Padel participation grows despite bankruptcies among Finnish hall operators

Padel participation in Finland continues to grow even as some hall operators go bankrupt, Yle reports. The latest company to fail is Padel Jyväskylä Oy, which operated 14 indoor courts at two halls and nine outdoor courts in Jyväskylä and Jämsä.

The company had previously applied for corporate restructuring, but the Ostrobothnia District Court rejected the application in early September, according to Keskisuomalainen. Waasa Kiinteistöt Oy filed for the company’s bankruptcy.

There are several reasons for the bankruptcies, said Ari Ruoholahti, executive director of the Finnish Padel Association. He said many hall projects were launched at the same time and in the same regions during the sport’s fastest period of growth.

“When too many are built, there are not enough customers for everyone,” Ruoholahti said.

A 2024 to 2025 adult population survey by the KIHU high-performance sports institute found that 129,000 people in Finland had played or tried padel during the four months before the survey. The corresponding figures were 116,000 for tennis and 120,000 for floorball.

According to the Finnish Padel Association, the number of padel players rose from about 10,000 in 2019 to 140,000 in 2025. The sport has also grown through organised club activity. Finland had 99 padel clubs in 2023, compared with 116 now, while the number of licensed players has increased by more than 2,000 over the same period.

Jyväskylä now has too few courts

Mikko Pajunen, who runs Padel Keskisuomalainen in Jyväskylä, said the bankruptcy of Padel Jyväskylä has already affected customer traffic. Requests for regular court bookings arrive daily, and available times now extend to midnight.

The number of padel players in Jyväskylä has grown steadily. Padel Keskisuomalainen has gained about 100 new players a month this year. Some continue playing, while others do not.

The largest increase came during the Covid period, when more than 200 new players joined in the busiest months. Many sports businesses had to close because of restrictions, but padel halls were allowed to continue operating.

Pajunen agrees that too many halls were built during the sport’s fastest growth. Before Padel Jyväskylä went bankrupt, the city had almost 40 indoor courts. In his view, there were five to seven too many.

Following the closure of the 14 courts, Jyväskylä now has too few courts for the number of players. Pajunen said the loss could prevent new people from taking up the sport because there are not enough courts for everyone.

Ruoholahti said padel is now entering a consolidation phase. The sport has grown rapidly in recent years, and the coming years will show where participation levels settle.

“At the moment, it looks like we have a very bright future,” he said.