Present in the world of padel for over twenty years, Babolat For a long time, its development was observed with caution. A few years later, the situation changed dramatically. Padel now represents between 15 and 20% of the brand's business, with growth exceeding 50% per year for the past two years. For Eric Babolat, President of BabolatThe phenomenon is only just beginning. He estimates that the global padel market could surpass that of tennis by 2030.

" At the house of Babolat"We're working for the long term."

 Padel Magazine Three or four years ago, when we spoke, you told us: "slowly, slowly." You wanted to observe the evolution of padel before accelerating. A few years later, the sport is exploding all over the world. Is it still "slowly, slowly"? 

 Éric Babolat :  At BabolatWe work for the long term. We like to study things and do them properly over time. At the time, padel, which we already knew very well in Spain, was starting to emerge in other countries. We watched this closely, wondering: will it catch on? How will it develop?

Since then, it has accelerated very sharply. Babolat is also accelerating in padel, particularly in our core business, which is product development.

We've known this sport for over twenty years. This also allows us to support its development in countries that are just beginning to discover it. We know the products, the inner workings of the clubs, the players who are starting out, the men, the women, and, increasingly, the young people. Today, padel remains primarily an adult sport. There are still relatively few children, but they are coming.

"Padel has a much wider appeal than tennis."

 Padel Magazine What, in your opinion, explains this acceleration? 

 Éric Babolat :  Padel appeals to everyone. It has a much broader target audience than tennis, which we've known for a long time.

Covid also accelerated two things. Many people realized that sport was good for their health. But they also understood that practicing alone, with all the demands and discipline that it implies, was not necessarily easy.

Racket sports, and padel in particular, offer something more. They're good for you, but there's also a social aspect and fun to be had. It's even a little addictive! Padel fans have known this for a long time.

I know many people in different countries who didn't play any sport, who discovered padel, and who now play three times a week. They wouldn't stop for anything. This shows how powerful, enjoyable, addictive, and good for both mind and body this sport is.

Babolat and Club Med: a collaboration that extends to padel

 Padel Magazine You mentioned Club Med, a long-standing partner of BabolatWe're seeing more and more padel courts popping up in villages these days. Are you working together on developing this activity? 

 Éric Babolat :  Yes. Our collaboration began many years ago around tennis, when Club Med wanted to reinvest in this activity.

Their clientele consists mainly of families who come to spend a week having fun. It was therefore necessary to consider how to make sports enjoyable and how the equipment could contribute to this experience.

We introduced them to padel quite early on. They're very interested because of its family-friendly, accessible, and immediately fun nature. So we're working with them more and more on this.

Club Med is investing and will be installing padel courts in more and more destinations. This perfectly matches their clientele.

"In padel, you just show up and play right away."

 Padel Magazine Why does padel work particularly well in this type of destination? 

 Éric Babolat :  Tennis is great, but you have to know how to play. You have to have learned.

In padel, you just come and play. It works immediately. This is what particularly appeals to families, especially children, who are still relatively untouched by padel today but will be increasingly so.

"We shared our experiences from Spain, Italy, and France."

 Padel Magazine : Babolat Did he directly assist Club Med in its thinking about padel? 

 Éric Babolat :  Yes. They asked us many questions and we had a lot of discussions. We shared our experience of mature markets, such as Spain, but also that of a country where padel has developed incredibly in a very short time: Italy.

In Italy, in three years we went from almost nothing to something enormous.

We also discussed France, where padel is developing, but not necessarily as rapidly as in Italy. Why? How? What role does it play for tennis players? What role does it play for other players?

We were able to share all of this experience.

"We don't see padel as a competitor to tennis."

 Padel Magazine Could this growth in padel pose a threat to tennis? 

 Éric Babolat :  We have always believed in padel and we don't see it as a competitor to tennis. We consider it another racket sport that is good for you.

Club Med asked us many questions about how people get started in padel and what they enjoy about it. There are many men, but also many women. How do women play? What are their expectations?

We shared this entire experience. This also renews the core of our collaboration with Club Med, which now extends from tennis to padel.

I think padel will very quickly become one of the major sports offered by Club Med.

"Some people come to Club Med to spend a week playing padel."

 Padel Magazine Is padel still simply a supplementary activity during the holidays? 

 Éric Babolat :  In fact, Club Med taught us something we hadn't necessarily realized: they now have a clientele who come to spend a week specifically to play padel.

It's no longer: "I'm coming to Club Med, I'm going to the beach and, maybe, I'll play a little padel."

It's more like: "Will there be enough courts? I'm coming with my friends, with my padel group, and we're going to spend the week playing."

They have a segment of their clientele who come specifically for this, and they tell us that it has become important to them.

Padel now represents 15 to 20% of the business of Babolat

 Padel Magazine Four years ago, padel was still relatively marginal in the activity of BabolatWhat does it represent today? 

 Éric Babolat :  Today, padel represents between  15 and 20% of our total business , with a  growth exceeding 50% per year for the past two years .

Padel is growing in more and more countries, but we're still far from the coverage of tennis. Tennis is available to us in about 150 countries. Today, with padel, we're in 90 countries.

This means that there is still a very significant room for improvement.

"The padel market will surpass that of tennis by 2030."

 Padel Magazine How far can this growth go? 

 Éric Babolat :  I believe the size of the global padel market will surpass that of tennis.  by 2030, no problem .

And I'm not talking about Babolat, but of the market in general.

Why? Simply because padel appeals to everyone, whereas tennis appeals more to people who already know how to play or who need to learn.

Today, if we look at equipment sales to distributors, we estimate the global tennis market to be around  1,5 billion , against around  250 million for padel .

But padel can reach 1,5 billion within five years.

The arrival of children, the next engine of growth

 Padel Magazine And there is still a huge pool of practitioners… 

 Éric Babolat :  Yes. There are more and more players. And again, today, padel is hardly ever played by children.

It is still essentially an adult sport.

When the children actually arrive, everything will be in place to continue this growth. Obviously, the infrastructure needs to keep pace. We don't build infrastructure at home. Babolat, but it is essential that they be present to allow people to play.

And when they're there, it works. We're seeing it more and more.

"A first in the history of sport"

 Padel Magazine In conclusion, have you ever seen, in the history of Babolat Or, more broadly in sport, is there a discipline that can evolve so rapidly with such growth prospects? 

 Éric Babolat :  No. Not at Babolatnor in sports.

I believe this is the first time a sport has experienced such development, such growth and such an impact.

There have been similar phenomena at certain times, like rollerblading for example. But something as strong, as important and above all as deeply rooted, no.

Because we can see it:  padel is not a fad When people start playing, they stay. It becomes part of their lives, part of their environment.

 Padel Magazine So it's no longer a regional phenomenon? 

 Éric Babolat :  No, it's a global phenomenon. And it has never existed before.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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