Number of Padel Courts in France: 4,900 in 2026

How many padel courts are there in France today?#

Figure data: courts by type of venue

Type of venue	Courts	Share
Padel clubs	3,175	64.6%
Tennis clubs	728	14.8%
Multisport complexes	727	14.8%
Hotels, campgrounds, guesthouses	287	5.8%
Total (100%)	4,917	100%

If you sell to padel clubs, three benchmarks. About 500 private padel clubs outside any chain form the core market: clubs that decide without a head office, with 4.7 courts on average in the clubs we checked. Chains (Urban and 4PADEL first) hold 16.3% of the venues we found, and 28% of padel clubs: there, you negotiate with a head office or a franchisee. Tennis clubs (about 410 venues) often have one or two courts, almost always outdoors, and decide as an association.

Which number to use, depending on what you want to do with it#

The right number depends on the question.

To size an equipment or construction offer, start from courts. That is 4,520 courts in the FFT network at the end of August 2026, about 4,900 in total according to Scalon. The flow matters as much as the stock: 1,321 more courts in one year in the FFT network, and 1,480 still to build to reach the federation's target of 6,000 courts in 2029. To track growth, stick to a single source over time.

To count possible customers, count businesses. About 1,500 venues, including 500 private padel clubs outside any chain. A club buys, a court buys nothing: a six-court club is still a single account to approach. The local addressable market calculator starts from this kind of census rather than from an assumption.

In every case, a number you reuse carries its date and its unit.

What the FFT, the French tennis federation, counts: courts, clubs, licenses#

In France, padel falls under the Fédération française de tennis (FFT, the French tennis federation). Its padel page has a section called "Le padel en chiffres" (padel in numbers). It shows 4,050 courts, 1,240 clubs and 134,000 licenses issued.

"Piste" (court) is the FFT's word for a padel court. A padel court is enclosed by glass walls and wire mesh, and is smaller than a tennis court.

The page gives neither a date nor a method. We captured it on November 1, 2026. Nothing says whether the 4,050 courts cover every facility in the country or only those of clubs affiliated with the federation. The federation's plan, however, specifies that the series counts affiliated clubs and authorized structures.

One calculation holds up on this page alone: 4,050 courts for 1,240 clubs. That is a little over 3 courts per club on average.

An average says nothing about the size of each club. A tennis club with two courts and a padel club with ten courts each count as one.

A license is not a player. A person can play without a license, and the 134,000 figure counts licenses issued, not people who play. So that figure does not say how many people play padel in France.

More recent figures exist. Reported by the padel trade press, the FFT's figures as of the end of August 2026 give 4,520 courts, 1,348 clubs and 150,500 padel licenses. A year earlier, at the end of August 2025, the FFT counted 3,199 courts and 1,027 clubs.

The federation has set itself a target: 6,000 courts by 2029. It started from 2,218 courts when its plan was launched.

Our measurement is in line with these figures. Of the 61 venues we checked, 51 are in the FFT network (affiliated club or authorized structure), and their courts make up 87% of the courts found. One venue is outside the August count: a club that opened in October 2026. For 9 venues, including 3 lodging properties, our research did not establish either way whether they belong to the network: we count them at half weight. This estimate combines the FFT's end-of-August count and checks made in November: the extra includes courts opened since August.

Why the FIP says 5,000 courts when the FFT shows 4,050#

The Fédération française de tennis (FFT) shows 4,050 padel courts for 1,240 clubs. The FIP (Fédération internationale de padel, the International Padel Federation) World Padel Report 2026, published in October 2026, says France has reached the 5,000-court mark.

The sources we examined do not give the same scope or the same date. The FFT page carries no date. The FIP report gives a threshold, not an exact total.

The two figures do not necessarily contradict each other. Nothing says they count the same thing, or at the same time.

Three reasons explain the gap.

• The unit. A "piste" and a "terrain" both mean a court here. One facility can hold six courts.

• The date. The FFT page is undated. A figure taken in 2026 can exceed an older figure without either one being wrong.

• The scope. A federation counts its affiliated clubs and the structures it authorizes. The FIP report also counts clubs and lodging properties where people can play padel, whether or not they are affiliated with a federation.

The 5,000-court figure comes from the FIP's World Padel Report 2026, published in October 2026. The report says France has reached the 5,000-court mark. That is a threshold, not an exact total.

