Indonesia Builds Padel into Professional Sports Industry

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Padel is gaining momentum in Indonesia as courts, clubs, and player communities continue to grow across the country. The Indonesia Padel League (IPL) uses this growth to build a professional competition and develop the sport industry.

Indonesia Padel League operator and Padel Indonesia CEO Andri Paranoan, said the sport has strong potential to grow beyond major cities. He made the statement during the Global Leadership Forum on the National Sports Competition Ecosystem at Indonesia Sports Summit (ISS) 2026 in Jakarta, Sunday, September 13, 2026.

Padel facilities are expanding in cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya, as well as several areas outside Java. The growth is also accompanied by the emergence of more clubs and player communities.

Andri said the growing number of courts and clubs presents an opportunity to develop padel into a sports industry. He highlighted the need to capture this opportunity as the sport continues to expand across Indonesia.

“We see an opportunity that must be captured, which is how padel can become an industry,” Andri said at Cendrawasih Hall, JICC Senayan, Jakarta.

To support this development, IPL is preparing its first professional competition in 2026. The league will run for four months, covering a total of 18 weeks of matches.

Ten clubs will compete after going through a selection process. Of the 17 clubs initially interested, only 10 were considered ready to follow the competition system, while several others later joined or merged.

The participating clubs are Exodia Jakarta, Onyx Padel Jakarta, Rossiade Padel Club Banten, AAS Padel Team from South Sulawesi, Aubrey Padel Indonesia from East Kalimantan, ASC Padel Jakarta, Belio Midnight Borneo Jakarta, Dewa United Padel Banten, Yasika Padel Club, and Black Steel Padel.

The 2026 IPL competition will take place in five cities. Beyond matches, organizers are also developing business opportunities, fan engagement, club culture, and digital media.

Andri hopes the competition will become an early step toward developing Indonesian padel into a larger sports industry. He also seeks for support so that padel can eventually become like football.