LTA Head of Padel Tom Murray and British No.2 Louie Harris reckon next year’s unified Premier Padel Tour will “bring a host of benefits.”
It was announced in August that the long-standing World Padel Tour, owned by Spanish brewery giants Damm, had been bought by Qatari-backed Premier Padel Tour and that the rival circuits would unify under one professional tour, to be called Premier Padel, governed by the International Padel federation (FIP).
The merger includes the Cupra FIP Tour – the fourth tier of the FIP tour – in which Britain’s leading padel players compete regularly. The world rankings will also be unified, giving players and fans more simplicity. One tour, with one set of players chasing FIP ranking points and titles – a contrast to the previously complicated structure.
Murray (pictured above), who calls this “one of the biggest shifts in the sport’s history,” says the merger means players won’t have to select which events to play on which tours, which diluted their rankings on the respective circuits and caused them to miss major events.
“With the calendar coming under one tour, this means that all players will compete in the same top tournaments and subsequently the playing fields will be much stronger,” Murray told the LTA website.
“One of the biggest changes will be the introduction of one single ranking system. In previous years, players have had a separate World Padel Tour and FIP ranking – influenced by which tour they choose to play on.”
Welshaman Louie added: “World Padel Tour has been the main tour for a while now, but I think Premier Padel has grown quickly, taking padel to new countries and bigger venues – like Roland Garros for example. Within a year or two years, what they have done is incredible and I think the merger is going to be positive for the sport moving forward.
“The ranking system is going to be huge. If you have two or even in some cases three different rankings you have to pick and choose what tournaments you play, you have to prioritise your ranking on specific tours and then your other rankings will drop.
“Being able to compare yourself to everyone under one ranking will be great and it just makes it more fair on the players. Mentally you don’t have to be as worried about different rankings, you can just focus on playing and getting better.”
