THE third edition of the Asia Pacific Padel Cup 2026 hosted by the Philippines has opened its doors to amateurs for the very first time with the sport experiencing growth not just in the country but the whole world.
Newly-installed Padel Pilipinas president Jeff Cheng said the move to bring an amateur division is in line with the federation’s goal to promote the sport with more and more Filipinos taking up the racquet sport.
“Being a young sport, we want to promote the sport, get more people to participate, and build an entire ecosystem of, first, having the right coaches will build the right foundation of the players,” said Cheng in a press conference last Thursday held at the start of the competition.
“Right now, we have programs of supporting padel clubs around the country, and training the coaches as well. We try to promote private and government to build more courts so that more people can participate,” said Cheng, the former team manager of the Filipinas national women’s football squad.
Padel Pilipinas secretary general Duane Santos emphasized why now is the perfect time to also stage an amateur tournament in the Asia Pacific region.
“There are 40 million padel players in the world. It’s being played in 187 countries. It’s the fastest growing sport in the world. And Asia is the fastest region in the world. And Southeast Asia is the fastest. Most of these players are amateurs. Only a few percentage are professionals,” said Santos.
“It’s really about time that we see how good the amateurs are in the region. It’s critical that we host an amateur tournament here,” Santos added.
A record total of seven countries, including the host country and defending champion Philippines, are competing in the tournament that will run until Sunday with Thailand, South Korea, Pakistan, India, Brunei, and Taiwan also battling for the title.
“Hosting seven nations in the APPC 2026 is a proof that it’s one of the fastest growing sport. Even though it started in European countries, we are actually happy and proud that in the Philippines alone, we are experiencing how fast it is actually growing,” said Padel Pilipinas executive director Jackie Gan-Cristobal.
The growth of the sport has also led to padel being part of the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan where the Philippines is also looking at a respectable showing.
“Our most immediate goal is to prepare for the Asian Games to be held in September," said Cheng. “It’s the first time that padel will be part of the Asian Games and a medal sport at that.”
As for the country’s hosting of the event, Cheng promised that the APPC 2026 will be a memorable experience for the competitors.
“And now, with our tournament here, what we want is really for our guest and the players to be able to experience the world-renowned hospitality, to be able to bring home this memorable experience of how warmly they were welcomed, how professional the tournament is run, and the friendly competition that the tournament will bring,” said Cheng.
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