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The provinces of Messina and Trapani recorded the most evident leap since 2022: from 42 fields, Messina went to 113, with an increase of 169% on the fields and +163.6% on the clubs (from 22 to 58). Italy is second in the world for structures and practitioners after Spain
The Italian padel podium
A boundless passion that is worth the Italian Padel podium. Indeed, more: “the Island of Talent” – as some celebrated Italian and non-Italian Padel coaches call it – is one of the driving locomotives that have allowed Italy to be second in the world only to Spain in terms of number of fields and practitioners. In the days in which Palermo hosts the FIP Silver Mediolanum Padel Cup, the FIP Research & Data Analysis Department – the study center of the International Padel Federation – has released updated data on the growth of this sport on the island. The first is impressive and confirms Sicily in third place among the Italian regions in terms of number of clubs and fields: they are 345 and 896 respectively, behind Lazio (612 clubs and 2,040 fields) and Lombardy (456 and 1,450). Data that confirms the region as the locomotive for the entire national movement: to date, Italy has 10,352 camps, while Rome is the third city in the world for the number of camps (1,570).
Padel in Sicily: exponential growth
The detail also tells of an impressive progression. In the last four years – from June 2022 to June 2026 – the growth in Sicily was 50.1% in terms of number of fields, going from 597 to 896. At the same time, the clubs increased from 232 to 345 (+48.7). Driving a movement in full swing – world number 68 Flavio Abbate arrives from the “Island of Talent”, as well as numerous Under 20s on the field at the Country Time Club – is the Catania-Palermo axis, which together concentrate almost half of the entire Sicilian infrastructure. In particular, Catania confirms itself as the absolute queen among the provinces: in 2022 it had 151 fields, today it stands at 205 (+36%) with an average of 3.3 fields per club, the highest density in the region. Immediately behind here is Palermo: from 149 fields in 2022 it has gone to 185 (+24.2).
However, it is the provinces of Messina and Trapani that have recorded the most evident leap since 2022: from 42 fields, Messina has gone to 113, with an increase of 169% on the fields and +163.6% on the clubs (from 22 to 58). Trapani follows with an equally impressive progression, with a +97.1% on the pitches (from 35 to 69) and clubs almost doubling (from 15 to 26). Significant progress was made in Syracuse (from 101 to 151 courts, +50%) and in Agrigento, which went from 49 to 72 courts (+47%). Solid increases also for Ragusa (from 48 to 64 fields) and Caltanissetta (from 16 to 29 fields), while Enna rises from 6 to 8 total fields.
Meanwhile, the first day of the men’s main draw is underway at the Country Time Club, which will see the Italians Marco Cassetta and Lorenzo Di Giovanni – bronze at last year’s European Championships with the men’s Italpadel – and Sicilian talents such as Matteo Platania, Alessandro Pirrotta and Stefano Indomenico.
Mediolanum Padel Cup: record numbers last year
Mediolanum Padel Cup is part of the CUPRA FIP Tour calendar, the international circuit governed by the International Padel Federation, which last year recorded record numbers: 166 events, over 300 tournaments between men’s and women’s categories and more than 5,000 athletes competing all over the world. 2026 will raise the bar even further, with over 200 stages and 400 competitions organized across five continents. An extraordinary growth that consolidates the Tour as the key event for professional players, looking for decisive points to climb the FIP World Ranking.
In addition to the challenges of the FIP Silver, the weekend includes one of the most awaited moments of the Mediolanum Padel Cup. On the field of the Country Time Club, four faces of Italian football who today also shine on the padel courts will compete: the world champions and former rosanero Marco Amelia and Simone Barone together with Stefano Fiore and Paolo Di Canio. The four champions will be the stars of the VIP ProAm Exhibition, scheduled for Sunday lunchtime. In this special event they will team up with the guests of Banca Mediolanum and then face each other in a direct head-to-head match, where there will be no shortage of entertainment, fun and fair play. The event is free to enter and, on the sidelines of the exhibition, the champions will meet the fans for photos, selfies and autographs.