The president of circuit A1 Padel Fabrice Pastor answered daily questions El Mundo on the occasion of partnership signed with the New York Yankees. This agreement, which will allow the Monegasque businessman to be at the heart of the development of the padel professional in the United States, is symbolic of the war fought behind the scenes between the main actors of the padel.

While the sport is expanding worldwide at the amateur level, the three professional circuits (World Padel Tour, Premier Padel and A1 Padel) are constantly putting obstacles in the way at all levels: conflicts between players, brands, managers, promoters around questions of money and power.

"I don't understand sectarianism, says Fabrice Pastor. They now say there is no exclusivity, but the players sign 25-year contracts with a circuit. What is this stupidity? A player signs because there is money to be made quickly, it is the culture of the dollar. We do things differently, I don't prevent my players from participating in other tournaments."

In this interview, the president of A1 Padel attacks in particular Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of Paris-Saint-Germain, but also and above all the main promoter of Premier Padel, the Qatar-funded circuit with incomparable prize money: “We didn't have to buy anyone or advertise outrageous prices. Last year, Premier announced 12 tournaments and played 4 of them (Editor's note: 8). This year they announced 15 and their schedule has 8. Because I'm trying to build, the others just tried to maintain the monopoly and the monopoly no longer exists."

It should be noted that, if we are to believe the rumors of absorption of the World Padel Tour by Premier Padel, this would mean that the president of QSI and that of A1Padel would represent the padel professional. For the moment, the relations between the two men do not seem to be placed under the sign of the discussion.

"It's the street mafia!"

The Monegasque businessman has a clear position on the current situation of the padel professional: he wants to unify the circuits to achieve a general ranking of players, with a world Top 10 which would be indisputable, unlike today. However, he denounces the maneuvers used by his opponents to keep control of the players:

"How can you prevent a player from making an exhibition or having a sponsor? They are trying to silence us and we are not for sale for a few pesos. Some players in my circuit were offered a contract that corresponded to three lotteries, and they refused."

The Monegasque asks the players to react by creating a global association that could speak to everyone, but he specifies that this is not possible because of the pressure that brands and contracts exert on these women and men who do not are not free in their career choices according to him:

"Some brands go to Argentina, take the most humble boys, take them to Madrid, pay them a pittance, 300 euros, and if tomorrow someone comes to pick them up, they ask for exit clauses of 100 euros. It's a shame. They are not free."

10.000 courts of padel in the USA

The anger of the president of A1 Padel is palpable, despite the golden agreement he has just signed with Yankee Global Enterprises, the group in charge of the New York Yankees in MLB. This partnership will facilitate A1's priority establishment in the United States with, in particular, a tournament in New York and one in Miami in winter.

Fabrice Pastor also plans to build approximately “5.000 to 10.000 courts of padel Across the country [...] They'll have the NFL, MLB and they'll have 'A1Padel'“. The ambitions of the Monegasque have no limit since he now counts “jump on a plane to Asia and be the best, or the only circuit in the world“. The fight promises to be fierce in the coming times with dollars, development strategies, behind-the-scenes influence, but above all dollars...

Find the full interview on the El Mundo website.

Martin Schmuda

A competitive tennis player, Martin discovered the padel in 2015 in Alsace and appeared in a few tournaments in Paris. Today a journalist, he deals with current affairs padel while continuing its rise in the world of the little yellow ball!

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