Eleven thousand five hundred people from more than 50 countries packed four halls of the Nusantara International Convention Exhibition (NICE) in Tangerang on June 27-28, 2026. HYROX is a functional fitness race that combines an 8-kilometer run with eight exercise stations, including sled pushes, rowing, and wall balls, done in alternating segments along the course. The event's first appearance in Indonesia set the biggest participation record in Asia Pacific. That record is the clearest signal yet of where Indonesian sport is heading in 2026: after two years of padel dominating middle-class social feeds in the country's cities, public attention is now splitting toward new competition formats that demand full physical endurance.

Eleven days after HYROX wrapped up, Indonesia's padel organizers opened their first internationally licensed tournament: the FIP Bronze and FIP Promises Jakarta 2026, which began on July 9, 2026, at RANA Grounds Mampang with about 200 men's and women's athletes from 31 countries, plus hundreds of junior athletes in the U-14 to U-18 categories. The scale gap is stark: HYROX's debut drew nearly 60 times as many participants as Indonesia's first world-class padel tournament. That gap is not a sign padel is fading. It shows the two sports are at different growth stages.

HYROX jumps to a record in its first outing

Four of NICE's 11 halls were converted into an integrated competition course: eight functional exercise stations, an indoor running track, warm-up and recovery zones for athletes, and spectator areas. About 35 percent of the 11,500 participants came from abroad, split across Singles, Doubles (Mixed), and Relay categories.

"It's a source of pride for us to host HYROX's debut in Indonesia. This trust shows that NICE has the capacity, flexibility, and facilities to support international sporting events with complex operational needs," said Ryan Adrian, managing director of NICE.

Padel shifts from a court-building boom to structured tournaments

Data from Core & Court in the "Indonesia Padel Report 2025," cited by Databoks, shows the number of padel courts in Indonesia jumped from 15 in 2021 to 947 in 2025, about a 63-fold increase in four years. The number of clubs grew from 3 to 293 over the same period. That surge was an infrastructure phase: investors and communities built courts to meet social demand, not to feed a tournament calendar.

The next phase only became visible in 2026, when the Indonesian Padel Association (PBPI) staged the country's first International Padel Federation (FIP) licensed tournament in Jakarta. "First of all, we chose RANA Grounds because of its strategic location. It has nine international-standard courts, and it's more than capable of hosting a major tournament," said Galih Dimuntur Kartasasmita, chairman of PB Padel Indonesia. Marciano Norman, chairman of KONI Pusat, Indonesia's national sports committee, added: "We've always seen padel as a sport that's growing very fast. So I believe one day padel will also advance and become one of our leading sports."

Why could HYROX set a regional record right out of the gate?

HYROX tapped into Jakarta's already large gym and CrossFit user base, then leaned on its Doubles and Relay categories, which let people sign up in pairs or groups. That combination pushed registration volume far past head-to-head competitive sports like padel or tennis.

Padel needed years to build 947 courts before its federation was ready to run an FIP-licensed tournament. HYROX skipped that kind of buildup: once its functional race format opened to the Jakarta public, pent-up demand from the gym community poured in over a single registration weekend.

Pickleball and trail running follow behind

Beyond HYROX and padel, two other sports are also shaping Indonesia's 2026 fitness scene. KONI Pusat installed the leadership of the Indonesian Pickleball Federation (PB IPF) for the 2026-2031 term on June 22, 2026, at the KONI Pusat office in Senayan. "I hope pickleball delivers a surprise when it's played at the Olympics," Marciano Norman said at the inauguration.

Long-distance running is also climbing. The BTR Ultra 2026 in Kintamani, Bali, ran May 15-17, 2026, and drew 5,916 participants from 62 countries, 5,295 of them Indonesian, up 47 percent, or about 1,909 more participants than the previous edition. That rise tracks with other domestic running events, including the Jogja Marathon 2026, which drew 10,200 runners from 17 countries.

What will decide where this trend goes

Several things will test whether this shift holds. HYROX organizers haven't announced a participation target for the second edition, a number that will show whether 11,500 debut registrants was a one-time opening effect or a lasting trend. PBPI also hasn't confirmed its next FIP tournament after Jakarta, while PB IPF has only just begun its pickleball outreach push after the inauguration, including a bid for a spot on the PON 2028 calendar. Fresh data on padel court and club counts from Core & Court for the current year hasn't been published either; the latest public report still stops at 2025.