Padel Power Sweeping the World 10/26

Mike Knowles - Daria Panteleeva - Padel Publications

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Rich Neher, Mike Knowles & Daria Panteleeva
September 30, 2026

Table of Contents

Mike Knowles: Padel Is Pouring Concrete Too

By Mike Knowles, INSIDE THE LINES

Patricio Misitrano released the second annual US Padel Report this week. It's free. And if you run a facility, you should read the parts the industry will skip.

The second annual US Padel Report puts the numbers at 1,112 courts across 297 facilities in 38 states, with roughly 460,000 active players. Courts are up 61.6 percent year over year. Facilities are up 65 percent. More than half of every padel court in America was built since January 2025.

Those are real numbers, verified the hard way. Patricio calls operators. He checks websites. He cross-references announcements. Then he rebuilt the player estimate from scratch using two independent methods, court-hours utilization and federation membership benchmarks, and they landed within 2 percent of each other.

In an industry that throws around "a million players here, twenty thousand courts there" without showing its math, that's the most transparent dataset padel has. Read the headline numbers, and you'll feel good. Read the rest, and you'll recognize pickleball.

Philippe Azar: COURTS ARE EASY. CLUBS ARE HARD.
I went to the opening of a new padel facility last weekend. Music was up, food was flowing, courts were full, and everyone was smiling. And I left thinking: this could be one of the first facilities in the area to close.

Daria Panteleeva: What It Really Costs to Build a Padel Court in 2026


Padel is the fastest-growing racquet sport in the world, and that growth is pulling in a new wave of builders: tennis clubs adding courts, multi-sport facility developers, and entrepreneurs betting on the sport's momentum. What most of them underestimate isn't the demand – it's the budget.

A padel court isn't a slab and a net. It's a structural build with tempered glass, steel framing, specialized turf, and, depending on climate, a roof. Costs vary more by sourcing and site conditions than most first-time builders expect, and the gap between "budget outdoor court" and "premium indoor facility" is wider than it looks on paper. The figures below are drawn from MyPadelWay's padel court construction cost guide, aggregated across supplier pricing in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, UAE, and Australia.

The range

A basic outdoor court typically runs $25,000–$35,000. Push to premium, competition-grade specifications, and that climbs to $45,000–$65,000. Add a roof for weather protection, and you're at $60,000–$95,000. Converting existing indoor space runs $45,000–$65,000 for the court alone, while a full new indoor facility – building included – lands between $100,000 and $200,000+.

That's a wide enough spread that "how much does a padel court cost" isn't really a single-number question. It depends on six components, each with its own cost driver.

Component breakdown

Glass walls ($8,000–$15,000). The signature tempered-glass back walls are the single most expensive line item. Courts use 10–12mm tempered safety glass rated for constant ball impact. Standard tempered glass runs $8,000–$10,000; anti-reflective glass for better spectator viewing pushes to $12,000–$15,000; extra-clear "crystal" glass runs $15,000+.

Metal mesh walls ($3,000–$6,000). Side and upper walls use galvanized steel mesh, usually a 50mm grid with 4–5mm wire. Powder-coated color options add roughly $1,500–$2,000 over standard galvanized.

Patricio Misitrano: Ben Nichols beat me to the punch. We’ve been talking about doing something like this for a while, and I’m excited that we finally decided to do it.
There’s a lot happening in padel and the broader racquet sports business right now. What I’m most Read the full story and be inspired.

Scott Matulis: Salt Lake City is one of the U.S. cities that is rapidly finding a foothold in padel.

I spent a weekend there as part of an RSPA padel coaching course, and visited a number of clubs that were working to create a community of SLC padel players. Check out my latest article in Facility Magazine to see how they're doing it.

scottmatulis.substack.com

Steel structure ($10,000–$25,000). The frame has to support the glass and mesh and hold up to weather. A basic hot-dip galvanized frame runs $10,000–$15,000; a wind-rated, thicker-gauge frame for exposed or hurricane-prone sites runs $18,000–$25,000.

