Focus on… Gijon. The first international padel tournament in Asturias

The second tournament of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel 2025 season, the first in Europe, will be played in Spain, one of the ‘homelands’ of world padel. But it will be played in an area of Spain where international circuits had never yet arrived: the Autonomous Community of Asturias. From Wednesday, at the Palacio de Deportes de la Guía ‘Presidente Adolfo Suárez’, padel will land in Gijon, home of a P2 tournament. According to estimates by the FIP Research & Data Analysis Department, in Asturias it is possible to play in almost 80 clubs and facilities, and more than 240 courts, 40 of which are in Gijon itself: a number that has grown significantly compared to just a few years ago, and which goes hand in hand with the development of padel worldwide.

Padel, in this autonomous community, is driven by the Federación de Padel del Principado de Asturias (FPPA), in concert with the Federación Española de Padel (FEP). The FPPA, chaired by Lucía Carreño Busta, has a licensed number of 1,779 players, of which 39.8 per cent are women (in all of Spain licences exceeded the record number of 109,000 in 2024), 27 federated clubs, 25 national coaches and 5 national referees (Data source: FEP – updated February 2025). The numbers of padel in Asturias are growing strongly: ten years ago there were less than 800 licences and they have more than doubled, with also a lowering of the average age that has led to 170 licences for players under the age of 18.