Comment to "Impact of Public Courts to Private Clubs"

Jean Vacca, CEO of Padel Now France

The dynamics explained in the post “Impact of Public Courts to Private Clubs” play out differently by country. France is especially instructive: a strong non-profit base (often within FFT-affiliated tennis clubs) has accelerated padel’s growth and set price anchors—while simultaneously creating a large pool of players for premium private offerings.

"France’s large non-profit base—often integrated into existing tennis clubs and supported by the FFT—has been pivotal in introducing padel to a wide audience and fuelling grassroots growth. That scale sets a low-price expectation, which makes it hard for private operators to compete on court-hour pricing alone.

Yet it’s also a massive opportunity: the non-profit system has created a huge pool of active, passionate players. As they get more committed, they start seeking what private clubs do best: high-quality (especially indoor) courts, advanced coaching and academies, structured competitive play, and a vibrant social community.

In the French market, differentiation isn’t optional—it’s the strategy. The private clubs that thrive aren’t just selling time on court; they’re selling a premium membership and a dedicated padel environment that non-profit venues can’t replicate. It’s a co-existence dynamic: the non-profit sector creates the players, and the private sector captures and retains the committed enthusiast.”

Implications for private operators through public courts

• Stop selling “court hours”; sell the environment. Quiet, consistent indoor conditions, reliable bounce/lighting, smart acoustics, and hospitality (lounge, F&B, viewing) that lengthen dwell time and secondary spend.

• Own development. Level-based group coaching, adult & junior academies, video analysis, and regular match-play formats—systems that public/non-profit sites seldom deliver at depth.

• Create must-show-up programming. Weekly ladders/box leagues, team nights, social events; indoor leagues in poor-weather months.

• Price around the public anchor. Accept the casual anchor; monetise bundles (membership + coaching credits + league access), peak-time premiums, and family/dual-sport packages.

• Be the home of the committed. Target the competitive and “serious-social” cohorts with rankings, ratings, and club-only events; integrate matchmaking & booking software to reduce friction.

• Partner, don’t just compete. With permissions, run intro clinics on municipal/tennis-club courts; pathway ambitious players to your indoor premium offer for winter and advanced development.

France by the numbers (2024–2025)

• Build pace & 2025 outlook. 814 new padel courts were built in 2024 (608 in 2023). 2025 is projected to add 1,000+ more; the market was expected to cross 3,000 courts as early as February. France now counts 1,000+ places to play.

• Who funds what. Growth is driven by two actors:

  • (1) Tennis clubs supported by their city councils/collectivités and sometimes the FFT, and

  • (2) Private “non-tennis” clubs (multisport, 100% padel, five-a-side) investing without external aid (rare exceptions Complementing this, France’s “Plan 5,000 local sports facilities” explicitly targets padel with ~500 planned padel courts and offers 50–80% subsidy rates (up to **100% in overseas territories), with a funding cap of €500,000 per project.

• Private vs. tennis-club share. About 55% of courts are in private (non-tennis) clubs; the remainder sit in tennis clubs. Roughly 80% of indoor courts are in private (non-tennis) venues—supporting “weather-proof quality” positioning for premium clubs.

• Players & licenses. By end-2024 there were 85,000+ “competitors” (played at least one tournament), a proxy consistent with ~500,000 practitioners overall. In June 2025 the FFT announced 100,000+ padel licence-holders for the first time, 250,000+ FFT licensees who also play padel, and continued facility growth.

(Sources: padelonomics.com and Fédération Française de Tennis)