GlassCourtsA full tennis court footprint (about 36.6 m × 18.3 m including runbacks) can host two padel courts comfortably, sometimes three depending on the space around the court. For tennis clubs watching padel's growth, conversion is the lowest-risk entry: the audience, parking and clubhouse already exist.
Conversion routes
- Permanent build: courts anchored on a new or existing slab inside the fenced tennis enclosure. The full-quality route, and the usual choice for clubs committing a court for the long term.
- Modular / seasonal: self-supporting court structures that assemble without deep foundations — used by clubs testing demand or running summer padel on an outdoor court.
- Partial conversion: keep tennis, add padel on underused courts — many clubs convert one of several courts first and expand with demand.
What to check
- Surface and drainage under the padel turf — courts need a flat, hard base.
- Fencing and wind: existing tennis fencing stays useful as a windbreak and ball stop.
- Lighting: padel is played tighter and faster; LED court lighting is usually upgraded.
- Member politics: court-count trade-offs land better when padel runs its own booking, leagues and social nights that bring NEW members in.
Numbers in the cost guide; companies that build and convert in the builders directory. Glass Courts lists and guides — we never do the conversions ourselves.