Padel is the fastest-growing racket sport on Earth, with an estimated 25 million players globally and new courts opening every day across Europe, le Moyen-Orient, and the Americas. But when ordering artificial grass for a padel court, most buyers forget the sand — and end up with a slippery, dangerous surface that fails within months of installation.
The standard doubles court needs exactly 200 m² of carpet. But that is only half the order. The sand infill — roughly 2 metric tons per court — is what makes the surface playable. Without it, the ball will not bounce correctly, players will slide unpredictably, and the fibers will flatten and degrade far faster than their rated lifespan. Sand is not an accessory for padel; it is a structural component of the playing surface.
This guide gives exact carpet m², roll count, sand tonnage, and FOB cost for 1–8 courts, based on FIP (International Padel Federation) standard dimensions. Whether you are building a single training court or an eight-court commercial complex, you will find the precise quantities to put on a purchase order. If your project has non-standard dimensions, notre padel court artificial grass specialists will prepare a custom quote within 24 heures.
Use the calculator below to get exact quantities for your court configuration.
🎾 Padel Court Grass & Sand Calculator
Get exact carpet m², rouleaux, sand tonnage & FOB cost
FIP Standard Dimensions: Le 200 m² Baseline
Every padel court order starts from a single, fixed number: 200 m². Le International Padel Federation (FIP) sets the standard doubles court at exactly 20 m × 10 m = 200 m² of playing surface. This is the baseline every manufacturer, installer, and tournament organizer works from, and it is documented in the standard est tombé specification used worldwide.
What makes padel unique among racket sports is that the playing surface is fully enclosed by glass walls. There is no run-off buffer to account for — unlike tennis, football, ou le hockey, where meters of perimeter margin must be added to the field of play. The carpet is cut to the exact interior dimensions of the glass enclosure, not an approximate footprint with safety margins.
This means two things for your order. D'abord, the carpet area is a precise figure, not a range — 200 m² for doubles, 120 m² for singles. Deuxième, because there is no run-off, every square meter you order maps directly to playable surface. There is no wasted perimeter carpet hidden inside the total.
Double (Standard): 20 m × 10 m = 200 m²
Singles (Entraînement): 20 m × 6 m = 120 m²
Enclosure: Fully glass-walled — no run-off buffer needed
Carpet is cut to exact interior dimensions
The singles court is narrower (6 m vs 10 m) but shares the same 20 m length. It is used primarily for training and practice facilities where space or budget is constrained. Most commercial padel clubs build exclusively doubles courts, since doubles is the dominant format for both recreational and professional play.
Why Sand Is 50% of Your Order (And Most Buyers Forget It)
If there is one gap in the padel artificial grass supply chain, this is it. Buyers research carpet specifications meticulously — pile height, type de fibre, dtex, gauge — and then treat sand as a footnote. The result is a court that arrives with perfect carpet and zero infill, rendering it unplayable until a separate sand order is sourced, shipped, and spread. In competitive SERP analysis, most supplier pages mention sand exists but almost none quantify how much is needed. This section closes that gap.
Padel uses sand-filled artificial grass. The sand is not optional, decorative, or a "nice to have" — it is a load-bearing structural component of the playing surface. The carpet fibers are designed to stand upright within a bed of graded silica sand, and without that sand bed, the system does not function.
The sand performs four critical functions simultaneously:
- Ball bounce regulation: Sand density controls how high and how fast the ball bounces off the surface. Too little sand and the ball shoots; too much and it dies.
- Player grip: The sand layer provides the traction players need for sudden stops, directional changes, and lateral movement. A sand-starved court is a slip hazard.
- Fiber stabilization: The weight of the sand holds the artificial grass fibers upright, preventing premature flattening and extending the carpet's usable life from months to years.
- Fire resistance: Sand-filled surfaces meet higher fire safety standards than unfilled systems, which matters for both indoor facilities and insurance compliance.
The standard sand infill rate for padel is 10 kg/m², with acceptable variation from 8 kg/m² (light) à 12 kg/m² (heavy) depending on the pile height and fiber design. For a single FIP-standard doubles court, the math is straightforward:
200 m² × 10 kg/m² = 2,000 kg = 2 metric tons of sand per court
Scale that to a multi-court project and the numbers escalate quickly. For an eight-court complex: 200 m² × 8 courts × 10 kg/m² = 16,000 kg = 16 metric tons of sand. At that volume, sand ships in its own dedicated container and may account for more than half the total shipment weight.
