.

The walls could now be transparent.

Spectators could see through them.

Television cameras could capture almost the entire playing area.

The wall remained an active part of the game—but no longer had to hide the game taking place behind it.

The court could also be dismantled, moved and rebuilt elsewhere.

Padel was no longer restricted to permanent solid-walled enclosures. Its playing environment could travel, allowing courts to appear at events and in locations where a conventional masonry structure would have been impractical. International Padel Federation

1992: Glass Reaches the World Stage

The development moved quickly.

Aspetar’s history records that glass courts were transported from Argentina to Spain for the first World Padel Championship in 1992.

The tournament was held across Madrid and Seville following the establishment of the International Padel Federation the previous year.

For spectators and television, glass made an enormous difference.

Audiences could follow the movement of the players and the complete path of the ball while still retaining the enclosed rebounds central to the sport.

Padel kept its walls.

It simply made them transparent. Aspetar Sports Medicine Journal

The Modern Padel Court

Look at a modern padel court and the DNA of the original Acapulco enclosure remains visible.

It is still a compact rectangle divided by a net.

It is still enclosed.

The ball can still rebound from the surrounding structure.

But almost everything around that original concept has evolved.

Concrete surfaces have largely given way to purpose-designed artificial turf. Solid viewing walls have become transparent glass. Permanent masonry construction has been supplemented by modular steel systems.

Artificial turf itself has continued evolving. Early systems were adapted from tennis and used relatively tall fibres with considerable sand. Later padel-specific systems introduced shorter fibres and, eventually, textured turf designed to improve stability, appearance and playing characteristics. Padel Tech

The result is a playing environment designed not only around the rally, but also around installation, maintenance, spectators and broadcasting.

From Outdoor Court to Indoor Padel Club