When a former professional Brazilian footballer decides to invest in sport after his playing career, the standard move is a football academy. Filipe Barreto chose padel instead — and the result is one of the most visually distinctive padel court installations in Brazil.

Located in Park Way, Brasília, Padel 61 (also known as Arena 61) is a purpose-built padel club featuring two UNIPADEL Panoramic Padel Courts — one with a striking custom blue artificial turf, and one with a signature pink surface that has made the venue a social media landmark in Brazil's fast-growing padel scene.

Why a Brazilian Footballer Invested in Padel

Brazil is in the middle of a padel boom. The country has one of the highest padel participation rates in South America, and demand for quality padel club construction in Brazil is growing faster than local supply can meet. For investors with a sports background, padel combines the energy of football culture with a lower barrier to entry and a strong recurring revenue model. For a project with that level of ambition, the choice of padel court manufacturer mattered.

Why Padel 61 Chose UNIPADEL？

For investors planning padel court construction in Brazil, the procurement decision comes down to three questions: product quality, logistics reliability, and on-site installation support. UNIPADEL's track record across South America addressed all three.

Product: UNIPADEL Panoramic Padel Court | S-80

Padel 61 specified two units of the UNIPADEL Panoramic Padel Court | S-80 — UNIPADEL's highest-volume commercial model and the most recognisable panoramic court design in the range. The S-80 features:

• Full glass back walls with panoramic visibility from every angle inside and outside the court
• Integrated C-shaped lamp arms that mount directly to the court frame, delivering competition-standard LED illumination without external lighting columns
• CE-certified construction with EN 12150-2 tempered safety glass — the same specification used in European professional tour venues
• Hot-dip galvanised steel frame engineered for tropical climates, UV exposure, and high-humidity outdoor environments

The two courts were specified with custom artificial turf colours: a standard competition blue for Court 1 and a signature pink for Court 2. UNIPADEL's customisation capability on turf colour and branding elements allowed Padel 61 to build the visual identity of the club directly into the court specification — not as an afterthought, but as part of the factory order.

UNIPADEL's Brazil Delivery and Logistics Solution

One of the most common concerns for investors exploring padel court installation in Brazil from a Chinese manufacturer is logistics: how does the court get from the factory in Guangzhou to a site in Brasília, and what does the import process look like?

UNIPADEL manages this process end-to-end.

Factory-to-port packaging: Each court is individually packed by component at the factory, with steel frame sections, glass panels, artificial turf rolls, and hardware kitted and labelled for sequential installation. The packaging is designed specifically for container shipping and handles the vibration and handling conditions of a 40-day ocean transit without damage.

Container efficiency: Two complete panoramic padel courts ship in a single 20ft container — or four courts in a 40HQ container. For Padel 61's two-court order, the entire project shipped in a single container from Guangzhou to the Port of Santos, then overland to Brasília. This consolidation reduces logistics cost and simplifies the import clearance process to a single customs declaration.

Delivery timeline to Brazil: Standard factory-to-port transit time from Guangzhou to Brazil is approximately 40 days by ocean freight. UNIPADEL coordinates shipping documentation, packing lists, and technical import files to support the client's local freight forwarder and customs agent at the Brazilian port.

Full tracking: UNIPADEL provides container tracking updates throughout the transit period, so the client and local installation team can plan site readiness to align with the arrival date.

Padel Courts Installation: UNIPADEL's Technical Support Model

The installation phase of a padel court build in Brazil is where many manufacturer relationships end — the container arrives at port, the client takes delivery, and the installation is entirely the client's responsibility.

UNIPADEL operates differently.

For the Padel 61 project, UNIPADEL provided a complete installation support package:

Detailed installation manual and 3D video guidance: Every UNIPADEL court order includes a step-by-step installation manual with component diagrams and a 3D video guide that walks the local installation crew through every stage of assembly — from frame column positioning to glass panel insertion and net tensioning.

