Planning facilities for the newest court sport in town
SPORT COURTS AND SURFACES
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Planning facilities for the newest court sport in town
By Mary Helen Sprecher
Heads up, pickleball; there’ s a new court sport in town. Padel, which has been growing internationally— and is wildly popular in Spain and Mexico— is spreading across the United States. If you haven’ t seen it yet, it’ s only a matter of time.
According to the Global Padel Report by Playtomic Powered by Deloitte, interest in the sport( as measured by an uptick in Google searches on the term“ padel”) has been surging. That interest is expected to lead to an increase in the construction of padel facilities. The report indicates that by 2026, there will be approximately 85,000 courts worldwide, more than doubling the current figure of 40,000.
“ The market for padel is absolutely growing,” said David Moxley of Sportsfield Specialties, Inc., which manufactures the PaDelhi system.“ All indicators are that the U. S. is on the cusp of an enormous increase in players, and since padel requires a specific facility, the demand for courts is growing.”
Like pickleball, padel is predominantly played in doubles across a net— and also like pickleball, it is winning
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22 SportsField Management | May 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com