The French number one Thomas Leygue took the floor to express his dissatisfaction with recent developments in the personalised tour Premier Padel. Extended qualifications, reduction of the prize money, reduction of points awarded… The new rules imposed in 2025 are causing a heated debate among players. In an interview with Canal +, Leygue returns to the boycott of certain tournaments and the tensions with the International Federation of Padel (FIP).

“The circuit does not respect its commitments”

Lyes Houhou : Smaller brackets, players forced to go through extended qualifying – three matches now compared to two in 2024 – and a defeat in the first round of qualifying that doesn't pay off no points, no financial compensation… Thomas, you were one of the first to denounce these new rules.

Thomas Leygue : Hello everyone. It all starts from the fact that in 2022, when we moved from World Padel Tour à Premier Padel, we were promised better conditions. These commitments were respected the first year, but then, from year to year, it only got worse.

En 2023 and 2024, the conditions remained acceptable, but in 2025, everything has changed:

  • Three qualifying rounds instead of two,
  • Smaller tables,
  • Fewer points awarded,
  • A drop in prize money for players in qualifications.

Finally, Nothing that was promised to us is being kept. And, in parallel, the FIP circuit, which is supposed to be a secondary circuit, has increased the number of points distributed while reducing financial endowments. Result: we play a lot of tournaments during the year in bad conditions, all in losing even more money.

“We are not listened to”

Lyes Houhou : You have decided to boycott the Gijon tournament, unlike the players who are preparing to play in the final.players association spoke out recently, denouncing in particular “the lack of professionalization and coherent organization of the circuit”, which leads to constant frustration. How do you hope to make things happen?

Thomas Leygue : The reality is that we are trying toopen dialogue with the FIP and Premier Padel, who manage the circuit. Despite numerous requests, we have received no response..

What we ask minima, it's from return to 2024 conditions. But our goal is to get the conditions that were promised to us two or three years ago. Today, this is still not the case.

We are not talking about a total boycott, because Each player is free to play or not, but many refused to register for certain tournaments such as the P2 of Gijón for send a strong signal. For now, this is our only solution to hope to be heard.

“A conditional meeting: blackmail?”

Lyes Houhou : Yesterday, the International Federation of Padel et Premier Padel sent a letter to players, stating that if you participate in the P2 of Cancun, a meeting could be organized in Doha with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi (QSI), David Sugden (The Director of Premier Padel) and Luigi Carraro (FIP). Do you consider this as blackmail?

Thomas Leygue : Yes, totally. They send this letter a few hours before the closing of registrations, what makes any collective consultation impossible.

We asked Many times a discussion about the future of the circuit, and the only response we get is: “Register for the tournament, otherwise no dialogue”. It's a unacceptable blackmail.

Urban artist Nasser refuses to talk to us, and Luigi Carraro doesn't want to change anything. We therefore remain firm in our positions.

“A betrayal by some players?”

Robin Haziza : There is a strong solidarity within the players' association. However, last night we learned that Juan Lebrón and Franco Stupaczuk signed up for Cancun at the last minute. What was the reaction of the other players?

Thomas Leygue : The players did not appreciate this registration at all. last minute. We don't know what happened internally, but they didn't give us no explanation.

The frustrating thing is that we do all this to improve conditions for all playersMore Some people take advantage of the situation to recover points without real competition.

Stupa over Cancun and the crisis Premier Padel : 'I don't know if it's a mistake' / 'Nobody knows where we're going'

“An unfair situation”

Lyes Houhou : In short, the players who play in Gijón and Cancun are taking advantage of the situation while others, like you, are waiting for things to move. Is this a double punishment for you?

Thomas Leygue : Yes, clearly. We have been fighting for years to win some points in ultra-competitive tournaments, and there, Some people take advantage of our fight to advance in the rankings without opposition..

It is extremely frustrating to see that by wanting to improve our conditions, we end up penalized.

“What future for players?”

Lyes Houhou : You refused to play in Cancun. If the situation does not change, what do you plan to do?

Thomas Leygue : For now, We are waiting for a response to our last letter., in which we request a discussion without precondition.

Whatever happens, we will all be forced to play P1 in Miami, because it is written in our contracts. We hope to be able to take advantage of this tournament to discuss directly with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and Luigi Carraro.

Our goal remains to find common ground between the FIP, Premier Padel and players association (PPA).

“Back to the game: Tolito Aguirre, the attraction of Gijón”

Lyes Houhou : Let's talk a little about the game. Tolito Aguirre, who will play the final in a few moments, is a real padel star. What is your opinion of him?

Thomas Leygue : He is a player incredibly talented who deserves to be on the circuit Premier Padel. But what annoys us is that he enjoys easy access.

The fact that he reaches straight to the final in his first tournament clearly shows that the current system is not fair. Despite everything, it remains a entertainer who will offer a beautiful show to the public.

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.

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