925 padel clubs in France in 2024, against 628 a year earlier. A new club opens somewhere in the country almost every two days. The wave is real, driven by more than 600,000 regular players and a market estimated at around €2 billion. See our full analysis of the padel market in France in 2026 for the detailed numbers.
And yet most founders who contact us ask the same three questions in the wrong order: how much does it cost, is it profitable, and how do we fill the courts once the club is open. All three are fair. The problem is the order. Budget and profitability are covered everywhere, by dozens of simulators and financial guides. Filling the courts is almost never treated seriously, even though it decides whether your club survives or closes within 24 months.
This guide covers both. An honest overview of budget and profitability, in realistic ranges rather than false precision. And above all, a concrete marketing plan to fill your courts from opening day, the part other guides skim in a paragraph.
The padel market in 2026: why it’s (still) the right time
According to the Playtomic Global Padel Report 2026 (a PwC study), padel now has 20,900 clubs and 58,300 courts worldwide, for 19.4 million players. The number of courts should reach 91,000 by 2028.
In France, growth has been particularly fast: from 628 clubs in 2023 to more than 925 in 2024, with more than 600,000 regular players and a market now worth close to €2 billion. We break all these numbers down in our article on the padel market in France.
The message is simple: the wave is real, and 2026 is still a good time to start. But its nature is changing. Three years ago, putting down a court was enough to fill a schedule. Today, with 925 clubs and growth still accelerating, local competition arrives faster and faster. The differentiator will soon no longer be the court, it will be the club’s brand. A club that built a community and visibility before it even opened takes a lead the club next door won’t easily close.
You can see it in the existing guides. Business plan generators and management tools (Doinsport, Ouitill, simulators like Propulse by CA) handle the financial side well: legal structure, budget, profitability. But none of them dwell on what makes a club live or die once the doors are open: filling the courts. That is exactly the gap this guide fills.
How much does it cost to open a padel club?
The ranges below reflect the orders of magnitude seen at the main players in the sector (Propulse by CA, Doinsport, Ouitill). They vary a lot by region, available land and level of finish.
Budget by number of courts
For a 2 to 3-court club, allow €100,000 to €150,000, mostly outdoor or in a light structure. A 4-court indoor club quickly rises to €300,000 to €800,000, depending on whether it is a new build or a converted building. Beyond that, a 6-court complex generally costs €1 to €3 million, land and building included.
The lines people underestimate
Three budget lines come in below their real cost in almost every business plan we see. Land first, especially in dense urban areas, where the price per square metre alone can push a project from 2 to 3 to 4 courts because the actual available surface wasn’t anticipated. Heating and lighting for indoor second: a heavy operating cost from year one, often budgeted on energy prices that are already out of date by opening day. And finally, the licences and insurance specific to sports activity: an admin line people always look at too late in the project calendar, at the risk of delaying opening by several weeks.
The launch communication budget
This is the line most founders put last, even though it directly drives year-one occupancy. Allow €5,000 to €15,000 for a proper launch: content, an opening campaign, an inaugural event. A club that arrives on social media and Google empty on opening day starts several months behind on bookings, and that delay costs far more than the €10,000 saved upfront.
Business plan: the 3 numbers your banker will look at
This section is deliberately brief. Simulators like Padelonomics already exist to refine a full financial model, and that isn’t where the real difference between two projects is made.
Target occupancy rate
A profitable club generally aims for 50 to 70% occupancy of its slots across the week, including weekends and off-peak hours. Below that, fixed costs (overheads, staff, maintenance) weigh too heavily on every hour sold.
Weighted average hourly price
The average hourly price is most often between €28 and €40, depending on the area, the positioning (premium or accessible) and how dense local competition is.
The 8 revenue streams beyond court hire
Court hire is only one of eight available revenue streams: monthly memberships, private and group lessons, holiday camps, paid tournaments, the bar and snacks, the shop and pro shop, corporate events, and local sponsorship. A club that lives only on court hire gives up a good share of its potential margin, precisely the share made in the hours when individuals don’t book.
The most profitable clubs we have seen aren’t the ones with the highest hourly price. They are the ones that diversified early: a monthly membership that secures a recurring cash base, a partnership with an equipment brand for the shop, and an events calendar that fills the bar on tournament nights.
Real profitability: 2 to 5 years, and a variable nobody manages
A padel club’s net margin is generally between 10 and 30% depending on the model, and payback takes 2 to 5 years.
