FAREWELL WPT…WELCOME PREMIER PADEL!

1. INTRODUCTION – WPT/PREMIER PADEL

Surely “almost” all padel lovers will know and/or have seen a WPT match. However, what some may not know, is that the WPT has come to an end to give way to a new circuit, the Premier Padel…

2. AN OVERVIEW OF THE WPT

The WPT circuit came to be in April 2013 to replace the previous circuit that had existed at that time since 2005, the Padel Pro Tour.

Since its beginnings, the WPT circuit has been managed by Setpoint Events S.A., the sports events company of the Spanish beer company Estrella Damm, which has established and guaranteed throughout its decade of life, the required quality parameters and the prizes offered.

If we had to choose the most outstanding achievement that the WPT tour has given us in these 10 years, it would be the fact that it has achieved the internationalisation of the sport of padel.

From holding almost all its tournaments in Spain (80% of the tournaments), the WPT has finished this year 2023 with 27 men’s and women’s tournaments in 14 different countries, with 17 global sponsors, broadcasting rights in more than 150 countries and millionaire audiences, almost 4 million followers on social networks and beating the world record for attendance at a padel match with 15,779 spectators during the semifinals of the Boss Barcelona Master Final.

In addition, in 2022, the WPT achieved the milestone of being the first world competition to equalise the prizes in the men’s and women’s categories in all its events.

3.        WELCOME PREMIER PADEL

Although the Premier Padel circuit was born in 2022 and coexisted ( generating major conflicts with the WPT and players) with the WPT circuit until the end of this past year 2023, it was not until August 2023 that Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), along with the International Padel Federation (FIP) and the support of the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and the International Padel Players Association (IPPA), announced the complete acquisition of the WPT circuit and its disappearance for the year 2024.

This transaction, although the exact figures are unknown, has exceeded the 30 million euros that the Damm group has invested over the 10 years of the tour.

Both Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) are presided over by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, better known for also being the president of the Paris Saint-Germain football team.

In this first season of Premier Padel without the presence of the WPT, there will be a total of 25 tournaments around 18 countries in 5 continents and will end with the Premier Padel Tour Finals in Barcelona.

In the Premier Padel circuit there will be 4 types of events:

1) The Premier Padel Majors.

These will be the most important tournaments and will give 2,000 points to the winning couple and 1,200 points to the finalists.

There will be 4 Major tournaments.

2) The Premier Padel P1.

These will give 1,000 points to the winning pair and 600 points to the finalists.

There will be 11 P1 events.

3) The Premier Padel P2.

These will give 500 points to the winning couple and 300 to the finalists.

There will be 9 P2 tournaments played during 2024.

4) The Premier Padel Tour Finals.

Where only the best couples of the year will play.

Apart from these tournaments, the most important ones, there will also be several Cupra FIP Tour tournaments that will award points for the same ranking as the Premier Padel Tour tournaments.

Within the Cupra FIP Tour circuit there will be the following events:

– Platinium (200 points for the winners and 120 for the finalists).

– Gold (100 points for the winners and 60 for the finalists).

– Star (50 points for the winners and 30 points for the finalists).

– Rise (25 points for the winners and 15 points for the finalists) – FIP Promotion

– Finals (150 points for the winners and 90 points for the finalists).

During last season, they broadcasted the matches free of charge on their Youtube channel and also, although only a few specific matches, on some TV channels. 

At the moment, it is expected that this year they will repeat the formula. However, we do not know if any platform or channel will bid to offer exclusively all the content related to the new professional padel circuit.

Thus, we are still waiting for Premier Padel to announce how the circuit can be followed in different countries.

Premier padel 2024 calendar: Here

4. CONCLUSION

The WPT circuit is over for good. Now, for the first time on its own, Premier Padel follows.

In sport, as in life, nothing is static or forever. Everything evolves, everything changes… and in the case of padel, it has been no exception.

We only hope that this change of control in the professional circuit is to go even further for the better and to expand our favourite sport even more around the world. Although only time will tell how the sport of padel will evolve, what we are sure of is that there will is lots to look forward to in 2024.

And what do you think, would you have liked the WPT to continue or do you see the change of the professional circuit in the hands of Premier Padel as something positive?