On an equal date, the comparison is more telling: at the end of August 2026, the FFT counts 4,520 courts in its network, and the FIP puts France at 5,000. The gap, about 480 courts, is of the same order as the extra we estimate under our assumptions (about 400).

The indoor / outdoor distinction muddies the reading further. An indoor court is covered, an outdoor court is open-air.

Published figures, source by source

Source	Published figure	Date	What is counted
FFT, "Le padel" page	4,050 courts, 1,240 clubs	Undated (captured November 1, 2026)	Courts and clubs, method not stated
FIP, "Focus on France"	More than 2,500 courts, 940 facilities	September 30, 2024	Courts and structures, scope not specified
FIP, World Padel Report 2026	5,000 courts reached	October 2026	Courts, clubs and lodging properties; a threshold, not an exact total
FFT, "Mon projet padel" guide	3,199 courts, 1,027 clubs	End of August 2025	FFT network
FFT, relayed by the specialist press	4,520 courts, 1,348 clubs	End of August 2026	FFT network
Sports facilities census	852 courts listed, 405 facilities	November 9, 2026	Courts listed by their owners, mostly municipal
Scalon Observatory	4,900 courts, 1,500 venues	November 2026	All courts, FFT network or not

What the other sources say

What the other sources say#

The sports facilities census, kept by the ministry in charge of sports, lists 852 courts in 405 facilities. That is fewer than the other totals, because it lists mostly municipal courts: 571 of the 852 belong to a local authority. It sees private clubs poorly. Only 157 of its 401 located facilities have a venue found by Scalon within 250 meters. For the details, read what the sports facilities census contains.

Online guides give 4,000 to 5,000 courts depending on their date. Most often they repeat the FFT, a few months late, or their own count. A figure of 4,000 matches the FFT at the end of 2025; a figure of 5,000 matches the FIP threshold.

Our estimate starts from the FFT's 4,520 courts and adds about 400 courts outside its network: hotels, campgrounds, complexes, unaffiliated clubs and clubs opened after August. It lines up with the FIP threshold, set at the same date as the FFT figure.

The six levels for reading the padel market#

To read the market without mixing bases of calculation (the number each share is computed on), this study follows six levels. Levels 2 and 3 cover the estimate of 1,500 venues and 4,900 courts. Levels 4, 5 and 6 are read on the 769 padel venues we found: those whose website says people play on site, whose public listing has padel as its main activity, or that we checked by hand.

Level 1. The universe: 1,782 venues linked to padel#

The starting point is a universe of 1,782 businesses for which a public listing or a professional directory mentions padel. This is not the number of clubs: the universe mixes in builders, stores and tennis clubs with no padel court.

Of these 1,782 businesses, 1,131 have a website that we read. 606 of those sites say people play padel on site. The others need checking: that is the job of the 100 venues reviewed below.

On the register side, the Sirene directory has 1,359 active businesses whose name contains "padel". That is another starting point, and it does not say where people play.

Level 2. Where people play: 1,500 venues, 4,900 courts#

Among 100 businesses drawn at random from the universe and reviewed by Scalon, 61 have open courts. Applied to the universe, that share gives about 1,100 padel venues visible in our data.

The total is higher, because our data does not see everything. We start from the FFT network, then add what is not part of it: 1,348 venues in the FFT network and about 134 outside it, for 1,482 venues. In all, 4,917 courts, or 3.3 courts per venue on average.

The average hides very different venues. In the draw, 25 venues out of 61 have one or two courts. 10 have six or more.

In practice: the market has many small venues and a few large ones. A supplier targeting large clubs is targeting a minority.

Level 3. Type of venue: padel clubs, tennis clubs, complexes, lodging#

People play padel in four kinds of venues. The table tells them apart by line of business, not by activity code.

The shares come from the 61 venues checked one by one; they are accurate to within about ten percentage points. Reading 597 websites gives the same share of padel clubs (45.4%).

In practice: nearly two-thirds of courts are in padel clubs, which have 4.7 courts per venue. Tennis clubs have barely a third as many (1.8), and there are 413 of them against 680.

Level 4. Who runs them: company, association or town?#

Behind the venues we found, we identified 414 companies and associations. 70% are commercial companies, mostly simplified joint-stock companies (48.6% of the total). 28.3% are associations. The rest are three non-trading partnerships (sociétés civiles), three sole proprietors and one local authority.

