It's 6am, I am on my way to the gym
I pass what looks like a new construction site where the men are marking out three big rectangles.

Parking space, helipads, CrossFit box I wonder.. but low and behold it's three new padel courts coming soon

I get to the gym and struggle to find parking.I thought summer bodies were already made in winter but clearly some are opting for the drive thru option. I circle around and circle around again. I can't find parking because new padel courts have ate our parking (this is a play on software is eating the world but this is padel is eating our parking)

Padel is smashing it.

Market Size and Opportunity
The global padel market size was valued at USD 0.23 billion in 2023 and is projected to touch from USD 0.26 billion in 2024 to USD 0.78 billion by 2032.

With 25 million players across 90 countries worldwide, padel is becoming one of the fastest-growing sports in South Africa

Introduced to SA in late 2020, the sport already boasts more than 100 000 players nationwide through the Playtomic platform
There are currently 400 courts in SA, with a capacity for 2 500.

Virgin Active have been very active in this space and in 2023, 15 Padel courts have been opened in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with another 42 courts expected to launch by Q1 and a further 45 earmarked for the remainder of 2024.

In the UK padel club owners are seeing strong cashflow after 3-6 months.

Broadcast
Padel is still difficult to watch on TV
Maybe it's the placement of the cameras or the poor visibility of the ball on the blue court but something isn't smashing.
Maybe bodycams and/or Insta360's might work. Maybe formula 1 style cameras with gyros will work. Maybe a front court view like basketball instead of the side court view like tennis...

The big winners
Those that saw the sport growing in Europe and braved it out and built courts are the big winners. They have broken even years ago and are cashflush

The only distant threat is competition but with limited supply this threat will only materialize in 1-2 years. The big winner will be you and me, the occasional padel player who will enjoy the lower prices as court owners start completing on price

Besides complaing about how padel took my parking I do have something to look forward too - I look forward to lower prices and warehouse size padel courts

Game on 🏓

Source: https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/padel-market-102910

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-09-06-bulking-up-virgin-active-pumps-r430m-into-its-sa-facilities/