Italian Padel Certifications

CE marking (European Conformity) is mandatory for certain products, including structural steel components, to be marketed within the European Economic Area.

CE marking represents a harmonized methodology for assessing, testing, calculating, expressing, guaranteeing, and finally declaring the performance of a product.

The CE marking guarantees consumers that the product complies with all European Community provisions governing its use, from design and manufacture to placing on the market, putting into service, and disposal.

In order to affix the CE marking to their products, manufacturers of structural steel components must obtain UNI EN 1090 Company Certification. If the manufacturer performs welding, obtaining UNI EN 1090 Company Certification is also subject to obtaining UNI EN ISO 3834 Company Certification.

UNI EN 1090 Company Certification (execution of steel and aluminum structures) allows us to fulfill the obligation to affix the CE marking on our steel structural components and therefore to market them in Italy and Europe.

If we did not have UNI EN 1090 Company Certification, we would not be able to market our products in the European Economic Area even if the customer agreed, as we would be violating a legal obligation regarding the CE marking of our products.

In order to obtain UNI EN 1090 Company Certification, we were required to draw up a Manufacturing and Control Plan (MCP) that oversees all stages of our production processes, from order acquisition to product release, including supply and infrastructure management.

The UNI EN 1090 and UNI EN ISO 3834 Company Certifications must be issued by a third-party Certification Body, notified to the European Commission, which carries out the initial checks and periodic audits necessary for maintaining the certifications.

Since we perform welding to manufacture our products, obtaining UNI EN 1090 Company Certification required us to obtain UNI EN ISO 3834 certification (quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials) relating to the quality requirements we must meet for the correct management of the welding manufacturing process.

These certificates not only allow us to market our products throughout Europe, but also provide an important guarantee for customers, who know that they are purchasing from a company capable of producing metal structures in compliance with the relevant standards and ensuring that the finished products perform as advertised.

The rapid growth recorded in recent years both in Italy and Europe makes padel a poorly regulated sector. To date, there is no specific reference standard for verifying the design and construction of padel courts.

Although there are currently no mandatory regulations that help define the correct parameters of civil and/or criminal liability, in the event of accidents, it is essential that the operator be able to demonstrate concretely that they have created all the conditions necessary to ensure the safety of the facilities, users, and service personnel. In fact, the operator has civil and criminal liability for the safety of their facilities.

The Mechanical Safety Department of TÜV SÜD's Product Service Division has recently created a test protocol for verifying the safety of padel court structures.

The test protocol was drawn up based on a thorough analysis of the risks that activities on a padel court pose to players and people in the vicinity of the court.

The protocol consists mainly of empirical checks, document analysis for the classification and categorization of structures, and periodic validation and monitoring of the production site.

Obtaining the Product Certificate and the related TÜV SÜD Certification Mark is subject to the successful completion of all points listed in the test protocol.

If the outcome is positive, the manufacturer acquires the right to use the TÜV SÜD Certification Mark as a guarantee of safety and quality.

For us as manufacturers, obtaining the TÜV SÜD Product Certificate is a demanding challenge that represents an important recognition of the safety policies we implement for our customers.

For customers, purchasing a product bearing the TÜV SÜD Certification Mark represents an important guarantee of product safety, certified by an independent, qualified, and reliable certification body such as TÜV SÜD.

UNI (Italian National Unification Body) is a private, independent, non-profit association recognized by the Italian State and the European Union, which participates, on behalf of Italy, in the standardization activities of the international bodies CEN (European Committee for Standardization) and ISO (International Standards Organization) to develop standards at European and global level, respectively.

The UNI 7697 standard (safety in glass applications) illustrates the state of the art in Italy in terms of safety in glass applications and provides references for the correct choice of glass products (type of glass and related performance) according to the surrounding conditions and use, to guarantee the safety of all users.

The standard was created to fill a regulatory gap in Europe. Other Member States, many of which do not yet have legislation on this subject, also hold this standard in high regard. CEN Technical Committee 250 (CEN/TC250) "Structural Eurocodes" is working to make it a European standard linked to the Eurocodes.

The new version of the standard, developed in 2021 by the UNI "Flat Glass" Working Group (UNI/CT 054/GL 01), introduced the requirement for laminated safety glass for sports courts (e.g., padel and squash), excluding the possibility of using only monolithic tempered glass. This choice is aimed at avoiding the risk of fragments falling on athletes and people in the vicinity of the court in the event of breakage.

There is a heated debate in Italy regarding the mandatory nature of the UNI 7697 standard.

By definition, pursuant to European Regulation No. 1025/2012, UNI standards are voluntary. They represent the state of the art for the specific subject matter covered. Therefore, when deciding to design/prescribe/handle products differently from what is reported in these texts, it is necessary to demonstrate, including through testing in the case of design, that the proposed alternative solution is valid. In the event of disputes and/or lawsuits, in the absence of binding documents, the "UNI" and "UNI EN" standards are used as a reference for determining liability.

However, there are cases in which the rules become mandatory, as they are included in national or European legislation, or are explicitly referred to in tenders, contracts, etc.

Those who argue that compliance with UNI 7697 is mandatory claim that this standard, which was originally voluntary, was made binding by Legislative Decree No. 206 of September 6, 2005, "Consumer Code," pursuant to Article 7 of Law No. 229 of July 29, 2003, which indirectly refers to it.

Those who argue the opposite claim that the rule remains strictly voluntary in nature, as there is no law that explicitly refers to it.

Our opinion is that, even if compliance with UNI 7697 is not mandatory, its application is a guideline for improving building safety.

Furthermore, in the event of accidents, operators who can demonstrate that the glass walls of the courts have been constructed in accordance with UNI 7697 will certainly be able to prove that they have created all the conditions necessary to ensure the safety of players, spectators, and service personnel.

For this reason, all our products are offered not only with classic 12 mm monolithic tempered glass (which is sufficient to meet the requirements of the International Padel Federation and all local federations affiliated with the FIP), but also with laminated glass with an interposed plastic film, in thicknesses of 6 + 6 mm, 8 + 6 mm, and 8 + 8 mm, all in performance class 1B1 and therefore compliant with the UNI 7697:2021 standard.

The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP), which is the Italian governing body for the sport of padel, has published the manual "Facilities for Tennis, Beach Tennis, and Padel," which compiles the official guidelines for the construction of courts, supplementing them with additional technical and regulatory requirements.

For the customer, purchasing a field that complies with FITP requirements guarantees that it meets the requirements for approval, but does not automatically imply that the field is adequate in terms of safety, overall quality, or urban planning compliance, for which local building regulations must be followed.

The Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT), which is the French governing body for the sport of padel, publishes the cahier des charges fédéral "La Construction d'une Piste de Padel" (federal specifications "The Construction of a Padel Court"), supplemented with valuable additional information and specific references to European regulations on the design, construction, and safety of facilities.

For customers, purchasing a field that complies with FFT guidelines is a solid guarantee of compliance with the highest standards of quality and safety, in accordance with the latest European regulations and good construction practices.