"There's no fire in the laaaaa!" is what we usually say in France when we want to make fun of our Swiss friends. Is this proverbial slowness, inspired by the drawling accent of the French-speaking Swiss and the calm nature of the Bernese, slowing down the rise of Swiss padel?

We are not talking about the speed of the game, since in padel – and especially in Spain – knowing how to play slowly (and patiently) is a quality that many tennis players take years to acquire. The slowness in question is the one with which padel is developing in Switzerland, one of the least advanced countries in Europe in this area.

At the start of 2021, it was estimated that only 4500 the number of practitioners in Switzerland and about thirty the number of places where one could play. These figures have since increased, with now around a hundred courts in 45 sites, and probably around ten thousand practitioners... (read below)

Hornuss and skittles St. Gallen, a competition?

Thanks to the publication of an interesting article by Matthew Aeschmann on the economic site Bilan.ch, we will try to understand why the boom that padel is experiencing in Italy (6000 courts), Sweden (3500 courts), Belgium (1500 courts) or France (1300 courts) is having a delayed impact on Swiss soil.

■ A cruel lack of tracks.- If padel is less popular in Switzerland than elsewhere, it is not because of competition from traditional and typical sports such as hornuss or the Saint-Gall skittles (of Alsatian origin, according to some). The Swiss who adopt padel are generally seduced in the same way as other Europeans. But unfortunately for them, they have very few courts to practice on. "In winter in Geneva, there is a fifteen-day wait to get a court," laments one of the witnesses interviewed by Mathieu Aeschmann.

■ The price barrier? Playing padel in Switzerland is generally more expensive than in France and naturally than in Spain. But that is not what is holding back this sport in a country where the minimum wage exceeds €3000 and where the standard of living is very high. And besides, some Swiss clubs, private or associative, offer very attractive conditions.

■ Too expensive rents, too high salaries.- What is really holding back the opening of private padel centres is the very high cost of rent, particularly in the most populated areas. The Bilan.ch article cites average prices of 30 Swiss francs (almost as many euros) per month to rent a 000 m² complex. Such a surface area will allow for a maximum of eight to ten courts, provided that the space occupied by the changing rooms and the bar, which is essential to the conviviality of the place, is limited. If we add to this the cost of employees, which is higher than elsewhere in Europe (except Luxembourg), we see that profitability is harder to achieve.

This Basel club is one of the cheapest in Switzerland It's even free every Tuesday evening

■ Where are the football stars? Rather than renting, is it better to buy or build a padel hall in Switzerland? In this country where you often have to go into debt for several generations to become an owner, this is a dream, because it would take decades to amortize the investment. As a result, billionaires are not rushing to invest: for example, former football stars live in Switzerland mainly for tax reasons – and not to inject their loot there, as they do in Italy, Sweden or even France.

■ The price of the slopes.- This does not only concern Switzerland, but all of Europe: while a padel court could cost 25 to 30 euros three or four years ago, this price has almost doubled since then. The reasons are the increase in raw materials, fuel and the explosion in demand, which are encouraging manufacturers to charge a high price for their services.

■ Public funding almost absent.- Unlike in France, where association clubs can benefit from very substantial subsidies from municipalities, departments and regions, the development of padel in Switzerland rarely benefits from public money.

■ A weak federation.- Swiss Padel (or SUIPA) the Swiss Padel Federation, is independent of the tennis federation. It is therefore very, very far from having the financial power, employees, infrastructure and expertise enjoyed by the French Tennis Federation, which has overseen padel since 2014 and is betting big on this sport. And of course, there is no place in Switzerland as legendary as Roland-Garros to welcome the best padel players in the world and promote international media coverage.

Self-service beer

But all hope is not lost for Swiss padel aficionados. Many sometimes come to play in neighboring countries – France and Italy in particular – to take advantage of more numerous infrastructures and lower prices.

However, some Swiss benefit from advantageous conditions: this is the case for players in the atypical club of Klybeck, in Basel, offering a unique pink track, where an hour of play costs less than €7, including balls and rackets and self-service beer. Better still, practice is free every Tuesday evening from 19 p.m. At this price, it's the French who cross the border to taste Swiss-style padel!

“The SUIPA federation (Swiss Padel) currently lists around a hundred courts throughout Switzerland, spread over 45 to 46 different sites. The year 2022 saw the opening of new sites every month. The number of active licensees is around 800. The number of competitions offered is also growing, with interclub competitions bringing together 38 teams of 6 to 9 players, in four different leagues. Another excellent sign: sponsors are starting to take an interest in padel, as are regional authorities, which are including padel in their sports construction plans.

Manuel Faure, vice-president of SUIPA

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme fell into the padel pot in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves with a pala in hand! A journalist in Alsace, his only ambition is to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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