The Unstoppable Growth of Padel

Padel is a highly addictive, low barrier to entry sport, played by men and women alike (48% of global players are women, according to the World Padel Tour). And the numbers work: you fit roughly two padel courts into one tennis court, and your rent it out to 4 people at a time. Every time. That is potentially 4x the ROI of a tennis court for the same m2.

In 2013, French based “Padel Absolute Padel Guide” registered 150 padel clubs outside of Spain, mainly in neighbouring Portugal, showing the first glimpses of European expansion.

Just over 4 years later, Europe boasts over 600 clubs and more than 1,300 courts centered mainly in Italy, France, Portugal and Sweden.

In Spain, after adding 2,000 more courts in 2017, the number is up to 11,000. That is 1 court per 4,182 inhabitants in Spain.

Over the coming years the rest of Europe will follow the trend set by the impressive Spanish penetration, and the Y on Y growth seen in countries like Portugal (70%) and the UK (76%) signals this exact movement.

We are at the beginning of a phenomenon.

If we look at the industry size, with Spain currently estimated at €500mm, and extrapolate across Europe, the potential market size is north of €5bn.

Surrender. Padel is here to stay.