The public census tells a different story, because it lists mostly municipal courts. Of its 852 courts, 571 belong to a local authority (67%), including 520 to a town. Tennis clubs are associations, often set up on municipal land.

In practice, for a supplier: a commercial company decides on its own, an association decides in a board meeting or a members' meeting, and a town buys through a public tender.

Level 5. Chains, franchises and independent clubs#

This is the level that matters most for anyone selling to clubs: the structure of the market decides how to approach it.

A chain is a brand that runs or federates venues under the same name in several towns. An independent club has no chain, no franchise, no brand and no buying group.

Of 769 venues found, 125 (16.3%) carry the brand of a chain, franchise or network, spotted by their name or website. The table details the 22 chains identified by the structure calculation, which together hold 122 venues. The top two, Urban and 4PADEL, hold 54 venues (7.0%).

The 22 chains found, their type and their evidence

Chain	Venues found	Type and evidence	What the brand publishes
Urban (UrbanPadel, UrbanSoccer)	28	Centers run by the Compagnie des Alpes group	38 centers, more than 150 padel courts
4PADEL	26	Franchise: "Développé en franchise sous l'enseigne 4PADEL" (developed as a franchise under this brand) (Padel Magazine, September 22, 2026)	31 clubs as of March 31, 2026
PadelShot	10	Type not established: franchise offer listed, company-owned clubs in 2023	14 clubs and 112 courts
Yes Yes Padel	7	Partnership: courts provided by the town, partner tennis club	More than 25 towns
Sportfield	5	Type not established: autonomous clubs, public-private partnerships	6 clubs
All In Padel	4	Mixed: centers "en propre comme en franchise" (company-owned and franchised) (All In Group, September 8, 2026)	No figure found
Padel Tolosa	4	Type not established	No figure found
UCPA	4	Association: UCPA sports centers	No figure found
Casa Padel	3	Type not established	No figure found
Forest Hill	3	Centers run by the operator	48 courts in 4 clubs
My Center Padel	3	Type not established	No figure found
Padel 33	3	Type not established	No figure found
Padelistes Associés	3	Type not established	No figure found
Ultra	3	Type not established	No figure found
Pure Padel, WinWin Padel, Impact Stadium, Escapad, Breizh Padel, Access Padel, Ever Go, Hôtels Barrière	2 each	Type not established; Hôtels Barrière: hotel group	No figure found
Total: 22 chains	122

Figure data: venues in a chain by type of venue

Type of venue	Venues whose website was read	In a chain	Share
Padel clubs	271	76	28.0%
Multisport complexes	146	26	17.8%
Tennis clubs	143	0	0.0%
Hotels, campgrounds, guesthouses	15	0	0.0%

Depending on how they expand, chains fall into four families. Franchise or mixed: 30 venues. Centers run by a group: 37. Partnership with towns: 7. Type not established: 48, for lack of evidence on the brand's website.

The buyer segment is a private club dedicated to padel, with no chain, franchise or brand. It counts about 500 clubs (489); the sampling margin runs from 361 to 623, and the assumptions about the FFT network alone give 452 to 532. That is 33.0% of venues. In the venues we checked, these clubs have 4.7 courts on average, or about 2,300 courts.

Conversely, 28% of padel clubs belong to a chain: 76 of the 271 padel clubs whose website we read. In other words, more than one in four padel clubs is approached through a head office. None of the 143 tennis clubs we read belongs to a chain.

A booking app or a self-service access tool is not a network: venues that use one are still counted as outside any chain.

One last point: 37 venues (4.8%) share a company or a website with another venue without a common brand. This is often the same club on two sites.

Level 6. Where are the padel venues we found?#

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur has the most venues found (121), ahead of Occitanie (117) and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (94). These three regions together hold 43.2% of the 768 located venues (one venue found has no known region). Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes follows with 89 venues, and Île-de-France with 82.