Remote installation support: UNIPADEL's technical team provided real-time support via video call throughout the installation process — available to answer questions, clarify component sequences, and resolve any on-site challenges as they arose. This is not a call centre service; it is direct access to the engineers who designed the system.

On-site supervisor option: For projects that require it, UNIPADEL can dispatch a qualified technical supervisor from China to the installation site. The supervisor works alongside the local crew, ensures the installation meets UNIPADEL's quality standards, and handles any technical decisions that cannot be resolved remotely. For the Padel 61 project, UNIPADEL's support ensured both courts were completed to competition specification and ready for opening.

The result is visible in the installation photography: the glass panels are correctly aligned and sealed, the frame geometry is true, and both the blue and pink turf surfaces are laid flat and consistent from net to back wall.

The Finished Facility

Padel 61 opened as a two-court outdoor padel facility in Brasília's Park Way district — a site that combines strong local residential catchment with excellent visibility from one of the capital's main arterial roads.

Court 1 — Blue: The competition-specification blue artificial turf court is the primary competitive court, visible from the street and used for club-level play, corporate bookings, and tournaments. The C-shaped LED lamp arms provide full-court illumination for evening sessions.

Court 2 — Pink: The custom pink turf court has become the signature visual element of the club — immediately recognisable in photos and video content, and the most-shared court image in Padel 61's social media presence. The pink specification was a direct client request that UNIPADEL fulfilled through its standard turf colour customisation capability.

The combination of professional-grade UNIPADEL S-80 panoramic court structure with the custom colour specification gives Padel 61 a facility that meets international playing standards while expressing the individual identity of the venue — exactly the balance that a former professional athlete building his post-career sports business required.

Plan Your Padel Court Installation in Brazil with UNIPADEL

Whether you are planning a single-court club in a regional city or a multi-court padel destination in São Paulo, Rio, or Brasília, UNIPADEL provides the complete solution: factory-direct CE-certified courts, door-to-port logistics coordination, and on-site technical installation support.

Contact UNIPADEL to discuss your padel court project in Brazil or South America:

• Email: info@gzunipadel.com
• WhatsApp: +86 181 9886 8143
• Instagram: @gzunipadel

Frequently Asked Questions

Does UNIPADEL provide on-site installation support for padel court projects in Brazil and South America?

Yes. UNIPADEL offers three levels of installation support for padel court builders and investors in South America:

• Standard: Detailed step-by-step installation manual + 3D video guide, covering every stage from column positioning to glass panel installation and net tensioning
• Remote support: Real-time video call assistance from UNIPADEL's technical engineers throughout the installation process
• On-site supervisor: A qualified UNIPADEL technical supervisor can travel to your site in Brazil or elsewhere in South America to work alongside the local crew and ensure the installation meets competition specification

The Padel 61 Brasília project was completed using UNIPADEL's full support package. Both courts were installed to international standard by a local Brazilian crew working with UNIPADEL's remote and on-site technical guidance.

What import duties and taxes apply to padel court equipment imported into Brazil, and how does UNIPADEL help with the process?

Brazil's import regime for sports equipment and steel structures involves federal import duty (II), IPI (industrialised products tax), PIS/COFINS, and ICMS (state VAT), with the combined tax burden varying by HS classification of the specific components. UNIPADEL provides complete export documentation — commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, CE certification, and technical product files — in the format required for Brazilian customs clearance.

How long does it take to receive a UNIPADEL padel court in Brazil from the order date?

From order confirmation, UNIPADEL's standard production lead time is approximately 20–30 days at the factory in Guangzhou, China. Ocean freight from Guangzhou to Brazilian ports (Santos or Itajaí) takes approximately 40 days. Total order-to-delivery timeline for a padel court installation in Brazil is typically 60–70 days. UNIPADEL provides full container tracking throughout the transit period so your local team can prepare the site in parallel with shipping, minimising the gap between delivery and installation start.