The Mexican Federation of Padel (FEMEPA) chose to respond later in the day to accusations and warnings issued by the Association of Professional Padel Players particularly concerning the FIP Platinum Libanes which starts today.

FEMEPA did not wish to respond to the substance of these criticisms. However, she wishes to recall the trauma and consequences of the meteorological disaster caused by Hurricane Otis, while showing the lack of empathy of the players' association.

The press release translated by us:

“The Mexican Federation of Padel (Femepa) expresses its enormous surprise and shock at the press release published today by the Professional Players Association (PPA), criticizing the organization of the CUPRA FIP Tour 2023 Platinum tournament which is to be held in Mexico. It appears that the PPA has momentarily overlooked the fact that over the past month a state of national emergency has been declared in Mexico, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced, lives lost, infrastructure and businesses destroyed, not forgetting the unprecedented challenges facing the country and the pain felt across the nation.

The fact that a tournament was able to be held in Mexico this week under such circumstances deserves enormous recognition from everyone involved. Instead, Femepa and its employees face grossly exaggerated and blatantly insensitive criticism, while all stakeholders – including the International Federation of Padel and all tournament partners – are doing their best to provide the best possible tournament for the players on the field.

Out of respect for the work of all our employees and the local residents of Mexico, we will not respond to PPA's criticisms with further comments and, instead, will channel all our energies into making the event happen. We will avoid publishing statements that are offensive, clearly biased, and demonstrate a complete lack of empathy.”

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.