There is no bubble in the padel sector; on the contrary, there is a long way to go until we reach only half the level of tennis. This is one of the premises defended by Fernando Blanca, a consultant for the paddle tennis sector, director of international business development at World of Padel and founder and CEO of Padel Recruits, a newly founded company specializing in international recruitment for the paddle tennis sector. Blanca assures that there is still an opportunity for there to be room for easy money, but less and less. He also warns of the danger that the sector depends on the whim of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of Qatar Sports Investments.
Question: Is padel experiencing its moment with the demand for products outdoor?
Response: The demand for padel products has dropped and distributors and stores have an overstock. The growth that occurred as a result of Covid-19 multiplied the orders to the brands, reaching duplicate orders. Now, the stores have a lot of material that they cannot place. But there is good news: paddle tennis continues to grow and countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom or the United States are joining the sector. An unequivocal sign of the potential of padel is that the tennis federations want to control padel.
Q.: Padel has grown expressly. Is there already a consolidated and mature industry?
R.: Partly. There are many companies that have improved. Outside of Spain, various companies are entering padel with experience in other sports, using technology and knowledge that they already have.
Q.: Is it still interesting to invest or is it already late?
R.: There is plenty of room to invest and quality clubs are still being built as well as old ones being transformed.
“There is a lot of room to invest and quality clubs are still being built”
Q.: The sector is very fragmented. Will there be concentration?
R.: It will take a long time. It is not like in other markets where four or five brands dominate the entire market. There are many brands that are entering the business. The small operators will have their space and will subsist, with their areas of influence.
Q.: Is there a bubble?
R.: No, because there is a lot of space to go. In Spain, paddle tennis has been consolidated and regularized and new spaces are opening up. There is a long way to go to reach the middle of what tennis is on a world scale.
Q.: It is said that it is easy money. Is it so?
R.: There are still spaces for opportunists and fast money. But less and less.
“Paddle tennis has not been an elitist sport for a long time”
Q.: Is paddle tennis an essential product for sports centers today?
R.: It will always be an attraction, but to make a business you need a minimum of four or six tracks. Setting up two courts, as has been shown in France with subsidies from the tennis federation, is not very helpful. You need events and activations to boost business. It is a very social sport that requires minimal volume. Centers dedicated exclusively to paddle tennis work better.
Q.: Is paddle tennis still an elitist sport?
R.: It hasn’t been that way for a long time. With the real estate boom and the price war, it became an affordable product. It may be that, in other countries like Portugal, it is something more posh.
Q.: Spain is a padel power. In what position is it compared to other countries?
R.: It is number 1, since 90% of the business is in Spain. But in Sweden there are groups with enormous investment capacity that have been buying Spanish companies of all kinds.
“If there are no good practices, it is the law of the strongest”
Q.: Is there sufficient training in the paddle tennis sector?
R.: Still to come. The sector is incorporating professionals, training. There are many self-taught enthusiasts, but top-quality professionals are lacking. There is a need to find suitable talent for padel projects, that’s why I decided to found Padel Recruits, because we have to consolidate and make a solid labor market.
Q.: Does a war within paddle tennis damage the image of this sport?
R.: Yes, especially because it has involved the international federation, which trusts a company with many resources. The example that is being given is not the best because this involves federations and players. If there are no good practices, it is the law of the strongest. Paddle tennis is a gentleman’s sport, clean and sportsmanlike.
Q.: Is it good for the sector that a Qatari group leads the war for this sport?
R.: We are not talking about nationality or politics. The problem is putting trust in a one-person structure. We depend on the whim of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. If one day he decides to stop supporting Premier Padel, he will dismantle everything. That’s not good because it can change overnight.