Roll Layout: How 4m Wide Rolls Cover a 10m Wide Court
Padel artificial grass is manufactured in standard rolls: 4 m wide × 25 m long = 100 m² per roll. This is the same roll format used across the sports grass industry, and it creates a specific geometric challenge for padel: the court is 10 m de large, but the roll is only 4 m de large. Understanding how those rolls are laid out determines your waste percentage and your final roll count.
To cover the 10 m width of a doubles court, the installer needs three strips cut from rolls: un 4 m strip, another 4 m strip, and a 2 m strip (4 + 4 + 2 = 10). Each strip runs the full 20 m length of the court. This means a single court consumes material from three separate rolls, with significant offcut from the third roll.
For a single court ordered as standard rolls, you would need 3 rouleaux: 300 m² of material ordered to cover 200 m² of court — a 33% waste factor. This is why most professional padel projects use factory pre-cutting: the manufacturer cuts the rolls to the exact strip dimensions needed before shipping, dramatically reducing waste.
With factory pre-cutting and a standard 10% waste allowance for seams and trimming, the practical order quantity drops to 220 m² per doubles court (200 m² + 10%). For multi-court projects, the waste factor drops even further because offcuts from one court's layout feed directly into the next.
| Courts | Carpet Area (m²) | Order Qty (m²) | Rouleaux nécessaires |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 court | 200 | 220 | 3 |
| 2 courts | 400 | 440 | 5 |
| 4 courts | 800 | 880 | 9 |
| 6 courts | 1,200 | 1,320 | 14 |
| 8 courts | 1,600 | 1,760 | 18 |
The practical recommendation is clear: always request factory pre-cutting for padel projects. The factory can precision-cut strips to your exact court dimensions, reducing waste from 33% (standard rolls) à 10% (pre-cut), which saves material cost, shipping weight, and installation time.
Multi-Court Projects: The Real B2B Economics
Most B2B padel buyers are not building one court — they are building four to eight. A commercial padel club typically launches with four courts to offer simultaneous doubles play, while large-scale complexes and sports resorts go straight to eight courts to maximize revenue per square meter of land. The economics of multi-court ordering are fundamentally different from a single-court purchase, and understanding them is what separates a profitable project from an overpriced one.
A four-court club orders 880 m² of carpet (200 m² × 4 × 1.10) et 8 tons of sand. An eight-court complex orders 1,760 m² of carpet et 16 tons of sand — enough to fill a 20-foot shipping container as a dedicated consignment. At these volumes, the per-unit cost drops significantly through factory-direct pricing.
The price gap between factory-direct and distributor channels is substantial. Factory-direct padel artificial grass runs $18–$45 per m² depending on fiber type and pile height, while the same specification through a Western distributor typically costs $40–$70 per m². On an eight-court order of 1,760 m², that difference can amount to tens of thousands of dollars — enough to fund additional courts, glass systems, or lighting.
| Taille du projet | Carpet (m²) | Rouleaux | Sable (tons) | Total Weight | Expédition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 court | 220 | 3 | 2 | ~2.4 t | LCL |
| 2 courts | 440 | 5 | 4 | ~4.8 t | LCL |
| 4 courts | 880 | 9 | 8 | ~10 t | LCL / 20pi |
| 8 courts | 1,760 | 18 | 16 | ~20 t | 20ft container |
Beyond pure material cost, multi-court projects benefit from shared logistics. A single eight-court order fills one 20ft container, which is far more cost-efficient per square meter than shipping four separate two-court consignments. The factory also batches production for a single order, ensuring consistent color and fiber characteristics across all courts — a detail that matters when courts are side by side and visible to players simultaneously.
Price Tiers: How Unit Cost Drops at 1, 4, et 8 Courts
The per-square-meter price of padel artificial grass is not flat — it drops in tiers as order volume increases. A single-court buyer may pay $45/m² for the same specification that an eight-court buyer gets at $32/m². Understanding where these price breaks occur lets you plan a multi-phase project for maximum cost efficiency.
