Padel's rapid rise in India backed by MS Dhoni, Hudle report says
MS Dhoni-backed padel has expanded rapidly across India, growing from a single court in Bengaluru in 2017 to nearly 500 today, the Hudle India Padel Report 2026 says. The report credits the surge to a combination of private investment, new venues and a sharp increase in participation over the last three years.
What began as a niche pastime for tennis and squash players has become highly popular with younger, social audiences because the game is quick to learn, doubles-based and lends itself to a night-out atmosphere. The report states padel has "grown 100 times over in just three years, faster than any other racket sport in India," and notes dedicated clubs, investor interest and a widening player base as drivers of that change. Unlike cricket or badminton, the sport’s expansion has been led by private capital and urban real estate rather than a long grassroots history.
Participation figures recorded in the report show player numbers rising from a few hundred in 2022 to nearly a lakh now, while courts have multiplied from under 100 three years ago to the current total. The Hudle India Padel Report 2026 places the domestic market value at $25-30 million today and projects it could grow to $250-300 million by 2036.
Mahesh Bhupathi, Promoter, World Padel League, tennis legend, and an early investor in Hudle, is quoted in the report saying: "Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. We’re still at ground zero, and there’s plenty of scope for growth." His remarks appear alongside the market and participation data as an investor perspective on the opportunity.
MS Dhoni, 7 Padel Founder, links the sport’s doubles format and social character to its appeal in India, saying: "In a country with over 30 million racket sport players, Tier-1 cities have already shown how quickly padel can grow. The next step is taking that momentum into newer markets and making the sport accessible beyond the metros. Once courts are available, people will take to it naturally, padel is social, it’s played in doubles, and it’s built around community, which suits India." The report presents his comments as a blueprint for geographic expansion.
Hudle co-founder and CEO Suhail Narain describes a shift in how venues are operated and marketed, stating: "Operators no longer think of themselves as padel operators. They think of themselves as racket-sport-and-wellness operators, and padel is one product line. Courts are easy to replicate. Clubs are not. The best venues feel like a hangout, where games, people and energy compound." Booking data in the report supports that assertion, with just 40 venues nationally responsible for three-quarters of all padel bookings.
Corporate leagues, weekend competitions and school programmes are cited in the report as widening the sport’s footprint beyond the metros where it first took hold. If the current pace of court-building and investment continues, the report concludes padel could shift from an urban trend to a regular part of India’s sporting landscape, having moved from a single Bengaluru court to an emerging industry in under a decade.