Not everyone has the chance to play padel in a place as heavenly as the Padel peninsula club (pictured above). Located in the extraordinary setting of the creeks of Cassis, it is considered one of the most beautiful in France.

In our recent survey on the ideal club, the criterion of the paradisiacal setting was however not a priority. It is true that our questions focused more on objective data, and in particular the price per hour of play and subscriptions.

For the more than 120 readers who responded to us, the three main ingredients of the ideal club are the price, the existence of covered or semi-covered tracks and the quality of the pitches. These three criteria were placed at the top respectively by 25,6%, 24,8% and 22,3% of respondents.

But beyond the numbers, we asked you to describe the club of your dreams, the one that would have everything to please. Your “letters to Santa Claus” went beyond our expectations… Some of you were realistic, describing an ideal club close to the one where you play, with some improvements. Others daydreamed, imagining a club ticking all the boxes for a derisory price, even with a “sunroof” like on the Roland-Garros center. They were quite right because it is allowed to dream and that is even how the padel of tomorrow will burst the ceiling!

“800 € per year, it remains reasonable”

Here, classified by theme, are the dreams, sometimes the most reasonable, sometimes the craziest, that you have formulated:

■ The price.- “2 € for brand new land”: one of our respondents believes in Santa Claus, but he is apparently the only one. With this exception, the most optimistic among you dream of an hour of play at 5 €, a rate that is only found in association clubs or at off-peak hours in some private clubs. Sérgio, originally from Portugal, judges that “reasonable” prices are between “between 3,5 and 5€ per person at off-peak hours, and 7,5 to 10€ at peak hours”. While some players are prepared to pay €10 per hour of play (or €40 for four players), many want to be able to play for 1 hour 30 minutes at this rate.

As for subscriptions, Fabio, a player from the Alpes-Maritimes, is nostalgic for the two tracks in Châteauneuf-Grasse (read below), where 135 euros were enough to play for six months; but this club is closed for a major renovation, he regrets. Several players think that a contribution between 200 and 250 € per year would be ideal, without limitation of play.

But annual prices between 300 and 500 € (with reduced rate for young people) do not scare you, especially if the services are up to par. Accustomed to playing for 80€/year in Gisors, the Normand Bernard is ready to go up to 100€! At the other extreme, Delphine, from Bois-Colombe, recommends “an annual contribution not exceeding 700 euros”. And on the side of the Swiss border, Romain cites the Pratteln club, in the suburbs of Basel, as a model: "The annual subscription is €800: it's more expensive than an associative club but it's still reasonable for the services ”.

Big Padel Bordeaux blue land without sand
Most players prefer pitches with no exposed sand

■ The fields.- If the players of padel are accustomed to and ready to spend more than tennis players, they are demanding on the quality of the courts. More than 10% of those who responded spontaneously request land with no apparent sand or with well-swept sand, not forming heaps. “A good height under the ceiling” is also part of the expectations expressed several times, as well as “sufficient spaces on the sides to go out”.

Victor, a Toulouse man whom we thank for his detailed answers, wishes him “regular maintenance of the grounds, with daily window cleaning, weekly checking of the tension of the net, at least weekly cleaning of the surroundings of the grounds”.

Clean windows, here is a requirement that comes up regularly, as well as quality lighting, which does not blind. Still on the subject of brightness, many of you warn against indoor windows that interfere with practice: if this is the case, players want to be able to hide the light source.

Indoor, outdoor or both?

■ Covered, please.- The word “covered” is the one that comes up most often in your answers. “The slopes must be covered and well maintained with a good ceiling height”, says Julien, for example, from Angoulême. Your concern is obviously to be sheltered from the rain, but also from the cold (read below) and the wind: “Covered pitches are essential in windy regions like mine”, says Slimane, who plays in Narbonne. He is joined by an Alsatian, Johan, who prefers to play indoors because the "level of play does not mix well with the weather, the heat wave, the sun in the eyes, the wet or damp grounds, the wind and the light" . Another desire of indoor enthusiasts: sufficient height (“8 meters minimum”, claims Bertrand, from Toulouse) and without obstacles such as cables or beams.

But another word comes up almost as often as “covered” in your wishes: the word “exterior(s)”. This is proof that many fans like to play in the sun, even if it means dealing with a light breeze.

So, indoor, outdoor or both? The Strasbourgeoise Nathalie, who is one of our most faithful readers, makes everyone agree in wanting “tracks with a retractable roof to play indoors in winter and outdoors in summer”, all for “10€ for 1h30 , with carpet without sand”. Notice to investors…

■ Temperature.- Our players are demanding and think of everything, including thermal comfort. Several respondents want to play in an insulated or heated structure in winter. Two of you have asked for “air-conditioned rooms for summer and high heat”. Another calls for “an ambient temperature around 18 degrees”.

Prevent tournaments from blocking all tracks

■ Tournaments and entertainment.- One in nine respondents tell us about tournaments and one in twelve asks for events. Victor, always very precise, recommends “the regular organization of official tournaments with partnerships in order to reward the podium of each tournament as a minimum”; the same Victor advocates “non-approved leisure tournaments dedicated to more occasional or non-competitive practitioners”.