Three factors drive the volume discount. D'abord, production setup: each specification requires a dedicated production run. Spreading that setup cost across 1,760 m² instead of 220 m² lowers per-unit overhead dramatically. Deuxième, raw material procurement: yarn, latex backing, and sand are purchased by the ton — larger orders qualify for bulk pricing. Troisième, container efficiency: an eight-court order fills a 20ft container as a single consignment, while a single court ships as LCL (less-than-container-load) at a much higher cost per cubic meter.
| Order Size | Order Qty (m²) | FOB Unit Price | Total Carpet Cost | Freight Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 court | 220 | $28 – $45 | $6,160 – $9,900 | LCL (high $/m²) |
| 4 courts | 880 | $22 – $38 | $19,360 – $33,440 | LCL or 20ft FCL |
| 8 courts | 1,760 | $18 – $32 | $31,680 – $56,320 | 20ft FCL (lowest $/m²) |
The savings are substantial. Going from 1 à 4 courts typically reduces the unit price by 15–20%. Going from 4 à 8 courts saves another 10–15%. For a club planning to build in phases, batching the carpet order into a single purchase — even if installation is staggered — can fund an entire extra court from the savings alone.
Sample PO: A 4-Court Padel Club — Complete Bill of Materials
To show how every quantity in this guide fits together, here is the complete bill of materials for a real-world 4-court padel club order — the most common commercial project size. Every line item below is what appears on the factory purchase order.
| Line Item | Calculation | Quantity | FOB Unit Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padel carpet (12mm) | 200 m² × 4 × 1.10 | 880 m² | $22 – $38/m² |
| Factory pre-cut rolls | 880 ÷ 100 | 9 rouleaux | included |
| Silica sand infill | 800 m² × 10 kg/m² | 8,000 kg (8 t) | $80 – $150/ton |
| Seaming tape | ~2 seams × 20m × 4 | ~160 m | $0.50 – $1.00/m |
| Adhésif (2-part) | ~4 tins | 80 kg | $120 – $200 |
| Spare carpet (réparations) | 10% de 1 court | 20 m² | $440 – $760 |
Total carpet: 900 m² (880 + 20 spare)
Total sand: 8 tons
Total rolls: 9 (pre-cut)
Total weight: ~10 metric tons
Estimated FOB (carpet only): $19,360 – $33,440
Expédition: LCL or 20ft container
Production lead time: 15–25 days
This is the quantity breakdown your supplier needs to quote accurately. When you send a purchase order with these exact line items, the factory confirms pricing, production schedule, and container planning in a single response — no back-and-forth clarification needed.
Poids, Containers & Expédition
Padel court materials are heavy — heavier than most first-time importers expect. The carpet itself is dense, and the sand infill adds the bulk of the shipment weight. Planning the logistics around actual material weight is what determines whether your order ships efficiently or incurs unexpected freight surcharges.
For a single doubles court, the carpet weighs approximately 400 kg (220 m² × ~1.8 kg/m² for 12 mm pile), and the sand adds another 2,000 kg (2 metric tons). Total material weight for one court: environ 2.4 tons. This ships comfortably as less-than-container-load (LCL) cargo.
Scale to four courts and the carpet alone weighs around 1,600 kg, avec 8 tons of sand — roughly 10 tons total. This is still within LCL range but approaching the threshold where a dedicated container becomes more economical per cubic meter. At eight courts, the total reaches approximately 20 tons (3.2 tons carpet + 16 tons sand), which fills a standard 20-foot shipping container.
| Taille du projet | Carpet Weight | Sand Weight | Total Weight | Méthode d'expédition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 court | ~400 kg | 2,000 kg | ~2.4 t | LCL |
| 4 courts | ~1,600 kg | 8,000 kg | ~10 t | LCL or 20ft |
| 8 courts | ~3,200 kg | 16,000 kg | ~20 t | 20ft container |
Ordering Mistakes That Cost You m² and Money
After supplying padel courts to 50+ pays, the same quantity errors recur on purchase orders. Each one below turns a straightforward order into a costly problem — not because the product is wrong, but because the quantities are wrong.
200 m² is the playing surface, not the order quantity. Every court needs cutting and seaming margin. Order exactly 200 m² and you will run short — the last strip will be 10–15 m² short, halting installation while you place a rush reorder. Always add 10%: order 220 m² per doubles court.