But one number decides which end of that range a club lands on: how well it fills off-peak hours, typically weekdays between 10am and 5pm. It is the variable almost every business plan leaves out, even though it decides whether your club makes a 10% or a 30% margin. It is exactly the subject of the second half of this guide.
The real issue: filling your club from opening day (the 90-day marketing plan)
This is the part no competitor really covers. Financial guides stop at the business plan. Here is how to actually fill your courts, from D-90 to D+90.
D-90 to D-30: build the audience before you have a court
The most common mistake is waiting until opening to start communicating. Three months out, you should already have a Google Business profile, an active Instagram account and a waiting list that grows every week. Our local SEO guide for padel clubs explains how to own Google Maps before the first court is even laid, and our social media guide gives the content calendar to follow from this phase. In parallel, build partnerships with local sports clubs and companies: they are your first word-of-mouth relays, before you have a single player.
D-30 to D0: the opening event that gets people talking
An inaugural tournament, a few local padel content creators invited to play on your brand-new courts: that is the trigger that turns a cold waiting list into an active community. Our guide to organising a padel tournament explains how to structure the event so it generates a month of content and a wave of sign-ups, not just a nice day.
D0 to D+90: turn the curious into regulars
Opening draws people out of curiosity. The next 90 days decide who stays. Memberships, community management, regular content: this is when you set up what turns a one-time player into a regular who books every week. Our guide to keeping your club’s players covers the mechanics that make the difference in this period.
Off-peak hours: your hidden gold
Corporate clients, team building and school groups are the three levers that fill Tuesday at 2pm while individuals are at work. It is a market most new clubs discover too late, once months of off-peak losses have already piled up. Our guide to corporate padel team building shows how to build a corporate offer that fills those slots from the first quarter.
As an example of what a structured content strategy can do for a club, our 4Padel case study shows how a social presence built over time turns visibility into real bookings.
The 5 mistakes that kill new padel clubs
Putting everything into the courts and nothing into the brand. A beautiful club with no visibility stays a well-kept secret. Court quality never fills a schedule on its own.
Opening without a waiting list. If opening day is also the day people discover you exist, you have already lost three months of potential bookings.
Copying the club next door’s prices. Your pricing should reflect your positioning and your area, not a market average badly calculated from a competitor you never really studied.
Neglecting Google Maps. Around 80% of “padel + city” searches go through the Google map before they reach a website. A poorly maintained profile means dozens of potential players booking with the competitor down the road.
Treating communication as a one-off expense. A successful launch followed by six months of silence means a club starting from zero with every new campaign. Visibility is built continuously, not in bursts.
FAQ
What budget do you need to open a padel club?
Allow €100,000 to €150,000 for a small club with 2 to 3 outdoor courts, and €300,000 to €800,000 for a 4-court indoor club. Beyond 6 courts, the budget generally rises to €1 to €3 million.
Is a padel club profitable?
Yes, with a net margin generally between 10 and 30% depending on the model and the occupancy reached. The most decisive variable is filling weekday off-peak hours, far more than the hourly price charged.
How long does it take for a padel club to pay back?
Payback generally takes 2 to 5 years, depending on the initial investment, the location and how quickly the club reaches its target occupancy.
Do you need a qualification to open a padel club?
No specific qualification is required to run a club as a court-hire business. However, giving lessons in France requires a sports coaching qualification (BPJEPS or equivalent) for coaches employed or contracted by the club.
How do you attract players to a new padel club?
By building visibility before opening (Google Business profile, social media, waiting list), running an inaugural event that creates word of mouth, and putting a retention strategy in place from the first weeks to turn the curious into regulars. The clubs that do best in their first year treat this plan as a priority on a par with choosing the court surface, not as a budget adjustment variable.
When should you start communicating about your padel club?
Ideally 90 days before opening, well before the courts are laid. An active Google Business profile and Instagram account from this phase let you build a waiting list that turns into first bookings on day one, rather than starting from zero at opening.
Courts are no longer enough
In 2026, with 925 clubs in France and the wave of openings continuing, the financial guide has become a commodity. A dozen players already offer one, with well-built simulators. What is missing is the part that really decides whether your club makes a 10% or a 30% margin: filling the courts.
If you are opening a club and want full courts from the first month, rather than discovering these levers by trial and error during your first year, talk directly to someone who has already supported clubs at this stage. Arthur, founder of The Court, will spend 30 minutes looking at your project with you and identifying your three marketing priorities before opening.
