What is the best surface for an indoor padel court? And an outdoor one? Does the “perfect court surface” exist? What are the aspects you should take into account when choosing an artificial turf for an outdoor padel court?
We will try to answer these questions by sharing the key factors in choosing the court surface for indoor and outdoor padel courts.
Today, the most common padel court surface type is artificial turf, both for indoor and outdoor courts.
Compared to concrete or synthetic resin, artificial turf padel courts offer numerous benefits: looks, comfort, playability, and safety.
For those who have tried the different surfaces, the difference is enormous. It seems like another game entirely!
Currently, there are three types of artificial turf surfaces for padel courts on the market, which vary on the basis of the filament type:
A warning, though. Artificial turf of the same category can have significant differences in terms of durability and performance – e.g. optimum ball bounce, resilience and abrasion resistance.
Players are the first to notice, and over time so do the operators, the least fortunate of whom may find themselves needing to replace their artificial turf padel courts early.
Finding the padel court surface which represents the best value for money is not easy.
As much as its performance and hours of play, the quality of an outdoor padel court surface is also measured in its ability to withstand wear caused by the elements.
Depending on their geographical location, artificial turf padel court surfaces are constantly subjected to the action of atmospheric phenomena, which in some cases may be extreme.
Will it be able to deal with them? How much can you do to ensure that an outdoor padel court surface is maintained over time?
The sun is the biggest enemy of padel courts with low-quality surfaces. It can lead to faded coloring and early wear of the fibers, with a reduction of performance and detachment of fragments. In order to fight these phenomena, you need to act early. During the extrusion process of the Mondo STX artificial turf for padel courts, for example, special anti-UV additives are incorporated in the filaments, with the goal of providing greater resistance to the fiber, even in cases of extreme sun exposure.
Rain, on the other hand, actually provides a natural helping hand to the maintenance and cleaning of padel court surfaces. Water eliminates impurities such as soot, dust and pollutants from artificial turf, stabilizing the surface and keeping the court's drainage effective.
Despite being protected by the glass walls, artificial turf padel court surfaces can be affected by strong wind, which can cause lateral ejection of the infill, or non-uniform distribution of the silica sand. It is sufficient to monitor and, where necessary, evenly redistribute the infill in order to restore the performance provided by the court surface.
Fast installation, year-round accessibility, great profitability.
There is one more benefit to artificial turf padel court surfaces: minimal maintenance times and costs!
Maintenance of padel court surfaces in perfect condition really requires very few operations, they just need to be constant (for further details: correct maintenance and cleaning of an artificial turf padel court surface).
It is sufficient to keep the court clean, periodically check the state of the infill, and regularly irrigate the surface (monthly for indoor padel courts, depending on rainfall for outdoor courts).
Maintenance of an outdoor padel court can require some additional measures, depending on its location:
With a little care, it will be possible to extend the service life of the court surface and postpone the need to resurface the artificial turf padel court surface for many years!
Want to now how artificial turf padel court surfaces are manufactured?
Read: “Padel Court Surfaces Construction, Care and Renovation – Everything You Need to Know”