– What we saw during the pandemic was that there were a lot of new people who came into the sport, who saw some kind of golden calf in it, says padel journalist Johan Håkansson.
He believes that it is to a greater extent the over-establishment of padel halls than the interest in the sport itself that causes padel death to spread.
– When the number of players returned to normal, the halls stood empty, like some kind of monument to a crazy time, says Johan Håkansson and continues:
"I would definitely say that it was an upturn that was crazy, it wasn't healthy, and the fall is rather a return to what was before.
Over 100 bankruptcies in one year
In the first half of 2022, three padel halls went bankrupt, according to credit reporting company Creditsafe. Since then, 113 halls have gone the same way, of which 76 so far this year.
"It's a bloodbath, a slaughter of padel halls," says Johan Håkansson.
Many empty padel halls are now being transformed into warehouses or shops, among other things.
"There is also some kind of chicken race going on. Many understand that those who remain within the paddle will probably have a pretty good time. The problem is that it has to disappear actors. They try to wait each other out.
Was "peak padel" when the Globe was converted into a padel hall? How could a sport for middle managers hit so big – only to crash? And is there a future for paddle in Sweden? See more in the feature above.