The single most damaging error. Carpet arrives, sand doesn't, and the court cannot open. Au moment où une commande de sable distincte est obtenue et expédiée, les fibres peuvent s'être déjà aplaties à cause du trafic piétonnier lors de l'installation. Incluez toujours le tonnage de sable dans le même bon de commande: 2 tonnes par terrain à 10 kg/m².
Des rouleaux standard de 4 m produisent 33% déchets sur un terrain de 10 m de large (tu as besoin 4+4+2 = 3 bandes, mais utilisez seulement 2 des rouleaux complets de matériau). La prédécoupe en usine réduit les déchets à 10%. Sur une ordonnance de 4 tribunaux, c'est la différence entre commander 12 rouleaux et 9 rouleaux — un 25% économie de matériaux et réduction du fret.
Les acheteurs calculent le poids du tapis mais oublient que le remplissage en sable est de 5.× plus lourd. Une ordonnance de 4 tribunaux n'est pas 1.6 des tonnes de tapis — c'est 1.6 des tonnes de tapis plus 8 tons of sand, totalisant ~10 tonnes. Cela détermine si vous avez besoin de LCL ou d'un conteneur complet. Si vous vous trompez de poids, vous serez confronté à des suppléments de fret ou à des retards douaniers..
High-wear zones (service boxes, net area) may need patching after 3–5 années. Ordering an exact quantity with zero spare means a future repair requires a minimum-order rush shipment of mismatched carpet. Ajout 20 m² (10% of one court) to the original order costs little but saves thousands later.
Foire aux questions
How long does padel artificial grass last?
A well-specified padel court surface lasts 8–12 years with proper maintenance. The key factors are UV stabilization (for outdoor courts), correct sand infill levels maintained through periodic top-ups, and professional installation with proper seam bonding. High-traffic commercial facilities may see the upper end of wear sooner; private courts with lighter use often exceed 12 years before replacement.
Can I use regular tennis court grass for padel?
Non. Padel requires a specific surface designed for higher sand infill rates (8–12 kg/m²) and a particular fiber texture that regulates ball bounce within the FIP performance window. Tennis court artificial grass — whether hard-court, clay-simulation, or even sand-filled — has different pile height, densité, and infill specifications that will not deliver correct padel ball behavior. Using tennis grass for padel produces a surface that plays wrong and fails faster.
Do indoor padel courts need sand?
Oui. Sand infill is essential for ball behavior regardless of whether the court is indoor or outdoor. The sand regulates bounce, provides player traction, and stabilizes the fibers. An indoor court without sand would have the same unplayable characteristics as an outdoor one. Indoor courts may use a slightly different sand grade or rate depending on the pile height (souvent 15 mm premium for indoor), but the sand itself is mandatory.
What is the blue color on professional padel courts?
The blue playing surface is the standard color required by FIP for professional tournaments. The specific shade — a medium-dark blue — provides optimal visual contrast for both players tracking the ball and broadcast cameras covering the match. While recreational courts can be green, blue is now the default for any court intended for competitive or televised play. The color is dyed into the fiber during manufacturing, not applied afterward.
How much does a full padel court cost?
A complete padel court — including artificial grass and sand, glass walls, structural frame, mesh fencing, net system, lighting, and sub-base construction — typically costs $24,000–$65,000 total. The range depends heavily on glass quality, court category (FIP tournament vs recreational), location, and whether installation is included. The carpet and sand alone represent roughly 15–25% of the total project cost; the glass and structure account for the majority.
Can I order just the carpet if I source sand locally?
Yes — and many experienced buyers do exactly this. Sourcing sand locally is a common practice that eliminates 60–80% of the shipment weight and significantly reduces freight cost. The factory will provide the exact sand grade specification (typically 0.2–0.6 mm rounded silica sand) so your local supplier matches the required standard. Just ensure the local sand meets the graded specification — using generic builder's sand will compromise the court's playability.
Know your court count and dimensions? Send us your project specifications — we will return a tailored material breakdown covering carpet quantity, factory pre-cut roll count, sand tonnage, container plan, and FOB pricing within 24 heures. Relyir has manufactured sports artificial grass since 2006, exporting to 50+ pays.