Why German Padel Market is behind others?
Germany Padel Market Outlook
The purpose of this article is to help you as a reader to create an overall understanding of the Padel market in Germany. We are continuously scanning and researching with our own in-house team of Padel development worldwide per country. We are happy to share and publish this summary of Padel in Germany.
Key findings of the German Padel Market
- Tennis and football are the most popular sports in German society and culture
- Germany is a huge Tennis country with more than 5 million active players and the Official German Tennis Federation has almost 1.4 million members
- Google searches of Padel have grown +107% in the last 12 months in Germany
- Relatively low market demand for Padel based on reservation calendar data
- A limited number of locations to play Padel, only 78 locations with Padel courts
- Only 153 Padel courts in total in Germany and generally, very low average unit size of 1,96 courts
- The largest unit is having 10 Padel courts in Hamburg at We are Padel club
- The German market looks like the Swedish market was in 2010
- Most of the Padel courts are operated as a hobby by Tennis clubs or Padel enthusiasts
- Deutscher Padel Verband is Germany’s Official Padel Association and develops Padel actively by promoting multiple new competitions and tournament
German culture and way of working are slowing down the growth of Padel compared to other markets
If you are someone new to German people or interested in further exploring how people in Germany think and what is their way of working, let’s have a further deep dive into the culture and people. German people tend to be very punctual over anything else. At the same time, the objective observation is that it is true that German airplanes are often late. German people are sensitive and structured, and respect the laws of society to above-average European standards.
All this is making decision-making slower and can create delays for the improvements and growth in business fields. Germany is known for their high-grade engineering skills and high-quality products for example cars for private and public use. This is a result of people being logical and following structure.
So how the culture has impacted the development of Padel? Mainly it is seen as a resistance to change and a lack of willingness to learn a new sport. It is also seen as a lack of awareness of Padel as a racket sport compared to Tennis when entrepreneurs are dealing with local authorities to have a construction and building permit for their new projects in Padel. It is normal that in Europe these processes are more time-consuming compared to Sweden or Finland, but it does not help if the game as such is not even known by the decision-makers.
Padel is a game of lots of fun, good cardio training, and social aspect before and after the game. This is not natural to German people. We encourage the Germans to chill and relax a bit so they could better understand the opportunity of Padel to the wellness and health of the population.
Padel searches in Google have doubled in the last 12 months
Overall growth of the Google searches of Padel in Germany has had a strong growth trend in the last year. Usage of the “Padel” search word has doubled in the twelve months.
Source: Google Trends, 28th of March 2023
In the regional view, number one is Berlin as a capital city with over 6.1 million population in the metropolitan area, as second in the ranking is Hamburg with 5 million people in the whole metropolitan area and the North Rhine-Westphalia region with almost 18 million population.
Source: Google Trends, 28th of March 2023
Padel competitions create role models and growth in the German market
In Germany, they have already launched Padel Bundesliga and Padel Amateurliga. Establishing official country-level competitions shows a prudent and robust approach to the development of German Padel markets. There are also regional championships taking place between September and October and the German championships are on the 10th and 11th in Hamburg.
Padel tournaments are also already the reality for German juniors in age groups U14, U16, and U18. It is very important for the long-term development of Padel in any country or internationally the presence of the country to invest time and money for local junior development. Today majority of Padel professionals are still Spanish or Argentinian, but not in the next 5-10 years. Countries that invest in junior development now will take over in the future and create new Padel idols for the next generations. It is very motivating to see that becoming a Padel professional is much easier than becoming a professional in football or tennis.
Padel competitions create role models and growth in the German market
The Official Padel Association of Germany was established in 2010 in Cologne which is the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia with a 1.1 million population. It is a unique setup to see that they are not part of Deutscher Tennis Bund which is the official Tennis Federation in the country.
Normally when the development of Padel has reached a certain level Tennis federations start to become interested in Padel as a treat and opportunity. German Padel market is a very early-stage market with over 83 million population and the independency and lack of collaboration between Tennis and Padel is one very tangible sign to prove it.
Conclusions
Like in all businesses German is a very fragmented market also in Padel. This is because of the governance of the country, and the long history of its traditions and culture. There are multiple other markets before Germany that are based on our experience and research more interested to invest in the growth of Padel.
The German market has developed slowly and is to be seen to continue growing slowly. Still, there are few positive signs for the future of Padel, like an active approach to organizing competitions and a Padel club with over eight (8) courts opening to the market. Our conclusion is that there is a lot of potential in the next 20 years, but not that much in the five (5) years.
If you find this article interesting, please share your comments below. If you are looking to know more or invest in German Padel markets, contact us at play@padel1969.com, and let’s talk more.
Updated: 28.03.2023
Who we are?
Padel is from Acapulco since 1969. PADEL1969 is an independent research and growth company in Padel. We are the Padel community to everyone. We are the only company dedicated to Padel products, services, and operations worldwide. Our products are high-quality rackets and courts. Our services are market research and projects of new Padel clubs to investors. Our clients can be proud of being part of the Padel community. At PADEL1969 we believe in passion, joy, and integrity. Our team is proud to create one of the best Padel products in the world. We respect the DNA and history of Padel – from Acapulco since 1969.
Follow us on Instagram @padel1969official
2 Comments
This has not only to do with padel, but many other topics as well!
You might be right. Thank you for your comment.