Key Takeaways
- From 22 to 25 September, padel will make its official medal-sport debut at the XIII South American Games in Santa Fe, Argentina.
- The new Microestadio in Rafaela will host 32 players representing 8 nations, with the field comprising 16 teams: 8 men’s pairs and 8 women’s pairs.
- After two days of group play, the semi-finals will be held on 24 September and the medal matches on 25 September, with live coverage available on the Odesur YouTube channel.
Padel reaches historic South American Games landmark
Official padel competition at the South American Games gets underway in Santa Fe, Argentina, marking a major step in the sport’s international development. Scheduled for 22 to 25 September, the event is the discipline’s first appearance on the official medal programme after exhibition matches were staged at Asuncion 2022.
The first medals will be contested by 32 athletes from 8 nations, divided into 8 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams. Rafaela’s newly built Microestadio is staging the matches, all of which are being shown live on the Odesur YouTube channel.
Competition format and route to the medals
The men’s and women’s competitions use the same format, with the 8 pairs in each draw split into 2 groups of 4. Following round-robin matches over the opening two days, the leading 2 teams in each group qualify directly for the semi-finals on Thursday 24 September.
The semi-final draw pits the Group A winners against the Group B runners-up, with the top pair from Group B meeting the second-placed team from Group A. On Friday 25 September, the victorious semi-finalists will contest gold, while the two defeated pairs will play for bronze.
Full group-stage field
Across the two draws, the 16 pairs in Rafaela have been allocated to 4 separate groups:
| Category | Group | Players | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Group A | Santino Contreras and Nacho Piotto | Argentina |
| Men | Group A | Matias Negrete Oliva and Daniel Salinas Ordenes | Chile |
| Men | Group A | Claudio Oropeza and Mateo Torrelio | Bolivia |
| Men | Group A | Octavio Enzo Ceballos Dorazi and Sergio Andres Monges Leon | Peru |
| Men | Group B | Martin Abud and Facundo Dehnike | Paraguay |
| Men | Group B | Diego Gonzalez Almedo and Eduardo Andre Lopez Figuera | Venezuela |
| Men | Group B | Juan Ignacio Artia Malugani and Higor Ensslin Alves | Uruguay |
| Men | Group B | Sebastian Armijos and Estefano Mateo Montoya Pinchao | Ecuador |
| Women | Group A | Kimberley Ahumada Carrasco and Catalina Arancibia | Chile |
| Women | Group A | Micaela Meneses Cuellar and Michelle Doria Medina Aviles | Bolivia |
| Women | Group A | Luciana Cogorno and Agatha Hernandez | Venezuela |
| Women | Group A | Nicole Aragones Miro Quesada and Maria Paula Torres Draxl | Peru |
| Women | Group B | Victoria Milena Vilchez and Maria Belen Mosca | Argentina |
| Women | Group B | Mariana Lucia Salsamendi Guggiari and Olga Bareiro | Paraguay |
| Women | Group B | Camila Belassi and Camila David De Lima Gonzalez | Uruguay |
| Women | Group B | Alejandra Alvarez and Marines Holguin Reyes | Ecuador |
Padel’s growing role in international multi-sport events
The International Padel Federation and national federations have continued working to secure padel’s inclusion on the official South American Games programme. This effort follows principles centred on inclusion, social interaction and respect for Olympic Charter values, while presenting sport as a means of strengthening education, culture and community ties.
The milestone forms part of an expanding calendar of major multi-sport competitions for padel. After featuring at last month’s Mediterranean Games in Taranto, the discipline is set to appear at the Nagoya 2026 Asian Games from 28 September to 3 October, the 2026 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh and the 2027 European Games in Istanbul.
