Le padel remains a new practice. But it has received many investments in recent years, which is why it will be interesting to understand why new sports practices attract investors so quickly. For this, I will focus on investing in sport in general.

 According to Thomas Loeillet (2017), "Investors are currently focusing on brands of sports equipment manufacturers, professional clubs and their income from TV rights are attracting more and more desires." Indeed, sport is a huge industry in France, overtaking the agricultural sector with more than 40 billion euros of income per year. According to this article, investors decide to bet on a sport based on the TV rights that have exploded in France since 2015, the popularity of the sport, the products and the scope for the sport to evolve, which is why there is many investors in sport, especially in France.

Le padel is a recent sport which counts more and more players in France day after day. According to Priego et al (2013), “It is a sport which has gained popularity in recent years and is practiced by people of all social status and physical conditions” (P926), this factor attracts investors, because these are focused on the sustainability of a sport and its expansion. Therefore the accessibility of this sport for all types of people suggests that this sport could easily develop in a country where sport is part of the culture and its traditions. In addition, Lasaga (2011) adds that “the evolution of licenses and clubs padel testifies to the significant growth in the number of padel ”(P926), this study was carried out in Spain in 2011 and if we compare France to Spain, we can expect many similarities in the development of this sport on French territory.

 Investors analyze these facts before investing in any field, they analyze past data or similar events taking place in another country. Thus, we can imagine that investors wanting to invest money in this new sporting practice, carry out a major upstream study on the evolution of this sport in another country such as for example Spain in order to determine if this sport could walk in France. Another element shows why the padel inherited this popularity in France, attracting many investors. Lasaga (2011) noted that “due to its specific characteristics, the padel is considered an attractive sport for everyone. Some of these characteristics are the dimensions of the field and the existence of walls which facilitate the return of the ball, thus motivating the amateur players. "(P926).

Indeed, this sport makes you want to play older athletes who are no longer physically strong and attracts young people thanks to this new way of playing with a racket and on a ground very different from what French players know especially with the tennis or squash. Regarding the creation of a club padel, entrepreneurs are moving more and more towards this market because of the strong development of this sport in France and the small amount of resources required to create this type of club.

According to many testimonies the value for money is quite positive when it comes to a club padel. First of all, the management of the space is very easy and inexpensive, this is due to the dimension necessary to create a land of padel (20m x 10m).

Second, maintenance, a land of padel needs a carpet surface or synthetic turf and as the demand for this type of material is lower than for example a tennis court, the cost is not yet very high.

Third, compared to booking a tennis court, the price per hour is higher for booking a tennis court. padel, however as the padel is played with four players, the cost for each player is lower than that of a singles tennis match. According to many club sites padel, 1 hour rental of a tennis court is equivalent to 20 € (cost per player 10 €) and 1 hour rental of a tennis court padel equal to € 25 (cost per player € 6,25). Thus, people who invest in a club padel expect a higher profitability than for example a tennis club for these reasons and for the fact that on a tennis court, two courts of padel can be built.

According to “Padel magazine”(2017), the largest source of information on padel French, "Other important players in the future development of padel, multisport clubs. This sport represents a good diversification for these structures which often have the space to insert padel », In fact, many tennis and football clubs have invested in padel within their clubs thanks to the rapid development of the sport.

Many clubs are trying to diversify their activities in order to make up for the slowdown in certain sports practices. Indeed, entrepreneurs therefore invest in padel everywhere in France in order to attract people to their club and thus make up for, for example, the slowdown in the practice of tennis (source: economic players). Numerous studies have indicated that in the future multisport clubs will be the real vectors for the development of Padel in France.

Some entrepreneurial players are now helping the development of this sport. Indeed, the company PSE an agency which supports tennis clubs in their project “padel”, Jérôme Ingrand (2018), co-founder of the PSE agency, declared that“ many tennis clubs want to set up tennis courts padel but don't know where to start or where to turn ". This company gives tennis clubs the opportunity to have expertise and to be an advisor in their projects with 100% support thanks to certain aids.

This attracts more and more people to take part in the development of padel in France and attracts other customers who see many opportunities and a significant return on investment in this new sport.

In addition, the French tennis federation allows this sport to have more and more players and to provide assistance to clubs wishing to invest in the padel. Indeed, the French Tennis Federation takes under its control the development of Padel at national scale.

For example, when a tennis player wants to be registered to play in competition, he is automatically registered in the competition. Padel. The country is really geared towards this sport and this reassures investors because the padel is supported by a real institution.

The number of players has completely exploded in 2018 and the French Tennis Federation has registered 4000 players entered in competition and 20 000 amateur players playing regularly during the year.

Finally, a new element has recently come into force, that of the influence of professional players in the development of this sport. This further reassures investors. For example, Zlatan Ibrahimović opens his own club chain of padel in Sweden with 12 courts of padel, Padel Zenter. Zlatan Ibrahimović (2018) said that “I will very soon be involved in the padel”, This reference shows that this sport can provide many opportunities and how professional athletes perceive the evolution of this sport. In addition, Arnaud Dipascuale, former professional tennis player and national technical director of French tennis, felt the potential of this sport and became the biggest sponsor of the biggest club in padel from France, Casa Padel.

Tanguy Le Roux

Student in Master 2 entrepreneurship and innovation at IESEG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT in Paris and passionate about sport, I decided to devote my end-of-study thesis to the emergence of padel in France as a sport and social practice and the associated market development. Having lived 22 years in Morocco and for 5 years in France, I am delighted to be able to share my skills.

On the same subject