Padel breaks records: the number of clubs increases by 181% in five years

Global Padrel Report, by Monitor Deloitte with Playtomic, foresees an investment in new tracks of more than one billion euros in four years.

Paddle tennis is an increasingly present sport: the creation of new courts in Europe has tripled since 2016 -reaching almost 27,000-, a figure that translates into more than 20% annual growth. This is the conclusion of the Global Padel Report study carried out by the consulting firm Monitor Deloitte in collaboration with the Spanish company Playtomic, which points to an increase in investment of up to 1,000 million euros in the next four years, reaching 67,000 tracks.

This growth has translated into the opening of 98 tracks and 29 clubs every week during the pandemic (2020-2021); 10,147 tracks and 2,994 clubs in total. While in 2016 there were 10,151 courts and 2,801 clubs, these figures rose to 26,314 courts and 7,869 clubs in 2021. The growth ranking is led by Spain, Italy, Sweden, France and Belgium; in fact, in countries like Spain, Sweden, Portugal or Finland, the number of paddle tennis courts reaches or exceeds that of tennis.

In this sense, it should be noted that, while Spain leads the number of paddle tennis clubs and courts in 2021, in investment matters it is ahead (by a long way) to Sweden and Italy, with some 80 million euros of investment in both countries in The last two years. This explains why, while the growth of tracks in this period in Spain was 13%, in Italy and Sweden it was 374 and 388%, respectively.

According to Elena Martín, head of Monitor Deloitte, "the present and future evolution of paddle tennis is marked by three levers: construction of courts/clubs; promotion of competitions/federations; and brands/sponsors/public figures. Profitability must be taken into account of the rinks by cost and space, which multiplies the potential income of the surface. That is why, in recent years, around 100 rinks have been opened a week in Europe, intensifying growth during 2021".

To these data, which explain the large number of investors and construction companies that have accessed and are accessing this market, we must add the social phenomenon on which this evolution is based. "We are experiencing a unique social phenomenon in history. The consolidation of a more social sport, easier to learn, and above all a sport that was born digital. Today you can play paddle tennis whenever you want, wherever you want and meet people from your same level without even knowing them", said Pedro Clavería, CEO and Co-founder of Playtomic.

Clubs play a key role in social interactions through events, classes, tournaments and even hotel and restaurant services, since according to data from the Spanish platform, "57% of players have a drink or soft drink after the match ". This reality is increasingly relevant for the Playtomic app, through which it is possible to reserve courts, record personal sports data and statistics or access events and matches for which players are needed.

The study not only indicates the comparison on the number of tennis or paddle tennis courts, but also on the monitoring of the sport, and the cost that this growth requires. Thus, on a tennis court there would be room for 3 paddle courts; and a tennis player needs 325 m2 while a paddle tennis player needs only 50 m2, so the comparison of income per player undoubtedly benefits paddle tennis. All this, without comparing it with soccer or basketball, also mentioned in the report.