Venues found, region by region

Region	Venues found	Share	Independent padel clubs (website read)	Courts in the public census
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	121	15.8%	36	126
Occitanie	117	15.2%	39	165
Nouvelle-Aquitaine	94	12.2%	18	78
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes	89	11.6%	19	130
Île-de-France	82	10.7%	17	72
Grand Est	49	6.4%	13	46
Hauts-de-France	48	6.2%	12	68
Bretagne	47	6.1%	15	24
Pays de la Loire	34	4.4%	2	50
Normandie	29	3.8%	10	34
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté	25	3.3%	5	15
Centre-Val de Loire	24	3.1%	9	19
Corse	7	0.9%	0	3
Overseas territories	2	0.3%	0	22
Total (100%)	768	100%	195	852

Among the départements (France's counties), Bouches-du-Rhône leads with 45 venues, ahead of Gironde (33) and Hérault (31).

The public census offers a different reading: Occitanie reports the most courts there (165), ahead of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (130) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (126). But it counts mostly municipal courts.

For a sales team, the south offers the most accounts; the column of clubs outside any chain shows where the core of the market is. It counts the clubs whose website we read (195 out of about 500): it is a breakdown, not a total.

Court growth: about 1,000 in 2020, 5,000 per the FIP in 2026#

The number of clubs and courts is growing fast, but few sources measure it with the same rule from one year to the next.

On September 30, 2024, the FIP wrote that France had gone from about 1,000 courts in 2020 to more than 2,500. It placed them in 940 structures, without citing a source.

The 2026 figure comes from the same organization, in its World Padel Report. Put side by side, the two give at least five times as many courts as in 2020. This calculation stays fragile: in 2026 the FIP gives a threshold, not an exact total.

The FIP's 940 structures and the FFT's 1,240 clubs cannot be compared. They are neither the same unit nor the same date. Putting the two side by side to draw a curve would show growth that may not exist.

That is the rule to keep for any time series: one organization, one definition.

The FFT follows this rule, since it is the same organization and the same definition: 3,199 courts at the end of August 2025, 4,520 at the end of August 2026. That is 1,321 more courts in one year, or +41.3%.

The public census confirms the pace. Among the courts with a known commissioning date, 346 have been put into service since 2023 (46.8%).

The Sirene register points the same way. Of 1,359 active businesses named "padel", 719 were created since 2025 (52.9%). That does not mean 719 clubs: a "padel" name can also belong to a company that declares a holding or real estate activity.

Figure data: businesses named “padel” by year created

Year created	Active businesses
2020	29
2021	48
2022	67
2023	123
2024	219
2025	432
2026	287

In practice: for anyone selling to clubs, nearly half of the registered businesses are recent.

Covered or outdoor courts?#

The FFT guide gives a breakdown as of the end of August 2025: 1,635 of its 3,199 courts were covered, or 51.1%. The other 1,564 were outdoors.

The public census paints a different picture, because it counts mostly municipal courts. Of the 828 courts whose covered status is recorded, 307 are covered, or 37.1%, and 521 are outdoors; 24 are not recorded. About three quarters of the public courts with a recorded status are outdoors (422 against 133 covered). Private commercial courts are the opposite: 147 covered for 52 outdoors.

Of the 61 checked venues that have courts, 53 say whether they are covered: 29 have only covered courts, 20 only outdoor courts, and 4 have both. Tennis clubs are almost all outdoors (13 of the 14 that say), and padel clubs almost all covered (22 of 27).

For anyone selling court covers or canopies, the target is clear: municipal courts and tennis clubs, which are most often outdoors. At the end of August 2025, 1,564 of the courts in the FFT network were outdoors (48.9%). For anyone selling heating, lighting or ventilation, the target is instead covered private venues.

What revenue does a padel club make?#

29 companies behind the venues we found publish recent revenue, with a fiscal year closed in 2024 or later. Half make close to €2M or more. But it is mostly the companies behind complexes and chains that publish their accounts.

Revenue by bracket (29 companies)

Revenue	Companies
Under €250,000	5
€250,000 to half a million	2
Half a million to €1M	2
€1M to €2M	7
€2M to €5M	5
€5M and over	8
Total	29

The top five companies account for 65.3% of total revenue. The 29 usable accounts do not let us describe the typical small club: this table describes the top of the market.

On the investment side, a court builder quotes €30,000 to €70,000 for an installed outdoor court, and €100,000 to €250,000 for a covered turnkey court. That is the estimate of a single source, a builder, to be read as an order of magnitude. Applied to the 1,321 courts added in one year in the FFT network, it gives the size of the construction market.

