Germany's Padel boom is saving tennis clubs

Not even the cold temperatures in early December could deter the members of a padel club in Niederwalgern, just over 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) north of Frankfurt, from getting together for the last tournament of the season.

"Padel has become a passion," said Marco Otto, who took up the new sport, which is more about fun and community than competition, around two years ago. "It's a fast, dynamic game."

Little effort for a lot of fun

Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. The smaller courts are similar to tennis, with a net in the middle and two service courts, but the court is partially surrounded by glass panes, similar to squash, which can be included in the game as barriers to deflect the ball. Players use a short, plastic racket.

"The biggest difference to other backs-troke sports is that you don't have to invest so much to have fun," youth coach Jan Weitzel told DW. "Padel is easier to learn than other sports, especially for children and young people whose frustration tolerance is not yet as high."

According to Weitzel, tennis, for example, is much more training-intensive. With padel, a player can get that first sense of achievement after just a few sessions.

Tennis not turning a profit

The club in Niederwalgern only had the new courts built two years ago, having previously focused exclusively on tennis. However, this was no longer profitable in the long term because, as with other clubs in Germany, demographic change was causing problems.

"We had an outdated membership structure and dwindling membership numbers, as well as few new members. As a result, at some point we were no longer able to offer team matches and hardly any training sessions," said board member Moritz Blömer. Interest in traditional tennis gradually waned.

Blömer: 'At some point, the thing would have been dead'

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the German population is getting older on average, with the birth rate falling. This not only has an impact on the labor market and pensions, but also means many sports clubs are gradually losing their base.

Older people often retire from active club functions, while young members are missing as replacements. Streaming services, social media and video games have become increasingly popular and are displacing sport and traditional club activities.

"Due to the declining number of members, it might have gone well for another 10 years and we could have kept the business going," said Blömer. "But at some point, the thing would have been dead."

The demise of clubs has serious social consequences for a society, as clubs offer spaces for interpersonal interaction and promote a sense of community, integration and social skills.

"The great thing about club life is the team spirit," said padel enthusiast Marco Otto. "You meet like-minded people and it often quickly develops into friendship. You meet up and have a lot of fun."

Club takes risks, gets into debt

This was also the case for Blömer when he moved with his family to Niederwalgern 13 years ago. He signed up to the tennis club and quickly made friends with the locals. However, the club had to change in order to attract younger players.

"We discovered padel as a trending sport," explained Blömer. "And we simply wanted to try to continue offering something young, modern and attractive."

Two courts were initially planned to be built, and the small club took a financial risk in making the move. "It was an investment that was 10 times our bank balance," recalled the 41-year-old. However, with sponsors, public funding and an increase in membership fees, the money was eventually raised.

Development in Germany on the right track

In order for the plan to work, the club needed 30 new members — a large number with just 1,400 inhabitants in the community.

But their new courts were the first with a 100-kilometer radius, and combined with adverts on digital channels and organized events the move to padel was a success.

"We now have 80 padel-playing members. Of these, around 40 are former tennis players who have switched to padel within the club," said Blömer, adding proudly: "As a club, we have grown by around 30% in the last two years."

Young people in particular have joined the club and become part of the new padel community. Training takes place twice a week, there is a team registered in the second division and tournaments are held regularly. The padel club of the nearby comprehensive school also uses the club's courts.

Padel is growing rapidly

Figures from the business consulting agency Deloitte show that padel is not only booming regionally, but throughout Germany and the rest of the world.

According to the Global Padel Report of 2024, there were around 10,000 courts worldwide in 2016. Today there are almost 50,000, and that number continues to rise.

Padel was invented in Mexico in 1965, and initially took its time to develop in Europe. In Spain, though, padel is the second-most popular sport after football — with around 16,000 courts and more than 5 million players. There has been a worldwide professional tour for almost 20 years, and the best players come from Spain and Latin America.

In Germany, on the other hand, the sport is still in its infancy. There are currently just under 600 courts here — 300 more than in 2022.

This article was originally written in German.