Can Major II jeopardize P2 tournaments? Premier Padel ?

Le mysterious "Major II" appeared in the women's regulations of Premier Padel This raises many questions. Among them, one directly concerns the organizers of P2: If this new category were to actually come into being, could the P2s lose some of the best players in the world?

On paper, the reasoning holds up.

Adding an extra tier between the Majors and the P1s, with more prize money and potentially more points, could push the world's best pairs to be more selective about their schedule. And in this new hierarchy, the P2s would likely be the first events to be sacrificed.

But between this hypothesis and the current reality, There is still a very big step to take. .

Today, the P2 leagues still attract the best

This is one of the peculiarities of Premier Padel current.

Unlike tennis, where an ATP 250 tournament can perfectly well take place without the majority of the world's Top 10 players, A P2 padel tournament can still count on an extremely high level of competition. , with many of the best pairs.

The current structure of the circuit favors this situation.

Regulation 2026 defines three regular categories: Major, P1 and P2 to which are added the Premier Padel Finals. He theoretically envisions 4 Majors, 10 P1s and 11 P2s, while leaving to Premier Padel the possibility of adapting this distribution.

In this three-tiered pyramid, the P2 teams therefore remain fully integrated into the elite calendar.

But the arrival of a fourth level could alter this balance.

Premier Padel : the prize money gap between men and women, category by category in 2026

The Major II would be positioned precisely between the Major and the P1

The term Major II is not an invention.

It is clearly featured in the 2026 women's regulations, with its own prize money structure.

And financially, its positioning is particularly attractive:

Female category	minimum prize money
Major I	approx. €503,981
Major II	€ 275
P1	€ 170
P2	€ 110

For the champion pair, the hierarchy is also very clear: €97,400 for a Major I, €49,500 for a Major II, €34,000 for a P1 and €22,000 for a P2 The official charts clearly detail these different levels for women.

If Major II were to become a true tournament category tomorrow, we would therefore have four tiers:

Major I → Major II → P1 → P2.

And mechanically, the P2 would move down a notch in the hierarchy.

The risk: having to choose between Major II and P2

Now let's imagine several Major II tournaments integrated into the calendar.

If these tournaments distribute more points and much more money than P2 tournaments, the strategy of the best players could change.

Why would a Top 5 or Top 10 pair seek to play almost every P2 if they can build their season around Major I, Major II and P1?

Especially since the FIP currently calculates the ranking on a player's 22 best results , and not on all the tournaments played.

From 2027 onwards, this number is even expected to increase to 21 results .

The more the number of potentially interesting tournaments exceeds the number of results useful for the ranking, the more the best players have an incentive to select their weeks.

And events offering the fewest points and prize money are logically the most exposed.

Could the P2s become the "ATP 250 of padel"?

This is probably the most interesting parallel.

In tennis, the world's best players obviously do not compete in every ATP 250 tournament.

They build their season around the most important tournaments and then use the lower categories depending on their schedule, their point needs, their physical condition or their preparation.

A similar scenario could gradually emerge in padel.

The Major I would constitute the unmissable meetings.

The possible Major II would form a second premium level.

The P1 would retain a very important place.

And the P2 would become more like tournaments of choice.

Some could attract several stars. Others would offer more space to players behind the very best pairings.

Moreover, this would not necessarily be a bad thing from a sporting perspective.

An opportunity for players below the elite

If all members of the Top 10 no longer systematically participated in P2, these tournaments could take on another dimension.

Players ranked between 20th and 50th in the world would have a greater chance of reaching the later rounds.

New pairs could clinch their first title Premier Padel.

And the P2s would become a real gateway to the top of the circuit , before moving on to P1 and then higher categories.

Ultimately, this would be a fairly logical pyramid structure for a circuit that continues to grow.

But before imagining this scenario, we must return to the facts.

Because for now, this famous Major II… doesn't exist

This is probably the most important point.

No Major II tournament has been announced.

The name appears in the women's regulations and its prize money structure, but No event on the 2026 calendar is listed as a Major II .

Even more surprising: The men's regulations do not include this distinction. .

For men, there is simply a Major grid, a P1 grid and a P2 grid.

And in the general definition of the categories of Premier PadelThe regulations always refer to Major, P1 and P2 , no Major I and Major II.

We are therefore still very far from being able to announce the arrival of a new level of competition.

No communication from Premier Padel or FIP on a Major II

This is also an essential element.

Nowadays, ni Premier Padel Neither the FIP nor the FIP have communicated on the creation of a Major II category. .

And when the first developments concerning 2027 were presented, no fourth category was officially announced.

Major II therefore remains, for the time being, a regulatory designation present only in the female document , without any concrete translation into the calendar.

It could be a simple financial distinction between two types of female-owned major labels.

It could correspond to a possibility that was ultimately not used.

Or it could provide a path for the future.

But this last interpretation remains a hypothesis today.

2027: only one additional tournament announced

And that's probably the most reassuring element for P2s.

The initial indications regarding 2027 do not, at this stage, point to an explosion in the schedule.

With only one additional tournament announced compared to 2026 , we are very far from a scenario where five, six or eight new premium events would suddenly saturate the season.

However, it is precisely the proliferation of higher-level tournaments that could truly weaken the P2 leagues.

Adding a single date does not fundamentally alter the ability of the best pairs to participate in the different categories.

For P2s to be truly threatened, several simultaneous developments would probably be necessary: effective creation of Major II, extension of this category to men, multiplication of these events and sporting interest significant enough to push stars to abandon certain weeks of P2.

We are not there.

So, can P2s be afraid?

In the medium to long term, the question clearly deserves to be asked .

Si Premier Padel continues its expansion and eventually creates a second premium tier between Majors and P1, the best players will necessarily have to make more choices.

And in a pyramid composed of Major I, Major II, P1 and P2, it is logically the P2s who would be most exposed to a decrease in participation from the stars.

Corn (Mais) On paper, for 2027, there is currently no reason to raise the alarm. .

Only one additional tournament is announced.

Major II only appears in the women's regulations.

There is still no tournament officially branded as "Major II".

The men's regulations do not include this category.

And especially, Premier Padel as the FIP have not yet announced any official creation of a Major II.

So yes, the term is intriguing.

Yes, if it were to become a true fourth category tomorrow, it could profoundly alter the hierarchy of the circuit and gradually bring the P2s closer to the role played by the ATP 250s in tennis.

But we are still only at the stage of hypotheses.

For now, the P2s can certainly sleep soundly. And judging by the information available for 2027, they probably still have a bright future—and above all, some very talented players—ahead of them.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.