It's via a press release published on its official website (in Spanish) that World Padel Tour has just responded to the players present in Doha to play the Premier Padel Qatar Major.

The best players in the world today preparing for the quarter-finals of the Premier Padel Qatar Major, World Padel Tour response with a press release that we have translated and that you will find just below:

Following the participation of some players with a current contract with the World Padel Tour in a tournament organized by the International Federation of Padel (FIP) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in Doha coinciding with a Pro Circuit Challenger event, the WPT would like to state the following:

  1. In order to preserve the image of the Circuit and that of all the professional players who take part in it, the World Padel Tour has maintained a cautious silence so far, believing that all players will eventually honor their contracts, despite the false, erroneous or self-serving information that has been released in previous weeks.
  2. Le World Padel Tour scrupulously respected its contractual commitments towards all the players who signed, freely and voluntarily, the contracts for the provision of professional services in 2018 and which run until December 31, 2023.
  3. For seasons from 2024 onwards, the World Padel Tour maintains its contract renewal proposal presented to the players in 2021, and which, among various elements, envisages an update of the current amounts of the prize-money with increases by 3 (Open) and by 5 (Master) from this same year.
  4. The players taking part in the Doha tournament, despite having been warned (and not threatened) in advance, consciously and deliberately breached some of the essential agreements of their contracts, seeking a pretext to justify them, supposedly based on Community law, which is missing of foundation. Needless to say that the agreements made must be respected by both parties, players and organization, and that they are not at the discretion of either of them, which is why the WPT has exercised the legal actions appropriate established in the signed contracts. These actions provide for the respect of the contract and the repair of the damages and prejudices caused to it.
  5. The behavior of some of the professional players did not happen spontaneously or in isolation. It was orchestrated with the participation, planning, coordination and financial support of private entities and organizations, some of which, supposedly non-profit, and which should maintain strict neutrality in the interest of the sport they claim to defend.
  6. The WPT will exercise all legal actions provided against any unfair or illegitimate attack, wherever it comes from, in order to defend its reputation, its rights and the value of the WPT Circuit, as well as the interests of professional players, promoters and sites. organization of tournaments, including the claim for all damages and losses caused.
  7. In this context, it should be recalled that today the World Padel Tour :
  • It is a brand that enjoys worldwide recognition and prestige. It is a very competitive professional circuit, which has doubled the number of tournaments (from 15 to 33) from 2014 to 2022.
  • Led the internationalization of padel, going from 2 tournaments (out of 15) organized outside Spain in 2014 to 16 (out of 33) in 2022.
  • Harmonized the value of prizes between men and women, being the first professional sports competition to do so. The remaining two years of the current contract, the players will have the same remuneration.
  • Brought television into the world of padel for the first time in its history with Gol TV. Today it has increased its international television coverage and this year the WPT will be seen in more than 120 countries around the world thanks to agreements with world-renowned broadcasters such as Movistar (Spain), Sky (Italy), Canal Plus (Europe and Africa), Nent (Nordic countries), Direct TV (Latam), Zapping (Chile), Ziggo (Netherlands) and Telenet (Belgium). Also, in a bid to get closer to fans around the world, he created WPT TV.
  • He promoted innovation in the world of padel : full panoramic central court, grass without sand of maximum quality and safety for the player, fast ball to make the game more dynamic, implementation of the “golden point”, a decision imitated today by all , including by FIP itself.
  • Has invested in human capital, creating a solid, experienced and solvent team of professionals who have been one of the main contributors to the success of the Circuit.
  • Made brave decisions like playing in the midst of the pandemic and staging 11 events in 6 months, taking on the severe economic deterioration in order to keep the show going for the fans and not stop the growth of the sport.
  • Has managed, in just five years, to have professional players in the WPT multiply their income considerably, in some cases up to 10 times, which the WPT is very pleased with.

8. Finally, the WPT thanks the promoters and main brands that form the industry of padel for their unconditional support and reiterates its intention and desire to reach an agreement with the collective of players that would confirm and consolidate growth in the coming years.

Xan is a fan of padel. But also rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel, he unearths atypical posts or deals with topical subjects. It also gives you some tips to develop your physique for the padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the field of padel !

On the same subject

Tags