The BOE publishes the new UNE standard for padel courts

• March 18, 2024

With the aim of ensuring the safety and quality of sports facilities, el Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) has published the new UNE standard for padel courts. This standard, developed by the Technical Standardization Committee CTN-UNE 147 "Sports. Sports equipment and facilities," in the Subcommittee CTN-UNE 147/SC 2 "Sports, playing fields, and other recreational equipment," establishes the essential standards for padel courts in Spain.

You can consult the Padel Court Standard document published in the BOE here

The main objectives of this standard are:

• Define the essential and specific requirements that paddle courts must meet to guarantee their structural and operational safety.

• Define the inspections, reviews, and tests that padel courts must undergo once installed.

• Collect the applicable standards in the manufacturing of the main elements that make up padel courts: structure, glass, pavement, and lighting.

Object and scope of application

This standard specifies the requirements of padel courts from the perspective of their structural safety and the safety they must provide to the user. For this, it is necessary to establish relevant aspects regarding the manufacturing, testing, and inspection of the various elements that make up the court such as the structure, enclosure, playing surface, net, and lighting, among others, and the court as a whole.

These requirements are primarily intended to protect users from hazards that can be anticipated during intended use, as well as to ensure that gameplay can be conducted in accordance with the Rules of the Game without the design, manufacture, or assembly of the court posing an additional problem or danger.

Regarding the dimensions of the court, this standard acknowledges as valid the specifications set forth in the Padel Game Regulations, issued by the International Padel Federation (FIP) in its current edition, regarding the measurements and tolerances that enclosures, backgrounds, sides, net posts and net, floor, minimum height, access, safety zone, and orientation must have.

This standard also specifies, to achieve a better understanding at a dimensional level, the measurements of some of the elements that make up the court. This is done solely to better define each of the elements that are part of the court and that are commonly used during its manufacturing.

This new regulation complements previous initiatives such as the technical document on Good Practices in the Installation and Maintenance of Padel Courts, published by the Subdirectorate General for Sports Infrastructures of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), in collaboration with the Spanish Padel Federation (FEP) and the content coordination of the Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia (IBV), or the Regulatory NIDE Paddle Standard, published by the Higher Sports Council (CSD), under the supervision of the Spanish Padel Federation (FEP).

With its publication in the BOE, a significant milestone is set in the regulation and improvement of sports facilities in Spain.