How many padel clubs are in the Sirene directory?#

The Sirene directory, kept by Insee (France's national statistics office), lists businesses and their locations. It counts neither courts nor playing fields. It counts places of activity, each identified by a SIRET number (the French ID of a business location, fourteen digits).

A Sirene count therefore does not give the FFT's 1,240 clubs. It gives businesses, affiliated or not, that declare a sports activity.

To isolate padel, people usually filter by NAF code, also called APE code (the French activity classification code assigned by Insee). On Sirene status notices, some padel clubs carry code 93.11Z, labeled "Gestion d'installations sportives" (management of sports facilities). That label names no sport: it covers a squash club as well as a multisport center.

An example: a club's status notice

The code is read per location, not per company. On the status notice of the Tennis Club Padel Saverne, captured on November 1, 2026, the head office is under 93.11Z. Another location of the same association is under 92.6A ("Code indisponible", code unavailable) and has been closed since July 23, 1996.

So Sirene also keeps closed locations. A count of clubs must keep only active ones.

Insee states this on its notices: the APE code has value only for statistical applications. It does not prove the actual activity of the place. To count padel clubs in France, you therefore need to cross-check the code against the business name or a sports source.

Sirene directory of September 24, 2026: 1,359 active businesses whose name contains "padel". Only 152 are linked to the 769 venues where people play that Scalon found.

The breakdown of the 1,359 businesses named "padel"

821 are in sports activities (93.11Z facility management: 436; 93.12Z sports clubs: 290; the other sports codes: the rest). 538 have an activity code outside sports: that of holdings (82), real estate (97), sports instruction (83), electricity production (27) and other activities. 719 were created since 2025.

A "padel" name in the register therefore does not make a court.

This benchmark corrects neither the FFT's figures nor the FIP's: it does not count the same thing. It is useful for finding the operator of a venue, not for counting courts.

How do you use these numbers for market research?#

Size an addressable market#

Start from what your offer serves. A construction or court equipment offer targets courts: 4,900 in all, 3,200 in padel clubs, and 1,480 still to build to reach the 2029 federal target. Booking software targets private and nonprofit venues, which is a large part of the 1,500 venues. An offer that requires a decision-making club targets the 500 private clubs outside any chain.

Build a sales segmentation#

Combine three axes: the type of venue (padel club, tennis club, complex, lodging), the operator (company, association, town) and the chain (Urban, 4PADEL, franchisee or independent). A five-court padel club outside any chain does not buy like a two-court tennis club or a chain of thirty centers.

Adapt a regional strategy#

Three southern regions hold 43.2% of the venues found: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Bouches-du-Rhône, Gironde and Hérault are the best-served départements. To compare with another sport, read our study on the number of golf courses in France.

Track a moving market#

A list of clubs goes stale in a few months. Keep a date on each account, and redo the count once or twice a year.

How do you build a prospecting file of padel clubs?#

A useful prospecting file does not start from the 1,359 "padel" names in the register: they include companies declared as holdings, real estate companies or electricity producers. It starts from the venues where people play, then adds the columns that decide the approach: type of venue, number of courts, chain, operator.

Venues are easy to reach by phone. Of the 769 venues found, 88.2% show a phone number and 89.3% a website, but only 25.6% an email address. 23.5% show online booking.

Three segments are approached differently:

• Chains: go through the head office or the franchisee, not each club.
• Private padel clubs outside any chain: call the front desk and ask for the manager. These are the 500 accounts at the core of the market.
• Tennis clubs and municipal courts: the right contact is the association's president, or the town's sports department.

Frequently asked questions#

How many padel clubs are there in France?#

The FFT network has 1,348 clubs offering padel, at the end of August 2026. Scalon estimates about 1,500 venues where people play, all types combined. About 680 are padel clubs, including about 500 private ones outside any chain.

Which region has the most padel courts?#

By courts, Occitanie: it reports the most courts in the public census (165). By venues, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur has the most venues found (121), just ahead of Occitanie (117).

How many padel courts are covered?#

At the end of August 2025, the FFT counted 1,635 covered courts out of 3,199, or 51.1%. The public census counts 307 covered against 521 outdoors.

How much does a padel court cost?#

A builder quotes €30,000 to €70,000 for an installed outdoor court, and €100,000 to €250,000 for a covered turnkey court. That is the estimate of a single source.

