Booking padel sessions: a practice largely dominated by individual bookings

Recent data on the padel court booking methods in France confirm a clear trend: Booking by the session, also known as “per unit”, remains by far the dominant method, compared to subscription plans or rental booklets. A reality that nevertheless needs to be perspective, as the offer proposed by the clubs directly influences the observed behaviors.

Booking by the unit, a standard that has become the majority

At the question "How do you book your padel court?", 84% of players say they book individually, a figure up by 9 points compared to 2023.
In details, 79% book their session directly, While 5% use rental booklets.

Conversely, only 16% of users report having a subscription, distributed as follows:

13% annually
1% per quarter
2% per month

These figures confirm that padel remains the most widely played sport. without long-term commitment, in a spirit of flexibility and adaptation to the personal and professional constraints of the players.

Marked differences depending on the profiles of the practitioners

Profile analysis highlights contrasting behaviors.

At the men, 81% book individually, against 72% among women, with a proportionally larger number of these opting for an annual subscription (20%, against 12% among men).

By age group, single-item bookings are particularly strong among 18 24-years and 25 34-years (86%), before gradually decreasing with age to reach 67% among 55-64 year olds, a population more inclined towards annual subscriptions (23%).

Practice also plays a key role:

92% of casual gamers reserve for the unit
85% of regular players
Only 58% among intensive gamers, which are logically 30% have an annual subscription

new practitioners follow the same logic: 87% book individuallyconfirming that entry into practice is done without contractual commitment.

Figures to be interpreted with caution

While the dominance of single-entry booking is undeniable, it does not solely reflect a choice of the players.
Many clubs, particularly private ones, they simply do not offer subscriptions, or only in very limited forms. Under these conditions, individual booking becomes an obligation rather than a preferencewhich mechanically biases the raw reading of the figures.

This point is essential to avoid any hasty conclusions: The economic model and commercial offering of the structures strongly influence the observed uses..

Booking channels largely dominated by private structures

About the booking methods, the observation is clear:

80% of players book directly through the website or tool of the private structure
14% use Ten'Up
12% are not the reservation holders themselves
6% use a third-party booking platform
3% book directly with their FFT club

These figures illustrate the weight of private actors in the organization of the practicebut also the relative marginality of federal or intermediary platforms in the players' booking process.

A flexible practice, but constrained by supply.

In summary, booking on a per-unit basis is now essential as the standard of French padeldriven both by the expectations of practitioners for flexibility and by the structural choices of the clubs.
While some players – particularly the most intensive and experienced practitioners – are showing an interest in more engaging formats, The current offering still largely limits these possibilities.

More than just consumer behavior, this data therefore raises questions. the economic models of padel, between accessibility, loyalty and optimization of time slots, in a sport that is still in the process of structuring itself.

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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.