The International Federation of padel, the global governing body of the padel for over 31 years, is pleased to announce that “the attempted hostile takeover of the padel by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has been firmly and categorically rejected today by members of the international tennis community”.

You will find below the press release of the FIP (in French):

Victory for the independence and integrity of sport: the attempted hostile takeover of the padel by the ITF is firmly rejected.

November 15, 2022 – The International Federation of padel, the global governing body of the padel for more than 31 years, is pleased to report that the attempted hostile takeover of the padel by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has been firmly and categorically rejected today by members of the international tennis community.

At the ITF Annual General Meeting in Glasgow, the ITF tabled a resolution to unilaterally assume governance of the padel, while seeking to independently lead the development of new disciplines or variations of tennis, such as pickleball. The resolution was definitively rejected by the ITF's own members.

In the run-up to the Annual General Meeting, stakeholders from across the padel, tennis and sports governance have announced their opposition to the takeover attempt, including the Professional Players Association which represents major professional players in padel. Eventually, the tennis community itself voted to resoundingly block the takeover.

Commenting on the result, the President of the International Federation of padel, Luigi Carraro, said:

"Today is a victory for the independence and integrity of sport, for our players, for the fans of padel and for all institutions of world sport that promote and protect the independence of other sports bodies.

It is also a resounding defeat for interested sports leaders seeking to pass resolutions to engulf developing sports. We thank all the national tennis federations who have challenged their own international federation and defended the padel – we are delighted to continue to work together to develop our sport hand in hand.

We thank the Professional Players Association for raising the voice of the players, who are the pulse of our beloved sport. We also thank all the national federations of padel around the world who defend the integrity of our sport. The International Federation of padel will now continue to work tirelessly to develop the padel at professional and amateur level around the world, in collaboration with stakeholders from across the sport. "

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Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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