Most people building a padel court focus entirely on the glass — and the glass deserves attention, because it is what the ball rebounds off and it is the component that fails most visibly. But roughly half the enclosure surface on a padel court is wire mesh, not glass. The mesh sits above the glass on the back walls, runs as the primary enclosure on the side walls, and frames the access doors. Get the mesh spec wrong and you get balls flying out near the corners, panels corroding by the third monsoon, and a court that looks neglected long before it needs a real repair.
You do not need to be an engineer to get this right. You just need to know what the enclosure looks like and which three or four numbers to ask your contractor for.
How the Padel Enclosure Splits Between Glass and Mesh
A padel court enclosure has two back walls (at each end) and two side walls (along the length). Each section uses glass at the heights where the ball travels fast and hits hardest, and mesh above that — where glass is overkill in cost and weight.
The back walls (10 m wide, at each end of the 20 m court) are 4 m total: 3 m of solid tempered glass at the bottom, then 1 m of wire mesh on top. The glass handles direct ball impact at pace; the mesh closes the enclosure above that height where the ball rarely reaches the end wall with any force.
The side walls (each running 20 m along the court's length) have a stepped profile. Near the back corners — roughly the first 2 m of each side wall — the enclosure height is 3 m. For the long middle section it drops to 2 m, with mesh above the lower section reaching 3 m centrally and 4 m at the corners.
| Section | Glass (bottom) | Mesh (above) | Total height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back wall (each end) | 3 m | 1 m | 4 m |
| Side wall — corner section (~first 2 m) | Solid to 3 m | Mesh to 4 m at corner | 3–4 m |
| Side wall — middle section | Solid to 2 m | Mesh above to 3 m centrally | 2–3 m |
Mesh Spec: Hole Size, Wire Gauge, and Weave
Three numbers define mesh quality: hole size (diagonal 5–7.08 cm), wire gauge (2–3 mm diameter), and surface treatment (hot-dip galvanized). These are not aspirational specifications — they are parameters your contractor should be able to name from a product datasheet.
Hole size matters for two reasons: ball containment and wind load. A padel ball has a diameter of around 64–68 mm. A hole smaller than 50 mm diagonal adds material and wind resistance without any gain. A hole larger than 70 mm risks a ball squeezing through or wedging in the mesh near the top of the back wall. The 5–7 cm diagonal range is the established standard precisely because it keeps the ball inside without over-engineering the panel.
Wire gauge determines stiffness and corrosion reserve. A 2 mm wire mesh panel is lighter but deflects more when hit. At 3 mm, the panel is stiffer and holds up better to ball contact and to the mechanical stress of thermal expansion in Indian summers. For outdoor courts in North India, 2.5–3 mm is the practical minimum for panels in the lower sections where balls make contact.
Weld mesh is the standard weave — individual wires are welded at each crossing to form a rigid grid, not interlocked as in chain-link fencing. Weld mesh holds its shape under ball impact better and sags less over time. Some low-cost quotes substitute chain-link; the surface finish difference tells you nothing about this — ask explicitly.
The Stepped Side Wall — Why It Matters
The drop from 3 m to 2 m along the side wall is not an aesthetic choice — it reflects where the ball actually travels during play. Near the back corners, the ball reflects off the back glass at pace and at an angle; lob shots also hit the side wall at height in that zone. In the long middle section of the side wall, the ball never reliably reaches 3 m. The step saves steel and reduces wind load on the structure.
A contractor who builds all side wall sections at a uniform 2 m height is cutting fabrication cost at your expense. Balls will escape near the back corners in high-energy rallies — exactly where the game is most active. It also makes the court non-compliant with FIP (Federación Internacional de Pádel) standards, which matters if you want to host sanctioned play or simply sell the court in future.
Galvanizing vs Powder Coat in Indian Conditions
For outdoor mesh in India, hot-dip galvanizing to ISO 1461 is the minimum viable corrosion spec. Powder coat alone — even a thick exterior grade — will not hold on wire mesh through Indian monsoon conditions.
Here is why: powder coat is applied after the wires are welded, but the weld points are exactly where the bond is thinnest. Every ball impact, every monsoon rain cycle, and every thermal expansion event slowly works moisture into those weld-point gaps. Rust starts there, spreads below the surface, and blooms through the coating — often with no visible warning until the panel is orange and structurally weakened.
Hot-dip galvanizing — dipping the finished mesh in molten zinc — lays a thick zinc layer (typically 45–85 microns) that bonds metallurgically with the steel. Even where it is chipped or scratched, zinc acts as a sacrificial anode: it corrodes instead of the steel beneath. A properly hot-dip galvanized mesh panel in North India's combination of monsoon rain, summer baking at 42–48°C, and dust abrasion should last 12–18 years without significant corrosion. A powder-coated-only panel in the same environment often shows through-rust within 3–5 years.
Mini-story — Gurgaon, 2022. A sports club built their first padel court using powder-coated weld mesh on the side walls — the contractor saved about ₹30,000 on the mesh specification. By October 2024, after two monsoon seasons, rust was bleeding from every weld point along the lower side-wall panels. Posts had pitting through the coating at splash-back height. A full mesh-panel replacement plus post re-coating cost ₹1.8 lakh. The hot-dip specification would have cost ₹30,000 more at build time — the saving paid itself back in rust repairs at 60× the cost.
If you want a specific colour on the mesh (black is most common for padel — better contrast against the ball), the correct specification is duplex: hot-dip galvanize first, then powder coat on top. The galvanizing provides the corrosion barrier; the powder coat adds colour and extends lifespan further. This is the same duplex approach that should be used on the steel frame columns. For the full frame specification, see our guide on the padel court steel frame.
Access Doors: Placement and Size
Each side wall has one access door, positioned at the centre of the wall. The standard specification is a single door ≥1.05 m wide × 2 m high — wide enough for a wheelchair, a player with a gear bag, or maintenance equipment.
Some courts use double-leaf doors (two panels each ≥0.72 m wide) for the same net width. Both configurations are acceptable; single doors are more common in India because they are simpler to fabricate and seal. Doors should swing outward to keep the playing area clear. Hinges and handles should be stainless steel or hot-dip galvanized — zinc-plated hardware in this climate corrodes within a season and seizes when you need it most.
One door per side wall is the FIP minimum. For a commercial club court where you need equipment access from both sides simultaneously — for resurfacing, drag-brushing machinery, or maintenance — adding a second door near one end is a practical upgrade at ₹15,000–25,000 per additional door.