Professional padel seems to be following in the footsteps of tennis, especially with the takeover of World Padel Tour by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). This acquisition signals a significant step towards the formalization and globalization of the sport, much like what was seen earlier in professional tennis.

A model modeled on tennis

With according to our sources 24 professional events planned for 2024, to which are added the events of the FIP Tour, Premier Padel expand its schedule. The circuit will continue to move upmarket and will always offer its 4 Majors, comparable to the 4 Grand Chelem in tennis. The Master Final by QSI should see the light of day in 2024 but it is not yet known if it is counted in the 24 tournaments or if there will actually be 25.

Furthermore, we note that the places visited by Premier Padel are often linked to the world of tennis, such as the Foro Italico, Roland-Garros of course, but also the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha, with organizations that had never been seen in padel until now.

Italy Major Premier Padel, Italian excellence

But if we compare the two sports we see that professional tennis offers a much larger offer. On the ATP circuit alone, there are 62 events, plus five other competitions organized by the ITF (International Tennis Federation), namely the four Grand Chelem and the Davis Cup.

The tennis circuit is composed as follows:

  • 62 tournaments organized by the ATP: 9 Masters 1000, 13 ATP 500, 37 ATP 250, the ATP Finals, the United Cup (mixed competition), and the Next Generation ATP Finals.
  • 5 tournaments organized by the ITF: the four Grand Chelem and the Davis Cup.

It is important to remember that tennis has a higher number of professional players than padel, that it generates much more money and has many more fans. We are obviously talking about one of the most followed disciplines in the world, while padel is still an emerging sport. On the other hand, we see that in terms of form, the two organizations are starting to resemble each other.

The FIP, a less important weight than the ITF?

It is interesting to note that the influence of the International Federation of Padel (FIP) on the professional padel circuit is relatively modest, especially when compared to its counterpart in the world of tennis, the International Tennis Federation (ITF). In fact, the ITF not only manages the tournaments of the Grand Chelem, but also the Davis Cup, which are among the most prestigious events in the field of international tennis.

FIP/QSI circuit: the different categories of tournaments

For its part, the FIP oversees the FIP Tour, which includes tournaments such as the FIP Platinum, which are the most important. In addition, the World Pairs Championship is also managed by the FIP. But although these tournaments are significant, they remain less prestigious than the P1, and especially than the Major, organized by Premier Padel.

As we can see, padel is getting closer and closer to what tennis is doing on an organizational level, with obviously still a lot of work for our sport if it wants to try to get closer to the level of popularity of its big brother. Will it ever succeed?

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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