How many padel license holders are there in France?#

The FFT counts 150,500 padel licenses at the end of August 2026, according to the specialist press. Its undated page shows 134,000. A license is not a player: many people who play don't have one.

What are the main padel chains in France?#

Urban reports 38 centers and more than 150 padel courts. 4PADEL has 31 clubs as of March 31, 2026. PadelShot reports 14 clubs and 112 courts, Forest Hill 48 courts in 4 clubs, Sportfield 6 clubs and Yes Yes Padel more than 25 towns. To compare with another sport, see the number of golf courses in France.

Method

Method#

Unit of count#

The unit is the court, which the FFT calls a "piste": a padel court enclosed by glass walls and wire mesh, open for play in 2026, whoever runs it (club, town, hotel). The venue is the business where people can play padel, whatever the number of courts. Scope: France, overseas territories included.

Building the universe#

The universe has 1,782 businesses, found through four routes: public business listings (categories "padel club" and "padel court") and the "padel" and "padel club" services listed in professional directories. 1,228 have a website; 1,131 websites were read on November 9, 2026 by Scalon, with a language model that copies and quotes the passage read: padel on site, number of courts, cover, type of venue, each value with its verified quote. 606 websites say people play padel on site; 340 give their number of courts.

The sports facilities census (export of November 9, 2026) counts 852 courts in 405 facilities. The Sirene register (Insee stock of September 24, 2026) gives 1,359 active businesses named "padel".

Checking 100 venues#

100 businesses were drawn at random (seed 20261109) from three groups: websites that say people play padel on site (606 businesses, 35 drawn, 34 open), listings without a website (651, 41 drawn, 14 open) and other readings (525, 24 drawn, 13 open). Each one was reviewed twice, independently, on the public web, by Scalon, then arbitrated. The two reviews agree on status for 85 venues out of 100 (77% to 91% at 95%); Scalon arbitrated the 15 disagreements. Result: 61 venues have open courts, 30 have no padel, 8 could not be found and 1 is a duplicate. The website reading is confirmed on 34 of the 35 venues reviewed (at least 85% at 95%), and the number of courts is correct on 22 of the 23 compared (at least 79% at 95%).

Estimating the total#

The total starts from the courts in the FFT network (4,520 at the end of August 2026, affiliated clubs and authorized structures) divided by the share of courts of the checked venues that are in that network. Network membership was checked on the web for each of the 61 venues (club page on the federation site, sanctioned tournament, mention on the website), then cross-checked by Scalon for venues without evidence (five cross-checks traced in the file). Result: 51 venues and 194 courts in the network; 1 venue and 7 courts outside the August count (one club opened in October 2026); 9 venues and 22 courts with no proof either way, including 3 lodging properties, counted at half weight. Of the 5 lodging properties in the sample, 2 are in the network: the type of business does not tell the affiliation. The share in the network is 91.9%, giving 4,917 courts, of which about 397 are outside the FFT network. The headline rounds to the nearest hundred (4,900).

Scenarios for the venues without proof: 4,666 courts if all are in the FFT network, 5,196 if none is; with the private courts of the public census that our data does not see, 5,007. The maximum gap from the estimate is 5.7%. The resampling interval for the 61 venues, with the classification held fixed, runs from 4,639 to 5,394 courts (95%); it covers neither the classification of venues without proof nor the choice of the draw within our data. External check: the FIP, with data set at the same date as the FFT, gives the 5,000-court mark.

The draw comes from our data, which sees large venues better: the 50 checked venues in the FFT network whose number of courts is known have 3.9 on average, against 3.35 for the federation as a whole. This bias can go either way on the share outside the network; it is not corrected, and the draw is not reweighted by group. The number of courts is known for 60 of the 61 venues; the 223 known courts are used for the ratio.

The number of venues follows the same calculation: 1,482 venues (1,348 in the FFT network and about 134 outside it), from 1,370 to 1,612 depending on the scenarios. Our data sees about 1,095 of them, or 73.9%.

