Planning and permitting padel courts 

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Padel is booming, and new courts are increasingly being developed close to residential areas or added to existing tennis facilities. In precisely these settings, one issue often determines whether a project receives approval, stays on schedule, and achieves the desired operating hours: noise.

Short, impulsive ball impacts – A challenge for noise assessment
Like tennis, padel and pickleball are characterised by short, impulsive ball impact sounds. Residents generally perceive these peak events as more intrusive than continuous noise with the same overall energy. In Germany, sports facilities are assessed under the 18th Federal Immission Control Ordinance (18. BImSchV). 

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New emission data fill a long-standing gap

While emission data for tennis have been available for more than 30 years through VDI Guideline 3770, equivalent data for padel and pickleball have until recently been unavailable. 

DataKustik carried out both single-impact and operational noise measurements on padel courts under real playing conditions and derived sport-specific emission values. For pickleball, available measurement data from external studies were evaluated. The resulting padel emission values lie between those for tennis and pickleball.

The methodology was presented at DAGA 2026 and published in Noise/News International. Since CadnaA 2026 MR1, these emission values have been available for noise predictions based on the VDI 3770 Detailed Method (clocked maximum level method), including assessments of facilities with combined tennis, pickleball and padel operation.

What this means for planning and construction

For architects, planners and project developers, this means that potential sites, court orientations, setback distances and appropriate noise mitigation measures can be evaluated already during the planning phase—both for new developments and for the extension of existing sports facilities. The VDI 3770 Simplified Method provides a conservative initial assessment, while the Detailed Method offers a more refined basis for projects involving multiple courts or mixed operation, with potential implications for project feasibility, operating hours and the design of noise mitigation measures.

Free technical webinar

In a free on-demand 30-minute webinar, DataKustik presents the methodology, the new emission data and a practical case study, covering the complete workflow from modelling to noise assessment.
 

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Jannis Krampen IAKS Portrait square

Jannis Krampen

Media Consulting
0221 16802317
krampen@iaks.sport