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 "text": "**Market brief: Kroon Padel \u00d7 Fernhill Creative**  \n**Date:** 19 October 2026  \n**Prepared for:** Femke de Wit, Marketing lead, Kroon Padel B.V.\n\n---\n\n## 1. Netherlands market size\n\n- **People who play padel:** In 2025, an estimated **876,000 people** in the Netherlands played padel at least once, and **424,000** played monthly [1][5].\n- **Players registered with the federation:** The KNLTB/EY \u201cPadel in cijfers 2025\u201d report puts the number of players known to the KNLTB at **343,000**; the ANP report of the same data says **almost 345,000** [3][4]. These are the same registered-player indicator.\n- **Courts and venues:** The most recent reported figure is **3,523 padel courts across 780 locations** [5].\n- **Recent growth:** Providers were up **+15%** and courts up **+25%** in 2025 versus 2024 [1][2]. Since 2021, the number of courts has more than tripled [5]. Registered padel players grew **6%** in 2025, down from 25\u201350% in earlier years, but the 2025 total is nearly seven times the 2020 level of about 51,000 [4].\n- **Most authoritative source:** The **KNLTB & EY \u201cPadel in cijfers 2025\u201d** report, with a reference date of 31 December 2025, is the strongest sourced basis for Dutch market claims [1][3].\n\n## 2. Flanders / Belgium\n\n- **Belgium court count:** FIP World Padel Report 2025 data put Belgium at **2,150 courts** [9].\n- **Flanders courts:** One source states Flanders had **1,551 courts at the end of the previous year**, only **8 more** than the year before, versus **+127 in 2023** [6]. A later regional report says Flanders currently has **1,642 courts**, with **1,700 expected** by year-end [11]. The infrastructure growth curve has clearly flattened.\n- **Federation players:** Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen counted **106,917 padel members** in 2025, up **+17.35%**; GVA rounds this to **107,000** [6][7]. For Wallonia-Brussels, the Association Francophone de Padel reports **more than 11,000 official licences** and **15,500 competitors** [12]. VRT reported **225,000 padel players across Belgium** in April 2025 [10].\n- **Is it still growing at the same pace?** In infrastructure, no. Flanders added just **8 courts in 2025**, after much larger annual increases in prior years [6]. Membership and club numbers are still rising strongly, though: padel members grew **+17.35%** and padel-offering clubs rose by **19 to 335** [6][7].\n\n## 3. Global context\n\n- The **FIP World Padel Report 2025** reports **77,300 courts worldwide**, with **14,355 built in 2025**; **more than 24,600 clubs**; **more than 35 million players**; and growth of **+15.2% courts**, **+16.1% clubs**, and **+42% federation members** across **150 nations and 20 dependent territories** [8].\n- **Netherlands/Belgium classification:** I could not retrieve the FIP report\u2019s specific country classification labels for the Netherlands and Belgium from the sources accessed in this research session. The FIP 2025 material confirms Belgium\u2019s court total at **2,150** [9], and the report itself includes country fiches for **87 national federations** [8]. Do not quote an explicit NL/BE classification without the full FIP PDF.\n\n## 4. Who plays in the Netherlands\n\n- **Gender split:** Among KNLTB-registered padel players, the split is **65% men / 35% women**; the female share has stabilized around 35% after declining since 2020 [3].\n- **Largest age group:** The **25\u201334** age group is the largest in absolute numbers, with growth also visible among youth up to 17 and in the 45+ categories [3].\n\n## 5. The Olympic angle\n\nThe brief states that padel was added to the LA 2028 Olympic programme, but the sources retrieved for this research did not contain the **LA28 padel competition schedule or key padel dates**. I **cannot verify Olympic padel dates for 2028** from these sources and will not guess. Pull this directly from the official IOC/LA28 competition schedule before putting it in the investor deck.\n\n## 6. Equipment market\n\nThe **Deloitte *Benelux Padel Outlook 2026*** figure of **\u20ac212 million** for the Dutch padel equipment market **could not be verified** in the sources accessible for this brief; no page number was found.  \nThe only public Dutch market figure located is from padelbaneninnederland.nl, which estimates the Dutch materials market \u2014 rackets, clothing, balls \u2014 at **\u20ac80\u2013120 million** and total rental market at **\u20ac250\u2013350 million** for 2025 [13]. This is not Deloitte and should not be substituted for the \u20ac212 million claim.\n\n## 7. Racket brands\n\nI **could not verify Netherlands 2025 racket-brand market shares** for Bullpadel, Head, Adidas, Babolat, Nox, etc. No accessible source provided this data.  \nThe closest public proxy found is assortment breadth on padel-info.nl: **Bullpadel 605 products, Head 252, Adidas 225, Babolat 190, Nox 129** [14]. These are product-count listings, not NL sales or value shares, and cannot support a market-share claim.\n\n## 8. So what\n\n1. **Position for the social flex player, not the pro.** The Dutch opportunity is concentrated among **876,000 annual players**, **424,000 monthly players**, a **25\u201334 core**, and **50\u201360% low-frequency/flexible players** [1][3][5]. The launch creative should emphasize easy-to-start, social, book-and-play racket/apparel sets for urban 25\u201334-year-olds. A purely \u201cperformance/pro\u201d message would ignore the largest addressable segment.\n2. **Use a two-market playbook: momentum in NL, membership in Flanders.** In the Netherlands, demand still outruns supply and courts grew **+25%** [1][5]. In Flanders, padel membership is still growing strongly \u2014 **+17.35%** \u2014 but court construction has almost stalled at **+8 courts** [6][7]. So: in the Netherlands, spend on broad first-racket conversion and \u201cnew player\u201d messaging; in Flanders, go through the federation/club channel and target retention and replacement. The **35% female share** also flags room for a dedicated women\u2019s apparel/racket push within the same flex-player audience [3].\n\n---\n\n## Sources\n\n1. KNLTB \u2014 KNLTB en EY presenteren tweede editie Padel in Cijfers:  \n   https://www.knltb.nl/nieuws/2026/03/knltb-en-ey-presenteren-tweede-editie-padel-in-cijfers/\n\n2. EY press release \u2014 876.000 padelspelers in Nederland:  \n   https://www.ey.com/nl_nl/newsroom/2026/03/padelspelers-in-nederland-groei-zet-door-nieuwe-fase-in-professionalisering\n\n3. EY / KNLTB \u2014 Padel in cijfers 2025 PDF:  \n   https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/nl-nl/newsroom/2026/03/pdf/ey-padel-in-cijfers-2025-updated.pdf\n\n4. Harderwijkercourant / ANP \u2014 Bijna zeven keer zoveel padellers in 2025 als vijf jaar eerder:  \n   https://www.harderwijkercourant.nl/sport/padel/1265979/bijna-zeven-keer-zoveel-padellers-in-2025-als-vijf-jaar-eerder\n\n5. CUPRA Rotterdam Premier Padel \u2014 Padel blijft groeien in Nederland:  \n   https://premierpadelrotterdam.com/nieuws/padel-blijft-groeien-in-nederland/\n\n6. GVA \u2014 Amper 8 Vlaamse padelterreinen extra in 2025:  \n   https://www.gva.be/binnenland/amper-8-vlaamse-padelterreinen-extra-in-2025-provincie-antwerpen-is-absolute-koploper/150287343.html\n\n7. Nieuwsblad \u2014 Recordaantal mensen is lid van tennis- of padelclub:  \n   https://www.nieuwsblad.be/binnenland/recordaantal-mensen-is-lid-van-tennis-of-padelclub-historisch-moment-voor-onze-federatie/123681326.html\n\n8. FIP World Padel Report 2025 \u2014 English PDF:  \n   https://www.padelfip.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2_december_FIP-World-Padel-Report_ENG-1.pdf\n\n9. Actu-Padel \u2014 FIP data: aantal padelbanen per land:  \n   https://actu-padel.com/les-pays-qui-comptent-le-plus-de-terrains-de-padel/\n\n10. VRT NWS \u2014 Brussel verwelkomt wereldtop padel:  \n    https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/04/19/brussel-verwelkomt-wereldtop-padel-in-gare-maritime-ik-wil-nie.consumer/\n\n11. Nieuwsblad \u2014 Steeds meer tennisvelden sneuvelen voor padelterreinen:  \n    https://www.nieuwsblad.be/regio/limburg/pelt/steeds-meer-tennisvelden-sneuvelen-voor-padelterreinen-helaas-levert-het-ons-meer-op/80050603.html\n\n12. Actu-Padel \u2014 Padel in Belgi\u00eb: balans en perspectieven voor 2026:  \n    https://actu-padel.com/nl/padel-in-belgie-balans-en-perspectieven-voor-2026-de-volledige-analyse-van-een-sportief-fenomeen/\n\n13. Padelbanen in Nederland \u2014 Padel groei statistieken Nederland:  \n    https://padelbaneninnederland.nl/padel-groei-statistieken/\n\n14. Padel-Info \u2014 Padelmerken vergelijken:  \n    https://padel-info.nl/merken/"
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