Since its creation in 2022, the personalised tour Premier Padel has established itself as the official world circuit of professional padel. With 24 tournaments in 16 countries and an expansion planned for 2025, the discipline continues to grow. However, all tournaments are played on the same surface : a blue synthetic lawn, whether indoors or outdoors.

While tennis alternates between clay, hard and grass, could padel draw inspiration from this diversity to redefine its circuit? The introduction of new surfaces would it allow differentiate tournaments, influence the player hierarchy and enrich the show This is the question that is currently agitating the padel community, with figures like Paquito Navarro in the first line.

The season Premier Padel

The circuit Premier Padel, created in 2022 as official world padel circuit, organize 24 tournaments distributed in 16 countries. Currently, 87 federations are affiliated with the FIP (International Federation of Padel), and this sport is practiced in more than 140 countries.

In 2025, 7 new steps have been added to the calendar, with tournaments at Miami, Buenos Aires, Cancun and Germany in order to reach an even wider audience.

The competitions

  • Barcelona Finals : December 8 to 14
  • 4 Majors : Qatar, Italy, Paris, Mexico
  • 10 P1
  • 9 P2

All tournaments Premier Padel are played on the same surface: synthetic grass, generally blue in color, indoors or outdoors.

The majors, being the most prestigious tournaments of the season with the Barcelona Final Master (reserved for 8 best pairs of the year), take place on the same surface. They are distinguished mainly by their place and their organization.

Tennis surfaces

In tennis, tournaments, especially Grand Slams, are identifiable by their surface:

  • Australian Open : Hard
  • Roland Garros : Clay
  • Wimbledon : Lawn (natural grass)
  • U.S. Open : Hard

The Grand Slams are the most important tournaments of the season and mark different periods of the season, influencing the game depending on the surface.

Surface characteristics

Grass : Mainly used in Wimbledon, it is a surface fast and slippery, where the ball bounces low, favoring the serve and volley players or with a very good touch on the ball.

hard surface : TheAustralian Open and U.S. Open are played on hard surfaces (porous concrete, asphalt or resin). They offer a average rebound and a ball speed faster than clay, but slower than grass.

Clay : Known for its Grand Chelem iconic to Roland Garros, this surface slows the ball down and increases the bounce, promoting long rallies and allowing players to slide on the court.

The Paris Major 2025: from carpet to clay?

The advantage of diversified surfaces

Better identification of Majors

Today the 4 Majors of Padel are played on the same surface, which does not allow them to be visually or strategically differentiated. Unlike tennis, where each period of the year is marked by a surface change, padel does not require no specific adaptation for each tournament in terms of playing surface (apart from weather conditions).

An interesting example would be the Major of Paris, which could be played on clay, in a nod to the Grand Chelem of Roland Garros and strong identification.

An impact on the player hierarchy

Since two seasons, world number 1 dominate the circuit Premier Padel :

  • Tapia / Coello (men) won 3 Majors in 2025 and 14 titles.
  • Sanchez / Josemaria (women) won 3 Majors and Barcelona Final Master on last season.

Un surface change could redistribute the cards and modify the current hierarchy, by favoring certain styles of play, as happens in tennis. For example, Nadal dominated on clay, Djokovic on hard and Federer on grass, although each has managed to adapt to other surfaces.

The notable differences in practice between Tennis and Padel

Travel

  • Tennis : longer runs to cover a larger area, with mainly moving around lateral, but also diagonals and forward/backward.
  • Padel : travel short and frequent, the field being smaller. Responsiveness is essential, with constant adjustments based on the rebounds against the windows.

The Positioning

  • Tennis : alternation between baseline and net, with more axial play.
  • Padel : team position, with players often close to the net or in defense behind the service line.

The style of play

  • Tennis : more explosive and powerful, with strong ball strikes and fast runs.
  • Padel : more agile and strategic, based on anticipation and bullet effects.
Paquito Navarro asks: should we review padel playing surfaces?

A change of surface at Padel : is it feasible?

A change of surface would offer several advantages :

  • Clear identification of different periods and tournaments.
  • Varied play styles depending on the surface.
  • Redistribution of the hierarchy between players or a domination even more impressive.

However, this raises questions:

  • Impact on travel : The bounce and the game with the windows could pose a problem.
  • Player Safety : during the Riyadh P1, the rain made the wet grass, provoking slips and loss of support, which affected the quality of play and increased the risk of injury. Would this happen on clay?

Note that clay has already been tested during theArgentina Padel Tour.

Paquito Navarro, one of world padel stars, spoke about the idea of ​​introducing different playing surfaces in the circuit Premier PadelThe Spanish player said appreciate the idea of ​​a change of coating.

Nicolas Fillaudeau

A big sports enthusiast and former tennis player, I discovered padel a few years ago without really focusing on it. Then I became addicted to this sport by practicing it and watching the premier padel matches. Looking forward to sharing the 2025 news with you!

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