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.

 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 

 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  : The Australian 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 

From  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 the Argentina Padel Tour .

 Paquito Navarro , one of  world padel stars , spoke about the idea of ​​introducing different  playing surfaces  in the circuit  Premier Padel The 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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