Does this face ring a bell?
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is not only president of PSG : since 2022, it is also president of Premier Padel, the international padel circuit. But why is such an influential man so interested in this sport?

Before becoming an extraordinary businessman, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was a top athlete. In the 90s, he was professional tennis player, representing Qatar on international courts. Between 1992 and 2002, he participated in numerous secondary circuit tournaments in Europe and the Middle East. In 2002, for his final year of career, he obtained a invitation to the ATP in Doha.
He lost in the first round, marking the end of his playing career... but the beginning of a great adventure combining business and sport.

A discovery of padel that changes everything

In the 2010s, while padel is booming In Spain and Latin America, Nasser discovered this hybrid sport, between squash and tennis, and fell completely under its spell.
In 2014, he became President of the Qatari Tennis Federation, which also includes squash, badminton and now padel. Its mission: growing padel in the Middle EastBut true to his ambition, he does not intend to stop there.

In 2022, the investment company QSI (Qatar Sports Investments), of which he is chairman, officially launches Premier Padel, and organizes the first Major of the circuit in Doha .
Two years later, Premier Padel absorb the World Padel Tour, unifying existing circuits to create the world's leading circuit, with all the best players on the planet.

A global vision for a spectacular sport

Like the international influence of PSG in football, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi aims to make padel a world-renowned sport.
Premier Padel multiplies prestigious tournaments in emblematic places: the Foro Italico in Rome, Saint George's Palace in Barcelona, or Roland-Garros in Paris.

The Qatari businessman has not only invested in a sport, but in a vision : that of a padel global, popular and especially spectacular.

A success… still perfectible

The mission appears to be on track, even if the boycott of the beginning of 2025 shows that some parameters still need to be adjusted. But who knows?
In a few years, Padel could well become as essential as football...

And you what do you think ?
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