Padel at the 2026 South American Games is now official. According to a press release from the International Padel Federation, padel has been added to the schedule for the XIII South American Games, to be held from September 12 to 26, 2026 in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Following on from the exhibition matches at Asunción 2022, padel is now a medal sport.
Rafaela, South America’s new padel hot spot
The competition will be held in Rafaela, at the Microestadio, from September 22 to 25, 2026. The choice of this city is not insignificant: the official Santa Fe 2026 website presents Rafaela as one of the major hubs of the event, alongside Rosario and Santa Fe, with several facilities dedicated to track, combat, urban and racquet sports.
Overall, the South American Games 2026 will bring together 15 countries, 43 sports and 60 disciplines. Padel is therefore arriving in a highly structured environment, with delegations, National Olympic Committees, certified umpires, a medical frame and an organization designed to meet international standards. For a discipline still in its infancy as a major multisport event, this is a real-life test.
A court format, by nation, with two tables
The tournament will be played by nation, with one men’s and one women’s pair per participating National Olympic Committee, provided the national federation is recognized by the FIP. The technical manual provides for a single category, open to players aged 15 or over on December 31, 2026, with passports as a compulsory document.
In sporting terms, the announced format is straight to the point: group stages on September 22 and 23, semifinals on the 24th, then finals and matches for third place on the 25th. Pairs will be made up of players of the same nationality. At least five countries will be required to participate in each event, an important point for gauging the real degree of structuring of South American padel.
The schedule distinguishes two tables, men’s and women’s, with gold, silver and bronze medals. The rematch, however, states that the competition does not serve as a qualifying event for the 2027 Pan-American Games. The stakes are therefore primarily continental, symbolic and sporting, rather than qualifying.
Institutional recognition, not entry into the Olympic Games
For Luigi Carraro, President of the International Padel Federation, this integration represents a “very important milestone” for the entire movement. In addition to its formulaic nature, the announcement reflects the FIP’s strategic commitment to progressively integrate padel into major multi-sport events, where the international credibility of a discipline is built. The Mediterranean Games in Taranto 2026, the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and the European Games 2027 in Istanbul are all part of this dynamic. On Actu Padel, we have already analyzed what padel still needs to become an Olympic sport.
However, the door to Santa Fe 2026 needs to be read carefully. The South American Games fall within the ecosystem of the continental Olympic movement, with ODESUR and the National Olympic Committees as central players, but they are not the Olympic Games. The arrival of padel on the schedule does not therefore constitute official Olympic recognition. Rather, it marks an intermediate stage: that of a sport consolidating its presence in international competitions by nation, with a regulatory frame, medals, delegations and new exposure on the South American continent.
For padel, the challenge is clear: to demonstrate that it can meet the requirements of a multi-sport event, beyond the professional circuit and traditional tournaments. With a clear format, international refereeing, men’s and women’s representation, compliance with anti-doping procedures and multi-day organization, Santa Fe 2026 will also serve as an institutional showcase. An important step, then, but still distinct from the real Olympic goal.
To remember:
- Padel becomes an official medal sport at the 2026 South American Games.
- The competition will take place in Rafaela from September 22 to 25.
- Each nation may enter one male and one female pair.
- It’s not an entry into the Olympic Games, but an important political signal for the international trajectory of padel.