Chains and structure#

Chains are counted on 769 venues found: a venue is in a chain when its public listings or its website show the brand of an organization that runs or federates several venues. Online booking platforms and apps are not chains. The type of chain (franchise, group, partnership) is read on the brand's pages and in the specialist press; when evidence is missing, it stays "not established". The buyer segment (padel club outside any chain) is estimated at 489 venues: 680 padel clubs, minus the 28.0% in a chain (76 of the 271 padel clubs whose website was read). Scenarios: 452 if the venues without proof are all in the FFT network, 532 if none is, 510 with the draw alone (21 clubs outside any chain out of 61 venues), 484 with the share of padel clubs read on 597 websites; maximum gap 8.8%. The sampling margin is wider: from 361 to 623 at 95% (resampling of the 61 venues, chain share held fixed), because the share of padel clubs rests on 28 venues.

Legal forms cover 414 companies and associations. Revenue is that of 29 companies with published accounts. Contacts come from public listings and websites. Activity codes come from the Insee Sirene stock of September 24, 2026.

Limits#

The total rests on 61 checked venues: the shares by type of venue are accurate to within about ten points. The public census is not up to date everywhere and lists mostly municipal courts; only 157 of its 401 located facilities have a venue found by Scalon within 250 meters. Chains are counted when a public listing or the website shows them: 125 is a minimum. Revenue figures come only from companies that publish their accounts. The FFT's end-of-August 2026 figures are relayed by the specialist press; they should be cross-checked on the federation's website.

This article gives a different number from a neighboring Observatory article: the article on the sports facilities census counts only the padel businesses whose public listing has padel as its main activity: 510. Here, the 769 venues found and the 1,500 estimated venues also include the tennis clubs, complexes and lodging properties that have courts.

Key takeaways#

• France has about 4,900 padel courts in November 2026 (4,917 before rounding), in about 1,500 venues.
• The FFT network counts 4,520 at the end of August 2026; about 400 are outside that network (8.1% of courts).
• Nearly two-thirds of courts are in padel clubs (3,200), which have 4.7 courts per venue; tennis clubs have 1.8, almost always outdoors.
• For anyone selling to clubs, the core market is about 500 private padel clubs outside any chain, franchise or brand; 28% of padel clubs belong to a chain.
• The south concentrates the venues: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine hold 43.2% of the venues found.

Cite this study#

Scalon Observatory, "Number of Padel Courts in France: 4,900 in 2026," November 9, 2026: about 4,900 padel courts in France (estimate, overseas territories included), in about 1,500 venues, including 4,520 courts in the FFT network at the end of August 2026; about 500 private padel clubs outside any chain. https://scalon.fr/en/observatory/number-of-padel-courts-in-france

Sources#

• Fédération française de tennis, "Le padel" page (fft.fr/nos-sports/padel), captured November 1, 2026, then November 9, 2026: 4,050 courts, 1,240 clubs, 134,000 licenses, undated page.
• Fédération française de tennis, "Mon projet padel" guide (guidedudirigeant.fft.fr), figures as of the end of August 2025: 3,199 courts, 1,027 clubs, 1,635 covered courts.
• Padel Magazine, September 9, 2026, FFT figures as of the end of August 2026: 4,520 courts, 1,348 clubs, 150,500 licenses (https://padelmagazine.fr/padel-en-france-850-000-pratiquants-4-520-pistes-la-croissance-change-dechelle).
• Fédération française de tennis, plan fédéral 2025-2028: 2,218 courts at the start, target of 6,000 by 2029.
• Fédération internationale de padel, "Focus on France," September 30, 2024: more than 2,500 courts, 940 structures (https://www.padelfip.com/2024/09/focus-on-france-not-only-roland-garros-a-country-in-the-worlds-top-5-by-number-of-clubs).
• Fédération internationale de padel, World Padel Report 2026, October 2026: 5,000-court mark (https://www.padelfip.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FIP-WPR-2026_DIGITAL.pdf).
• Ministère chargé des Sports, Recensement des équipements sportifs, export of November 9, 2026: 852 padel courts, 405 facilities.
• Insee, Sirene, stock of businesses of September 24, 2026; status notice of the Tennis Club Padel Saverne (annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr).
• Pages of the brands cited: Compagnie des Alpes (Urban Soccer, Urban Padel), 4PADEL (Padel Magazine, March 31, 2026), Yes Yes Padel ("nos sites"), Forest Hill (August 14, 2026), All In Group (September 8, 2026).
• Court builder, cost of a court: padel-impulsion.fr/blog/prix-terrain-padel (May 20, 2026).
• Scalon Observatory, public business listings and websites read on November 9, 2026; review of 100 venues and check of their membership in the FFT network, November 9, 2026.