Home / What is a padel court

Explainer · Updated 2026

Glass walls are
part of the game

A padel court is a 20 by 10 meter enclosed playing area bounded by tempered glass and steel mesh, surfaced in artificial turf, with a net across the center. The walls are not fencing. Balls play off them, which is the single fact that separates padel from every other racquet sport.

That enclosure is why a padel court cannot be painted onto an existing surface, and why the cost sits closer to a small building than to a court.

Key figures

Definition
Enclosed 20 × 10 m court with tempered glass walls in play
Area
200 m² vs pickleball 82 m² and tennis doubles 261 m²
Surface
Artificial turf with silica sand infill
Walls
Tempered glass and weld mesh, 4.00 m at the back
Players
Four, doubles format
Not the same as
Paddle tennis or platform tennis, which use different courts

Free to cite with attribution and a link. Full set at courtbaseline.com/reference.

What is padel court terminology: padel ball courts, padel tennis courts, court padel tennis?

There is no difference. A padel court, a padel tennis court and a padel ball court are the same structure under three names, padel ball courts and padel courts are simply the plurals, and court padel tennis is the same phrase inverted. No manufacturer builds to a different specification depending on which term you use when you ask.

The variation exists because the sport arrived in the United States with its Spanish name intact and English speakers reached for the nearest familiar word. "Court padel tennis" turns up in searches for the same reason. All of it points at one thing: the 20 by 10 meter enclosed court described on this page.

One distinction that is real: padel is not paddle tennis, and it is not platform tennis. Paddle tennis is an American game played on a smaller open court with no walls. Platform tennis is played on a raised, heated deck with taut wire screens. If a contractor quotes you for a "paddle court," establish which sport they mean before comparing that number to anything else.

Anatomy

What is a padel court made of?

Four components, and the enclosure is the expensive one.

  • The structure. Galvanized steel frame, typically 3 to 4 mm, carrying the glass and mesh. It is engineered for wind loading, which is why coastal specifications differ from inland ones.
  • The walls. Tempered glass, usually 10 to 12 mm, standing 3 meters at the back with a meter of weld mesh above it, reaching 4 meters in total. Balls rebound off the glass and stay in play.
  • The surface. Artificial turf with silica sand infill, in blue, green or terracotta. Not acrylic, not clay, not concrete.
  • The net. Ten meters across the full width, 88 centimeters at the center rising to a maximum of 92 at the posts.
The four components of a padel court A padel court consists of a galvanized steel frame, tempered glass walls three meters high with one meter of mesh above them reaching four meters in total, an artificial turf surface with silica infill, and a net ten meters wide standing 88 centimeters at the center. ARTIFICIAL TURF + SILICA INFILL MESH 1 m TEMPERED GLASS 3 m NET 88 cm at center 4.00 m enclosure GALVANIZED STEEL FRAME, 3–4 mm
Fig. 01 — The enclosure is the structure, not a fence around one. It carries wind load and it is the largest single item in the kit.

Padel court vs pickleball court: how do they compare?

They share almost nothing except a racquet. A padel court is enclosed, turfed and roughly two and a half times the area. A pickleball court is an open painted rectangle on a hard surface.

Playing surface only. Padel figures follow the International Padel Federation; pickleball figures are the standard 44 by 20 foot court.
PadelPickleballTennis, doubles
Dimensions20.00 × 10.00 m 13.41 × 6.10 m23.77 × 10.97 m
Area200 m²82 m² 261 m²
EnclosedYes, glass and meshNoNo
SurfaceArtificial turf, silica infill Acrylic on asphalt or concreteAcrylic, clay or grass
Walls in playYesNoNo
Typical build cost$40k–75k far lowervaries widely

The cost gap is the enclosure. A pickleball court is paint and a net on ground you already have. A padel court is a fabricated steel and glass structure that arrives on a truck. That is why the two sports are not substitutes on a site plan, even though they are often discussed together.

Scale

How big is a padel court next to the courts you know?

A padel court playing surface is 200 square meters. A pickleball court is 82 and a tennis doubles court is 261. Padel holds four players in roughly 77 percent of a tennis court’s area.