Artificial turf ($5,000–$12,000). Padel needs specific turf with silica sand infill for correct ball bounce. Recreational-grade fibrillated turf runs $5,000–$7,000; club-standard monofilament turf runs $8,000–$10,000; WPT-approved premium turf runs $10,000–$12,000. Expect to replace it every 5–8 years.

Lighting ($3,000–$8,000). LED is now standard. Basic 400–500 lux lighting runs $3,000–$4,500; competition-grade 600+ lux lighting runs $5,000–$8,000.

Foundation and drainage ($5,000–$15,000). Often underestimated. A concrete slab on already-level ground runs $5,000–$8,000, but a full foundation with proper drainage – critical for year-round playability – can run $10,000–$15,000.

Indoor vs. outdoor: the real economics

Outdoor courts cost far less upfront ($25,000–$65,000 vs. $100,000–$200,000+ for a new indoor facility) but operate fewer hours per year – roughly 2,000–3,500 annually versus 4,000–5,000 indoors, since weather takes outdoor courts offline. Indoor facilities also carry HVAC costs ($15,000–$40,000) that outdoor courts don't.

The right choice tends to track climate: outdoor makes sense in Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona; indoor is the more realistic model in the Northeast and Midwest.

Philippe Azar: 10 padel facts that might surprise even people in the industry:

1. Padel courts have grown 200% since 2020.
From roughly 20,000 to 60,000 courts globally in just five years. The bigger surprise? The forecast is for 140,000–190,000 courts by 2035

A middle option is a covered outdoor court – a tensile fabric or polycarbonate roof over an otherwise standard outdoor build, running $15,000–$30,000 on top of the base court cost. It extends the playable season without the full indoor price tag, and it's increasingly popular in regions with moderate weather but real rainfall.

Is it profitable?

Using a sample US market model: a court renting at $60/hour with 70% utilization (roughly 50 booked hours per week) generates about $156,000 in annual revenue, before accounting for lessons, equipment sales, and food and beverage, which typically add another 20–40%. Most outdoor facilities see payback in 2–4 years; indoor facilities, carrying higher upfront building costs, typically take 4–7 years.

Choosing a vendor

A few things are worth checking before signing with a manufacturer or installer: FIP/WPT certification (courts meeting international standards attract more serious players and can command premium pricing), warranty terms (look for 5–10 years structural, 3–5 years on glass and turf), and whether the manufacturer installs locally or ships from overseas – importing can add 20–30% in freight and duties. Asking for reference facilities from your shortlisted vendors is worth the extra step before committing.

Andy Whipp: Pop-Up Padel ... and Squash! Padel has escaped the sports club. Should the rest of the racket sports industry be paying attention? One of padel’s biggest growth advantages may have very little to do with what happens on court. It’s about where those courts are appearing.

Greg "Moose" DeMoustes: Sometimes, the most meaningful moments in our careers bring us right back to where it all began.
My coaching journey started as a teenager in the public parks and recreation space, where I discovered a lasting passion for community, people, sport, learning, and creating places where everyone feels welcome.
Read the full story and be inspired.

Timeline

Budget 2–6 months for planning and permitting, 6–12 weeks for manufacturing if importing, 2–4 weeks for site prep, and 1–2 weeks per court for installation. Total, most projects run 4–9 months from decision to opening, with indoor builds trending toward the longer end due to construction complexity.

The bottom line

The number that matters most isn't the sticker price of the court kit – it's the total project cost once you've accounted for site prep, freight, and the indoor/outdoor tradeoff for your climate. Getting a realistic budget range before talking to suppliers puts operators in a much stronger negotiating position, and it's usually the step that gets skipped.

Daria Panteleeva is Marketing & Analytics Manager at MyPadelWay, a global padel court directory covering 1,800+ verified courts across 11 countries. A padel player since 2025, Daria first got curious about facility economics after watching how quickly new clubs and courts kept opening near home. At MyPadelWay, Daria works on the data side of the platform – court directory research, market trends, and the free construction cost calculator referenced in this piece. MyPadelWay's cost calculator is available at mypadelway.com/tools/court-cost-calculator.

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