As they do every year around this time, Playtomic and Strategy&, the strategic consulting firm of PwC, present their Global Padel Report 2026. This new edition carries a core message that is repeated in every chapter: padel isn’t slowing down—it’s maturing. It’s no longer so much about how many courts are being built, but rather how much each one generates. And the numbers, this time, are bigger than ever.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
58,334 courts and counting
In 2025, 4,969 new clubs opened and 7,898 new courts were built worldwide. The global total stands at 58,334, six times more than in 2016. There are more than 850,000 federated players and some 19.4 million players in total, according to the report’s own estimate—more conservative than the FIP’s 35 million but based on a more comprehensive methodology. France was the country that added the most courts in 2025. Indonesia added nearly 800, concentrated in its major urban centers. And the equipment market has been growing at a cumulative annual rate of 34% since 2019, with rackets accounting for two-thirds of total sales.
How a club works from the inside
Beyond the global figures, the report dissects how clubs operate internally, and the results are striking. The difference between a high-performance club and a mediocre one isn’t in how many courts it has, but in how it manages them. The best generate up to five times more revenue per court per month: about 3,500 euros compared to 736 for the least efficient. Court reservations remain the main driver, accounting for 68% of average revenue, but formats such as academies, internal tournaments, and leagues are what make the real difference between clubs.
The club of the future already exists
There is one trend the report strongly emphasizes: the best padel club of 2026 isn’t the one with the most courts; it’s the one that keeps its players from wanting to leave. The holistic model, featuring a sauna, physical therapy, yoga, Pilates, a dining area, and social events, is already present in 9 out of 10 high-performance clubs. In Asia-Pacific, 45% of clubs already have a recovery area. In the UK, the sauna has become an almost standard feature of the value proposition. The club is no longer just a place you go to play: it’s a place you belong to.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Spain: The World’s Largest Country
Spain remains the country with the most courts on the planet in absolute terms, but its phase of growth through expansion has come to an end. The business is no longer about building more, but about optimizing what already exists: more premium clubs, integration into residential complexes and hotel developments, and consolidation through multi-location chains.
The leading Spanish chain manages more than 255 courts spread across four clubs. Approximately 2% of all courts in the country are already integrated into residential complexes, and that figure continues to grow. A Spanish resort recorded a 15% increase in bookings during the first year after installing a padel court. In Portugal, Quinta do Lago has transformed its facilities into the center of a sports-residential ecosystem that has generated a 30% increase in property values and owner retention rates above 75%.
Markets on the Rise, Those Adjusting, and Those Dreaming
The rest of the world is divided into three speeds. The United Kingdom and Germany are currently the hottest markets: 85% average occupancy during peak hours at British clubs, with half of their players acknowledging that they struggle to secure a court during prime time. Germany is accelerating with mass conversions of tennis clubs into indoor facilities, capitalizing on demand that had been waiting for infrastructure for years. France, the Netherlands, and Belgium are growing in a more orderly fashion, with supply keeping pace with actual demand.
On the opposite end are those who built too quickly. Chile sums it up well: 80 clubs closed in 2024 and a 27% drop in monthly bookings. The two- or three-week waits to get a padel court that the country experienced in 2022 are now history—and not exactly for the best reasons. Sweden remains in a phase of forced consolidation. The report directly calls these the industry’s “warning signs.”
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
The United States remains the major untapped market, although zoning regulations, import costs, and competition from pickleball are holding back a boom that everyone considers inevitable. And in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has surpassed 1,000 courts and the Emirates have surpassed 800, but with a model completely different from the rest: institutional investment, a national sports agenda, and luxury as the central focus.
The message of the 2026 report is simple: the markets that grew the most are no longer the ones that perform best. The winner is whoever fills their courts, not whoever has the most.
If you wish, you can download the report here.
