FIP — International Padel Federation

What is the FIP?

The International Padel Federation (FIP) is the international federation for padel. It describes itself as “the world governing body of the sport of padel, whose goal is to promote all forms of padel worldwide.”^[3]

Its By-Laws, in the version approved on 28 November 2025 at the 35th General Meeting in Acapulco, Mexico, describe the FIP as “a non-profit organisation of unlimited duration”. Its objects include fostering the growth of padel, preserving the integrity of the sport and acting as its world governing body, and the FIP is to “make and uphold the regulations for the international team and pairs’ championships”.^[2] The General Meeting of members is the supreme body; it meets in ordinary session every year.^[2]

The federation is led by Luigi Carraro of Italy, re-elected president at the 34th FIP General Assembly, held at Doha on 28 October 2024 during the FIP World Padel Championships. The same assembly appointed an adviser for the FIP’s Olympic project and elected Benjamin Tison of France to lead the Athletes’ Commission.^[5]

What does the FIP govern or do?

Rules. The FIP publishes the Rules of Padel (December 2025 edition), its Official Competitions and Official Trophies regulations, Regulations on Player Eligibility to represent a country in official FIP competitions, separate Premier Padel rulebooks for men’s and women’s tournaments (March 2025), a CUPRA FIP Tour rulebook (March 2025) and a Code of Ethics (2024).^[4] See sporting nationality.

Anti-doping and disputes. FIP Anti-Doping Rules apply from 1 April 2025.^[4] The By-Laws commit the federation to “uphold an anti-doping policy compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code” and refer disputes “exclusively” to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (art. 27).^[2]

Rankings and circuits. The FIP publishes world rankings for men and women (the lists current on 30 September 2026 were dated 28 September) and lists circuits on its site that include the Premier Padel tour, with Major, P1 and P2 categories; the CUPRA FIP Tour, graded Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze; FIP Promises, a development circuit; and FIP Beyond.^[3] See world rankings.

The professional tour. The FIP’s history states: “Established in 2022, Premier Padel became the official global professional tour governed by FIP and supported by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).”^[1] On 28 September 2026 Premier Padel and the FIP jointly appointed Sportradar as integrity partner for the sport’s official betting data.^[9] See betting and sport.

When was the FIP founded and where is it based?

Founding. The FIP’s history states: “On 12 July 1991, the International Padel Federation (FIP) was founded in Madrid by the Argentine, Spanish and Uruguayan padel associations.”^[1] No independent source for the date could be retrieved: the FIP has no organisation page on Olympedia’s list of organisations, and the By-Laws do not state a founding date.^[14][2] The date therefore rests on the federation’s own account.

Founding members. The By-Laws keep a category for the founders: Class A members are the founder organisations, which may attend and speak at the General Meeting but vote only if they are also Class B members.^[2]

Seat. The By-Laws state: “FIP’s headquarters are currently located in Lausanne, Switzerland, as per the decision of the General Meeting held on 19 November 2015 in Mexico City.”^[2] The federation’s site gives its address as the Maison du Sport International, Avenue de Rhodanie 54, 1007 Lausanne.^[3]

How is the FIP recognised?

IOC. No statement of IOC recognition of the FIP could be found on the federation’s pages retrieved. The federation’s stated aim is Olympic inclusion: at the 2024 General Assembly Carraro said it was working “step by step, optimistic but realistic” towards it.^[5] The By-Laws include an appendix referring to Olympic Charter Rules 25, 26 and 40.^[2]

Umbrella bodies. The FIP does not appear on ARISF’s list of members; the “FIP” that ARISF lists is the Federation of International Polo.^[10] It is not among ASOIF’s members.^[12] WADA’s list of Code signatories, as retrieved, carries no padel federation.^[11] The FIP’s By-Laws nonetheless commit it to an anti-doping policy compliant with the Code.^[2]

Continental and university Games. Padel entered several multi-sport Games in 2026. The FIP lists the first FISU World University Championship in padel (Málaga, 7–11 July 2026) and padel at the XX Mediterranean Games (Taranto, 21–28 August 2026).^[6] It reported the sport’s first gold medals at the South American Games on 26 September 2026.^[9] At the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, under agreements the FIP names with the Olympic Council of Asia and the organising committee, the padel tournament runs at the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center “From Monday 28 September to Saturday 3 October”.^[8] See multi-sport games.

What does the FIP organise?

World championships. The FIP’s history states that it “established the World Padel Championships as a biennial event, with the first edition held in Spain (Madrid and Seville) in 1992.”^[1] The most recent edition named in the sources retrieved was held in Doha in October 2024, when the General Assembly met during the FIP World Padel Championships.^[5]

FIP World Cup 2026. The FIP’s national-team event for 2026 is the FIP World Cup, “scheduled to take place in Doha from 2 to 7 November”, with “A total of 32 national teams, 16 in the men’s category and 16 in the women’s category”.^[7] Continental qualifiers were held in Toronto (31 July – 2 August), Asunción (20–22 August) and Madrid (22–26 September), and the Asia and Africa qualifier is listed for Kuwait City from 26 to 30 October 2026.^[6]

Seniors and juniors. A Senior World Championship was first held in 2018 in Estepona and Benahavís, Málaga, according to the FIP.^[1] The 2026 FIP Senior World Cup was listed for Buenos Aires from 11 to 19 September 2026, and the calendar lists junior continental cups in Alexandria, Porto, Jakarta and Mexico.^[6] See youth and junior sport.

Professional tour. The FIP states that by 2024 Premier Padel “featured 24 tournaments in 16 countries”.^[1] Premier Padel’s own site carries the International Padel Federation’s logo, linked to the FIP’s site.^[13]

Who are its members?

National federations. The FIP’s history page states that it now has 100 affiliated federations, with padel played in more than 150 countries.^[1] Its report of the 28 October 2024 General Assembly counted 87 after six were admitted — Andorra, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Romania and Jordan — up from 32 in 2019.^[5] The figures are the federation’s own, from different dates; no independent count could be retrieved.

Categories. The By-Laws set out Class A members (the founder organisations), Class B members (national federations, which attend, speak and vote, with between one and twelve votes each) and Class C members (developing associations, which attend and speak without a vote; a Class C affiliation ends after ten years unless the member has moved up to Class B). They also provide for non-voting Recognised Organisations and for Regional Associations.^[2]

Continental bodies. The 2024 General Assembly confirmed three regional bodies: Padel Europe, presided over by Ramon Morcillo of Spain; Padel Americas, presided over by Jorge Mañe of Mexico; and Padel Asia, chaired by Tariq Darwish Zainal of Qatar.^[5]