Court footprint and area compared Playing surface areas compared. Pickleball is 82 square meters, padel is 200 square meters, tennis doubles is 261 square meters. A padel court is about 2.4 times the area of a pickleball court and about 77 percent of a tennis doubles court. PLAYING SURFACE AREA, SQUARE METERS PICKLEBALL 13.41 × 6.10 m 82 m² PADEL 20.00 × 10.00 m 200 m² TENNIS, DOUBLES 23.77 × 10.97 m 261 m² Padel holds four players in 77% of a tennis court.
Fig. D — Four players, 200 square meters, enclosed on all sides. The enclosure is why padel cannot be painted onto a surface you already own.

Can you play pickleball on a padel court?

Not usefully. The surfaces are wrong for each other. Pickleball needs a hard acrylic surface for the ball to bounce predictably, and a padel court is turf with sand in it, which kills the bounce. The dimensions do not match either.

The reverse question comes up more often and has the same answer. A padel court cannot be laid over a pickleball court because a pickleball court is far too small, and padel needs the enclosure regardless. If you want both sports on one site, you are building two things.

Converting a tennis court to padel is the one crossover that does work, because a tennis doubles court is larger than a padel court in both directions. That is covered on the dimensions page.

Why is the sport growing in the US?

Because a padel court holds four players in the space of a half-empty tennis court, the game is easy to start and slow to master, and the walls make rallies last longer, which makes beginners feel competent within an hour.

For a facility operator the arithmetic is straightforward: four paying players per court per session, sessions that fill because the barrier to entry is low, and a footprint smaller than the tennis court it often replaces. That is why clubs converting underused tennis courts is the most common project type in the US right now.

Common questions

Padel courts, answered

What are padel courts made of?
A galvanized steel frame typically 3 to 4 mm thick, tempered glass walls usually 10 to 12 mm, weld mesh above the glass, artificial turf with silica sand infill, and a net. The steel and glass together make up the largest share of the kit price, which is why enclosure specification moves the budget more than anything else you choose.
What is padel court, and what is padel courts in the plural?
Both point at the same thing: an enclosed 20 by 10 meter playing area with tempered glass walls and an artificial turf surface. Padel ball courts and padel tennis courts are the same structure again. Nothing about the specification changes with the name.
Is a padel tennis court the same as a padel court?
Yes. Padel court, padel tennis court and padel ball court all describe the same 20 by 10 meter enclosed structure. The names vary by habit rather than specification. Padel is a distinct sport from paddle tennis and from platform tennis, both of which use different courts.
Can a padel court be built outdoors?
Yes, and most US courts are outdoor. Outdoor courts need engineering for local wind loading, drainage under the slab, and lighting if you want evening play. Coastal sites should specify a climate-rated structure with upgraded corrosion protection, because salt air attacks the steel long before anything else fails.
What surface does a padel court use?
Artificial turf with silica sand infill, in blue, green or terracotta. It is not acrylic and it is not clay. The turf gives the ball a lower, slower bounce than a hard court, which combined with the walls is what makes rallies long and the sport approachable for beginners.
How much space does a padel court need?
The playing area is 20 by 10 meters, and because the court is fully enclosed that rectangle is the whole footprint. Allow roughly 23 by 13 meters of site once you include the structure and working access. Indoors, plan clear height rather than floor area: the International Padel Federation requires 6 meters clear across the entire court.
What does a padel court cost to build?
A finished outdoor court in the US plans at $40,000 to $75,000, with the court kit alone at $20,000 to $30,000 at the factory gate. The gap is groundwork, freight, installation, lighting and engineering. Indoor projects are calculated separately because the building is funded before the court.

Read next

From what it is to what it costs

Specification

Every dimension, in meters and feet

Court size, net heights, service lines and the indoor clearance rule.

Cost guide

What a finished court costs

Line by line, four court models compared, with a free calculator.

Directory

Every US padel company

Twelve manufacturers, suppliers and builders, and who makes what where.

Thinking about one?

Find out if your site works

Send the dimensions and we will tell you whether a court fits, then connect you with the one builder covering your region. Free, no bidding pool.

Check my site