The unified Premier Padel world tour will feature up to 24 tournaments, many in new territories, culminating in a 2024 Tour Finals event, The Padel Paper can reveal.
Last Friday it was announced that Premier Padel, owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), had resolved its long-running dispute with the World Padel Tour (WPT) by buying it from Setpoint Events, owned by Spanish brewery giants Damm. The result will be one unified global circuit, governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP), beginning next year.
WPT began in 2013 and featured over 26 men’s and women’s tournaments across six countries each year and a total prize fund of $121,000. Premier Padel launched in 2022 in five cities, expanding to eight this year, with a total purse of $568,000 and broadcast agreements in 180 countries.
Premier Padel’s launch provoked legal disputes between the two parties, FIP, QSI and the Professional Players Association. But after seven months of negotiations, the acquisition of WPT by QSI (who also own Paris St Germain FC) now brings the acrimony to an end, creating a unified tour which will be known as Premier Padel.
In an exclusive interview, FIP President Luigi Carraro and Rob Mitchell, Commercial Director of Premier Padel, have now revealed to us details of what the new tour will mean for players, fans, promoters, sponsors and the development of the sport worldwide.
“I believe we’ve found the best solution in the interest of the sport,” Carraro told us. “It’s a strong announcement of clarity and unity. The International Padel Federation really appreciate what they [WPT] have done for padel. Now, we are starting a new era.
“This is what players and fans want and what the sport deserves – one clear tour. It is now governed by the International Padel Federation with the best partner in the world, Qatar Sports Investments. If we follow the line we have already started, our tour will be the best tour between all the sports in the world.”
Carraro has worked closely on the Premier Padel project with QSI Chairman, Nasser El-Khelaifi, who is also a key figure in football as Chairman of PSG and the European Club Association.
Carraro said: “At the end of 2018, when I was elected by FIP, my goal was to make padel one of the most important sports in the world. From minute one, myself and Nasser El-Khalifi have shared this dream. He too is a padel lover. It is for us not a job, it’s a passion. Wo do it with our heart.”
Carraro revealed the new circuit will consist of “22 or 24 tournaments” around the world, split into Majors (equivalent to Grand Slams), P1 and newly added P2 ranked events. Each level will have different prize money, ranking points and draw sizes. There will also be a season-ending Tour Finals event (as in tennis’s ATP and WTA tours and golf’s PGA Tour).
The Cupra FIP Tour will continue to run underneath this, with its players attempting to accumulate 200 points to gain entry into the elite-level Premier Padel circuit.
The 2024 tournament schedule will be revealed in October or November. Between now and the end of 2023, the separate Premier Padel and WPT tour calendars will run their course.
From next year, the world rankings will also be combined, which Carraro says is an important step. He said: “When you talk about the players, you can now clearly say, ‘He is the No.1 in the world.’ Before, one is No.1 on the World Padel Tour, another player is No.1 in Premier Padel. Now we have the No.1 in the world and this is very beautiful.”
Special focus will be on “the off-court piece” – elevating standards of everything that surrounds the tournaments; hotels, transport, food and beverages, medical support and facilities.
Penetrating new markets is a key objective of the new tour. The hope is that bringing events to the likes of North America, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa (building on last year’s event in Giza in the shadow of the Pyramids) will lead to increased engagement, participation and development in those areas, as well as attracting new promoters, sponsors and broadcasters. Each tournament will see build-up events and marketing activations in city centres to stimulate interest.
Premier Padel Commerical Director Mitchell said: “This acquisition [of WPT] and the formation of a unified tour enables us to reach into new markets, go to extraordinary venues, provide incredible opportunities for players and raise standards. There are so many exciting opportunities to come. The sky’s the limit.”
As padel develops quickly in territories outside its traditional hotbed countries, the aim is to have, as Carraro puts it, “even more flags on the rankings.” Having top players coming through from places such as the UK, Germany, France, the Middle East, USA and Australia will give young players in those nations role models and increase the sport’s visibility and popularity.
“That’s why it’s important for Premier Padel to go into emerging markets,” said Mitchell. “It becomes a real opportunity for players to participate in qualifiers, get further in tournaments and inspire youngsters to participate. These things clearly take time, but with this unified tour, it’s the start of a transformation taking place in the sport.”
