The padel continues its moult.
At the beginning of February, the International Federation announced the creation of a new international circuit, financed by Qatar Sports Investments.
A revolution in this racket sport derived from tennis, still confidential in France.
As it has done in the past for football and other sports, Qatar will upset the small world of padel, with this new professional circuit financed by the company Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), owner of Paris SG since 2011 , headed by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the current president of the capital club and beIN Sports.
Waiting for a Grand Slam in Paris?
This Thursday, the FIP announces that ten new tournaments will be organized this year, with four of them in "category 1".
And without real surprise it is Doha which will host the first of these four Grand Slam tournaments.
"
The other three Category 1 events will be announced soon, following the frenzied interest from major cities - in Europe and around the world - to host the new tournaments, following the launch of the official circuit last month
," the statement said.
It is rumored that another Grand Slam could notably be played in Paris... The amount of
s prize-money
for each category 1 event will be €525,000.
Among other new features, the player classification system.
The winning pair will be awarded 2,000 points if successful in a Tier 1 tournament, 1,000 for Tier 2s and 500 for Tier 3s. tournaments already scheduled on the FIP calendar, which cover more than 40 countries around the world.
Players are finally at the heart of the future of padel - and that's incredibly exciting.
Alejandro Galan
“The reaction we have received since the announcement of the launch of the new official circuit has been absolutely stunning
.
From host cities to international broadcasters, major sponsors and other commercial partners, including some of the biggest brands and some of the biggest names in sport
,” said FIP President Luigi Carraro.
The world number one in the specialty Alejandro Gálan, president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Players (PPA), said for his part:
“New major tournaments, prize-money records, a new classification system that offers opportunities for players of all ranks.
It seemed unimaginable a few months ago, it is now a reality.
Players are finally at the heart of the future of padel - and that's incredibly exciting."
It must be said that with this new circuit, the
prize-money
will be several times higher than that of the current tournaments.
Read alsoWhy the president of PSG Nasser Al-Khelaifi will invest in padel, a fashionable discipline
QSI arrives in a discipline shaken by great tensions.
The International Federation thus wishes that the future circuit financed by QSI be the only one recognized in the future.
For the time being, the best players in the world are linked until the end of 2023 to a private Super League, called World Padel Tour and financed by the Estrella Damm beer brand.
A closed league, where the best receive very little income.
The contract binding the best players on the planet to the WPT obliges them to participate in all the events it organizes, under penalty of financial sanction (estimated between 300,000 to 500,000 euros in fines).
Last October, the best players on the planet decided to take control of their rights and their future with the creation of the PPA.
They are also in the process of filing a complaint with the European Commission to cancel their current contracts with the WPT… New information is expected next week about this lawsuit brought to the European Commission by the Federation and the players against the World Padel Tower.