Padel court construction and installation: the complete guide

Padel is a racket sport that combines elements of tennis and squash: it is played in doubles, on an enclosed court roughly a third the size of a tennis court, where the surrounding glass walls and metal fencing are actively used to keep the ball in play. Its appeal lies in how quickly it can be picked up - matches are enjoyable after just a few exchanges, without requiring the physical conditioning or technical skill tennis demands.

For a facility owner, that accessibility translates directly into a business case. Because a padel court is roughly half the footprint of a tennis court, the same plot of land that holds one tennis court can typically accommodate two to three padel fields. Building a padel court on unused or underperforming space is, for this reason, one of the more common ways sports centers, resorts and clubs choose to grow their business today.

The main advantages include:

• Increasing the number of people using the facility, since padel is played in doubles and turns over faster than tennis;
• Diversifying the offer and becoming a more attractive, receptive location;
• Optimizing unused or underused space;
• Extending course and lesson offerings to tennis instructors and coaches;
• Adding a sport that is complementary to, not competitive with, an existing tennis offer.

Italgreen has been building synthetic sports surfaces since 1983 and, thanks to years of collaboration with specialized partners, has developed a full padel court construction service that covers design, engineering and installation. If you're ready to build a padel court of your own, see how we supply padel courts from end to end. 

Every padel court, regardless of format, is built around the same core components. The quality of each one determines how the court plays and how long it lasts.

Structure and frame

Italgreen manufactures the court structure - including the frame, net posts, walls and roofing where applicable - in fiberglass, using patented technology. Compared with traditional iron structures, fiberglass does not rust, is resistant to salt corrosion, UV rays and fire, and does not suffer the structural fatigue that shortens the life of metal frames. The result is a structure that requires very little maintenance and holds its aesthetics for years. Structures can also be customized, for example by choosing the color of lights and brackets (total black or flash green).

Floor and playing surface

The floor of a padel court needs hardness, speed and the right roughness to guarantee consistent ball bounce and slide. While treated concrete flooring exists, artificial turf is the preferred surface for both performance and comfort. Turf choice affects the stiffness, softness and speed of the game, so it should be selected deliberately rather than by default.

Italgreen produces two turf lines specifically engineered for padel. Padel PRO is a 10 mm textured polyethylene turf built for comfort and aesthetics, available in blue, red, green and black. Padel FIB is a 12 mm fibrillated-fiber turf built for maximum playing speed and lateral glide, available in blue, red and green. Both use fibers resistant to UV rays and frost, with high elastic memory so the pile returns upright quickly after being walked on.

Walls and fencing

Walls are usually prefabricated structures, especially on fixed installations. Tempered glass is the preferred material: it delivers the correct ball bounce while keeping the court visible from the outside, which matters both for spectators and for the court's role as a visible amenity. Fencing above and around the glass must resist weather and the physical stress of play - zinc or plasticized mesh are the most common choices for durability. Entrances can be delimited with two doors mirroring the fencing, or left open depending on the layout.

Lighting

Lighting is arguably the most technical component to get right: it needs to cover the whole field evenly without dazzling players, which means evaluating fixture type, position and height carefully during design rather than as an afterthought. This is one of the reasons lighting is planned alongside the structural frame rather than added at the end.

Once design and materials are locked in, building a padel court follows a defined sequence. Skipping or reordering these steps is the most common reason courts underperform on speed, bounce consistency or durability. Here is the process Italgreen follows on every project.

Because Italgreen produces its own turf and manufactures its own fiberglass structures in-house, the same team controls every stage of this sequence, which is also why our courts are delivered turnkey.

How much does it cost to build a padel court? It depends - on the materials you specify, the site conditions, and whether you're converting an existing tennis court or building from scratch. What's more predictable is the payback: padel courts recover their cost relatively fast, especially with synthetic turf, thanks to lower running and maintenance costs than concrete.

The main elements evaluated in a padel court quote are:

• Fencing structure and colors;
• Type of synthetic turf installed, and the ball bounce and performance it needs to deliver;
•  Additional components such as lighting, backgrounds and equipment;
•  Court type: fixed (permanent structure) versus mobile, and indoor versus outdoor.

The quote also bundles in the survey, feasibility study and certification steps outlined above - not just materials. Expect a payback of about a year on average rental turnout, longer if a new concrete slab is needed, though a covered court earns it back faster since it can be booked 365 days a year, any time of day.

Periodic checks keep a synthetic turf court performing like new. Italgreen's after-sales service, delivered through the Italgreen Care program, includes free inspections, an extended warranty, a membership card and a dedicated customer kit. Checks typically cover: 

• Surface flatness
• Seam integrity and line signage measurements
• Infill and yarn thickness
• Presence of obstacles on the field
• Drainage system condition

Common interventions include blowing off surface contaminants, brushing or harrowing to redistribute infill evenly, deep harrowing to clear existing clogging, and inspecting and cleaning the drainage system. For a full walkthrough, see our dedicated page on padel court maintenance.

As one of the leading padel court manufacturers, Italgreen offers a full design, build and install service - including tennis-to-padel conversions - delivered turnkey and ready to generate revenue from day one. What sets us apart goes beyond the fiberglass structure and turf covered above: over 40 years of manufacturing everything in-house gives us direct control over every stage of the supply chain, and working with the Polytechnic University of Turin, we've obtained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification on select synthetic turf systems. With the US market alone passing 1,000 courts in 2026 and projected to reach 30,000 by 2030, the window to build now, with a partner who controls the entire process, is wide open.