Beyond the tournaments, many of you are attached to the atmosphere and claim a “club spirit with teachers, numerous tournaments, entertainment, and bar” or even “a club with a family atmosphere, entertainment, tournaments and nice managers”. “Themed evenings with meals and a friendly, even family atmosphere” are also desired.

Be careful however, you must “avoid blocking all the grounds every two weekends for tournaments, even if they are very lucrative for the clubs”, warns Fred, a native of Provence.

OSS barcelona internships summer 2022
Training is important, especially for young people

■ Teaching.- Fifteen of our respondents, or one in eight, believe that the ideal club should have one or more teachers in its offer. It is both a lot and a little. Those who consider training important demand both individual and group lessons, whether for beginners, intermediate players or seasoned competitors. This teacher must be “passionate and lively”, says Gil, who plays Paca. Nicolas, from Béziers, wants “profess available and involved, who make animations by group of levels so as not to have to spend time to organize the parts”.

Many of you would like group lessons by level, all year round, “like in all other sports”: there is a feeling of lack there… Finally, lessons for young people – who are also missing – are important in the eyes of our panel members; with “more affordable prices” than for adults! What Yann (Nice) translates as follows: “We have to make the offer attractive for children, because today the clubs do not make the difference and few parents can put 1000 euros per child to play padel, compared to all the sports available for less”.

■ Proximity.- We know that, by default, many players do not hesitate to go far from home to play. This is why some people highlight the need to be close to the ideal club: 15 to 20 minutes maximum journey, this is the wish that comes up most often. Because there is no point in having affordable prices if the cost of the trip causes the bill to explode...

“Atmosphere is key”

■ Atmosphere and friendliness.- This touches on a key factor in the success of the padel : who says entertainment says atmosphere – preferably family and friendly – ​​and conviviality around a drink or even a meal. This conviviality concerns both the places, which must be welcoming, and the club staff, when there are employees. A “TV space” is a plus, in the eyes of many of you. “The atmosphere is essential and so are the entertainment,” says Slimane (Narbonne), while Julien (Bordeaux) thinks that a “leisure club would be ideal to extend the evenings”.

Some crave a “spirit padel”: a way of rejecting cohabitation with other sports in the same space?

Players appreciate a warm place for before and after the game

■ Association or private? This question is rarely addressed spontaneously. Some respondents say they appreciate their private club but criticize it for a lack of conviviality. Others favor services (regular maintenance, fitness area, spa, restaurant, etc.) that few clubs operating on the voluntary model are able to offer. According to Fabien, “the price of private structures is justified in view of the services but limits the sport to an elite: rather men, csp+, in large cities. The association would make it possible to have a much better quality/price ratio in medium-sized towns”.

Finding land, sometimes a headache

■ Availability and partners.- Bringing together four players is sometimes complicated, it is still necessary to find a pitch... The ideal club must therefore both bring together "a lot of players" to vary the partners and enough courts so as not to "have to reserve two or three weeks at the advance". In terms of duration, most of you are content with slots of 1h30, but the most enduring are frustrated if they do not play two hours or more. Jean-Claude, a Toulousain subscriber to a private club for €59/month, is also a little frustrated: “For the price I'm paying, I would have liked to be able to book at any time. There I cannot book between 12 p.m. and 13:30 p.m. and between 18 p.m. and 21 p.m. on weekdays”.

A dozen players have expressed their wish that the club offers an application or a communication group that allows both reservations without difficulty and facilitates the connection of partners. Romain, from Saint-Louis, for example, appreciates a Swiss club where an app gives “the possibility of adding to existing matches with visible and evolving player levels and the possibility of unlimited play”.

■ A shop.- The presence of a store in the club is not a priority in your eyes, but it is a plus that some cite. This is the case of our favorite Toulousain, Victor, who mentions “a boutique space padel with various equipment (rackets, t-shirt, shorts, shoes, etc.) and balanced consumables for sports practice”.

The future club of Châteauneuf Grasse Crédit Sas architecture Bernard Fauroux Valbonne

The almost perfect clubs.- The Cassis club with which we started this article is not cited as a reference, but several of you name a place that fully or almost corresponds to their expectations. This is the case ofArenal Grimbergen, in Belgium, which Kim describes as “the perfect club for me in terms of infrastructure, just not friendly enough”. In France, we are quoted Mas in Perpignan, a must, or the Vignal country club, in Châteauneuf-Grasse (06), currently under construction but whose project has something to seduce (see the image above). In the small associative club category, Damien is a fan of the club of Germigny (2 tracks in a green setting) but imagine it with “an additional covered ground”.

Finally, in German-speaking Switzerland, we are sometimes quoted Pratteln, sometimes Padelbaregg. The latter is acclaimed by Mark, who admits playing three to four times a week in various places and devoting €3600 a year to reserving pitches. A record in our survey: but when you love, you only count… the points!

To find our previous surveys on balls, rough rackets, courts with or without sand, That happens here.

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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