From 11 to 19 July the Premier Padel Tour is in Malaga, where July heat and stands that fill up by mid-morning have made the Malaga P1 one of the most loved stops on the circuit. As soon as it wraps, the tour does something it has never done before: from 20 to 26 July it lands in Amsterdam for the first Major ever played in the Netherlands, at the RAI Convention Centre. Two weeks, two countries, and the sharpest snapshot yet of where this sport is heading in Europe.
Why a Major in Amsterdam is news, not just an event
The Premier Padel circuit has three tiers — P1, P2 and Major — and the Major sits at the top: the richest prize money, the most decisive ranking points, every top name on the circuit in the draw. Until recently, Majors were played almost exclusively in markets with deep padel roots — Spain, Italy, Mexico, Qatar. Bringing one to Amsterdam is a specific signal: Northern Europe, where padel barely existed a decade ago, now has the infrastructure, the crowds and the sponsors to carry the circuit's biggest event.
It is not just the Netherlands. In Belgium, Germany and the Nordic countries, indoor courts keep appearing in sports centres at a pace no other racquet sport has matched in Europe. The court, these days, is usually easy to find.
Doubles isn't an option — it's how the game is built
Unlike tennis, where singles is the norm and doubles an alternative, padel is almost always played four at a time. The reason sits in the court itself: glass walls and metal mesh enclose the playing space, the ball can bounce off them and stay live, and the smaller dimensions compared to tennis make doubles the format the game was designed around from the start, not a fallback to fill the court.
That also changes how a point gets won. Far more than in tennis, in padel the pair that communicates better — who covers the net, who lets the ball drop off the glass, who closes out the point — beats a more individually talented but less coordinated pair almost every time. It is a detail the pros know well: the most stable pairs on the Premier Padel ranking stay together for years, precisely because chemistry outweighs any single shot.
A phenomenon bigger than the pro tour
The Premier Padel Tour tells the visible part of the story — the impossible shots, the tournaments watched by millions online. But the real engine behind the growth in Europe is the amateur base: people who tried it once at a corporate event, or on holiday in Spain, and never really stopped. The combination of cheap-to-build indoor courts, a fast learning curve, and the social pull of doubles explains why padel has become, in a few short years, one of the fastest-growing sports on the continent.
If watching Malaga and Amsterdam makes you want to try it, putting together a doubles match is the easy part: on PlaySportMate you search for players by city and level, for example in Milan or Rome.
For the full tour calendar, the official Premier Padel Tour site is the most reliable source. If you enjoyed this read, check out what is happening in European 3x3 basketball now that the NBA season is over.
Frequently asked questions
When are Malaga and Amsterdam played in the 2026 Premier Padel calendar?
The Malaga P1 runs from 11 to 19 July 2026 at the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace. Right after, from 20 to 26 July, the tour moves to Amsterdam for the first Major ever played in the Netherlands, hosted at the RAI Convention Centre.
Why is Amsterdam hosting a padel Major for the first time?
The Major is the top tier of the Premier Padel circuit, above P1 and P2 events, and until now it had only been played in established padel markets like Spain, Italy, Mexico and Qatar. Bringing it to Amsterdam confirms that Northern Europe, where padel has grown fast in recent years, now has the crowd and infrastructure to host a top-tier event.
Why is padel almost always played in doubles rather than singles?
The padel court is enclosed by glass walls and mesh fencing that are part of the game — the ball can bounce off them and stay in play, a feature built for a court narrower than a tennis court. Singles exists but is rare: the dimensions and the walls make doubles the format the game was designed for, where teamwork with your partner matters as much as any single shot.
What explains padel's fast growth across Europe?
Three factors add up: indoor courts are cheaper to build than a tennis court, the learning curve is faster for total beginners, and the social side of doubles makes padel feel more like a night out with friends than a solo training session.