Sweden to get its first national school for padel

The Swedish Sports Confederation has approved plans to run a national school for padel to boost the development of the country’s most promising players.

Author

Jonathan Dyson
April 11, 2025

The Swedish Padel Federation (SPF) has announced that the Swedish Sports Confederation (RF) has approved the application to start a National Sports Gymnasium (RIG) for padel.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with the Apelrydskolan school in Båstad, and is expected to be operational in the autumn of 2026.

The SPF said: “The decision is a clear acknowledgment of padel's strong development in Sweden and the importance of creating a clear educational structure for young players. During the investigation process, the Swedish Padel Federation identified a need for a more centralised and quality-assured educational environment for promising juniors.”

It added: “After a thorough investigation [Apelrydskolan] has been deemed to meet the high requirements set by both RF and the federation to ensure a qualitative development environment for both padel and academic studies”.

In order for the development of the new national school for padel to be granted, requirements were set for the federation, including that development ladders for players as well as analysis requirements for padel must be developed and implemented.

The SPF said this work is in the process of being completed, and that RF has approved the development plan presented by the federation.

Currently, there are nine schools in Sweden that are Nationally Approved Physical Education (NIU) institutions in padel. In parallel with the work on the RIG, the SPF has carried out a comprehensive review of the activities at these NIUs.

The SPF said “the results of this review will lead to stricter requirements and a review of the number of NIUs in the future. The federation's focus is to ensure the best possible conditions for the students, both from a sporting and geographical aspect”.

The new national school for padel is expected to be operational in the autumn of 2026. Image credit: Swedish Padel Federation.

Peja Lindholm, elite manager at the SPF, said: “It is with joy and pride that we, together with Apelrydskolan, can now present Sweden's first RIG in padel. This proves that RF sees padel as an established sport with a systematic development structure.

“We have presented a credible plan to nurture future world players and created a development ladder that gives juniors the best possible conditions to reach the elite level.

“I would also like to extend a big thank you to Apelrydskolan for their commitment and competence in this process. Together, we can create an exceptional development environment for future generations of padel players."