According to a recent study conducted by Monitor Deloitte and Playtomic, pádel could soon surpass tennis as Europe’s top racquet sport and become one of the most popular sports in the world.
Even in the thick of the pandemic, from 2020 to 2021, the Continent was opening 98 pádel courts and 29 pádel clubs per week. Over the five years from 2016 to 2021, the number of European clubs increased by 181 percent. The total is now nearing 8,000. Courts have tripled in number since 2016, to near 27,000, for an annual rate of more than 20 percent. In four years, the sport is projected to have 67,000 courts in Europe and draw European investments of about a billion euros.
In number of courts, pádel has already outstripped tennis in Spain, Sweden, Portugal and Finland. All but Portugal figure among the top-five growth countries, alongside France and Belgium.
No country as yet had more clubs or courts than Spain in 2021, but that could change. Italy and Sweden have invested far more in the sport – $80 million apiece – over the past two years. Growth for the period was 13 percent in Spain, but 374 and 388 percent in Italy and Sweden. Growth over the past five years has been even higher in Scandinavia. The leaders in the growth of club numbers are Norway (555 percent), Denmark (400 percent) and Sweden (320 percent); in court numbers, Norway (867 percent), Finland (581 percent) and Sweden (388 percent).
Elena Martín, head of Monitor Deloitte, ascribes pádel’s success to new courts and clubs, new competitions and federations, and brands, sponsors and public figures – but also to pádel’s superior profitability in costs and space. A tennis court takes up the area of three pádel courts, each of which can be rented out separately.
Pedro Clavería, Playtomic’s co-founder and CEO, points out that pádel has drawn benefits from its digital birth – as well as from its social nature. Clubs are central to the sport. People often play the sport with strangers, and, says Clavería, “some 57 percent of players will have a drink or a soda after a match.” Playtomic makes an app for pádel-court reservations, personal stats, events and matches.
In sum, the study’s authors expect pádel’s recent growth to continue in several European countries for the next few years, as it is more social, easier to enjoy and play and cheaper than other comparable sports.
