France: the European country that has installed the most new ski slopes in the last 18 months

Long considered a country still learning the ropes behind Spain or Italy, France is now establishing itself as one of the strongest growth hubs in international padel.The data published in the FIP World Padel Report 2025 confirm a clear change of scale, both in terms of infrastructure and sporting and institutional structuring.

Over 4,000 tracks: unprecedented acceleration

With over 4,000 padel courts listedFrance now appears in the Top 10 countries in the world with the best equipmentBut above all, she is the European country that has installed the most new ski slopes in the last 18 months :
+1,850 tracksi.e annual growth exceeding 55%, a level rarely reached by a market that is already relatively structured.

This growth puts France ahead of historically very strong nations such as Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and confirms that French development is no longer simply a matter of catching up, but rather a genuine surge. autonomous dynamicdriven by very strong local demand.

An increasingly dense territorial network

The growth of padel in France is not limited to major cities. Unlike other countries where padel is still concentrated in a few urban areas, France has a extensive territorial network, with clubs emerging in both peri-urban and rural areas.

The report highlights that France is among the European countries where the number of clubs is growing uniformlyThis avoids the saturation phenomena observed elsewhere after the initial booms. This gradual model promotes the economic sustainability of the facilities and better local integration of padel.

The French Tennis Federation's territorial network policy is beginning to bear fruit.
Already in 2023, the elected official in charge of padel, Éric Largeron, highlighted the effects. Based on current data, this strategy is now yielding particularly significant results.

Eric Largeron: “A balance has been created between municipal clubs and private clubs”

A solid and female player base

France is fully in line with the global trend: the feminization of padelAt the international level, 47% of registered players are women, a high figure for a rapidly growing sport. France is one of the leading countries in this development, thanks to an integrated federation policy and easy access to the sport.

With several tens of thousands of registered players and a rapidly growing population of amateur practitioners, France actively contributes to the global base estimated today at over 35 million players.

It should be noted, however, that it is necessary to... differentiate the number of participants and number of licensed players. Indeed, in France, As in many other countriesthe question of women's tournaments and lack of players stay one current and recurring problem, despite the different policies put in place ces dernières années.
This observation does not only concern national circuits: even the FIP Tour events are now facing this structural reality, with sometimes incomplete rosters or an insufficient pool of players to guarantee optimal sporting density.

France, a stronghold of the FIP circuit

From a competitive standpoint, France has clearly changed its status. It is now among the countries that regularly host the CUPRA FIP Tourwith tournaments firmly established on the international calendar. The report notes that France is among the nations capable of offering high-quality sporting events, attracting players from dozens of countries.

The country is also distinguished by the presence of French players among the most active on the FIP circuit, some of whom are among those who have played the most tournaments in a season, proof of complete integration into the international system.

A European model in the making

In the forward-looking analysis of European padel, France is clearly identified as a countries in a phase of continuous growth, unlike some markets that have already entered consolidation (Spain, Italy, Sweden). All indicators – infrastructure, demand, organization of competitions, federal support – are trending positively for 2025 and beyond.

Across Europe, where more than 66% of the world's runways are concentratedFrance is now part of the three major drivers of developmentalongside the United Kingdom and Germany, but with a significant lead in installed volume.

A now strategic trajectory

Le FIP World Padel Report 2025 makes a clear observation: France is no longer an “emerging” country in padel, but one strategic player in its global development. Through its pace of construction, its federal structure, its openness to international circuits and its territorial anchoring, it offers a model of controlled growth.

In the medium term, France appears as a natural pivot of European padelcapable of hosting major events, training a new generation of players and stabilizing a market that is still young but now firmly established.

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.