Premier Padel has announced its eagerly-anticipated 2024 world tour calendar – the first since its unification with the World Padel Tour last August.
Premier Padel’s owners Qatar Sports Investments (who also own Paris St Germain) acquired the World Padel Tour to create a single global professional padel tour – Premier Padel – governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and launched in February next year.
The 2024 season will see 25 tournaments spanning 18 countries in five continents taking place throughout the year, taking padel into new markets and growing the game globally.
The season will begin on 26 February 2024 with the Riyadh P1, taking place as part of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season, and will be immediately followed by the Qatar Major.
The tour will then move to Mexico and Venezuela in South America before coming to Brussels and Andalusia in April and May. Following this, the tour returns to South America – including Premier Padel’s first visit to Paraguay and Chile.
The tour then swings back to Europe in June and July, before a mid-season break in August. The season resumes in Europe and the Middle East – including new Premier Padel locations Rotterdam, Dusseldorf, Sweden, Dubai and Kuwait City, with further tournaments planned for new locations, before the Milan P1 closes the main part of the season.
The 2024 calendar will conclude with the first-ever edition of the Premier Padel Tour Finals which will take place in Barcelona on 18-22 December 2024 and will see the top-ranked pairs battle it out for the final trophy of the 2024 Premier Padel season.
Since launching in 2022, Premier Padel has become one of the fastest growing tours in world sport. Over 500 male players from around the world competed in Premier Padel tournaments in its first year, playing in iconic venues including Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. Over 110 leading professional female players joined Premier Padel in March 2023.
Premier Padel has secured multi-year broadcast agreements that cover 180+ countries reaching over 150 million households, while the first two Premier Padel seasons attracted almost 25 million views on YouTube.
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman of Premier Padel, said: “This year will be the first season of the newly unified Premier Padel tour, which will take the sport to the next level – both for the players, who we place at the heart of our tour, but also the whole padel ecosystem.
“We are looking forward to seeing Premier Padel excite and inspire fans in our fantastic established locations, but also emerging markets around the world as we look to grow the sport in every way. 2024 will be a landmark year for Premier Padel as we proudly continue to build one of the most exciting tours in global sport.”
FIP president Luigi Carraro said: “Together with our National Federations, we are pleased to see the sport grow audiences and participants all around the world, as the tour visits new cities and countries inspiring the next generation. At the International Padel Federation, we are proud to be creating an amazing legacy and building a fantastic future for our sport, with the players at the centre of shaping the tour. We look forward to 2024 being the most exciting season yet, for Premier Padel and also the sport of padel.”
The Board of Directors of the Professional Padel Association (PPA), said: “The players are excited to play in the newly unified and expanded Premier Padel tour. We are looking forward to returning to cities where we have strong support and large fanbases, as well as visiting new locations, as we continue to work with Premier Padel to elevate padel to greater international prominence.”
The Board of the International Padel Players Association (IPPA), said: “After a successful first season as part of the Premier Padel tour, the IPPA, the female players’ association, is looking forward to a greater second season that is expanding to much more tournaments around the globe. We are delighted with Premier Padel’s commitment to building a successful sporting event for all and look forward to strengthening our relationship to continue contributing to the growth of padel, also for women, worldwide. We are all excited about the 2024 season.”
