Le Brussels Premier Padel P2, scheduled for April 20-27, could symbolize a clear truce between the professional players et Premier Padel. But the notable absence (for the moment) of both best world pairs, Agustín Tapia / Arturo Coello et Fede Chingotto / Alejandro Galán, shows that tensions have not completely dissipated. Suspense…

A still fragile climate between the players and the circuit

Since the start of the season, the circuit Premier Padel has been rocked by a series of open conflicts and an absence of a large part of the global elite, particularly around the P2 tournamentsThe absence of the top 100 during the stages of Gijón and Cancún provoked a virulent reaction from the International Federation, which even filed a complaint against some players for their non-participation, interpreted as a form of organized boycott.

If the situation seemed to relax after the P1 stages of Miami and Santiago, the signals sent by the registrations in Brussels show that the dialogue is projectsMore still far from complete normalization.

PPA accuses FIP and Premier Padel chaotic and arbitrary management

Stars return, but leaders are still missing

The men's P2 draw in Brussels still attracts a high-quality field. Many of the world's top pairs, absent in Gijón and Cancún, have decided to make their return: Lebrón / Stupaczuk, Yanguas / Coki, Tello / Di Nenno, Paquito / Bergamini, Cardona / Augsburger...

This increase in participation could well mark a desire for appeasement, or even compromise on the part of players affiliated with the Professional Padel Association (PPA), who until now disagreed with the operation of P2s.

Brussels will not yet be the scene of a total reunification

Despite this encouraging dynamic, two major absences are somewhat dampening the momentum: Tapia / Coello et Chingotto / Galan, who occupy first and second place in the world rankings respectively, are not on the list of entries. While the registration deadline is fixed at this Friday April 11 at 17 p.m., their participation now seems very compromised.

And even if both pairs signed up at the last minute, the message would remain clear: "We're going because we don't really have a choice, but we're staying mobilized."
Another possibility: that they don't register at all, considering that the P2s are not a priori mandatory, and that they prefer to rest. Certainly, but since the beginning of the year, the players have had time to recover and prepare. In this context, this explanation would be difficult to justify... except perhaps for Agustín Tapia, bothered for several weeks by pain in his right hand.

These packages extend a vagueness maintained since the beginning of the season: that of the unstable relationship between best pairs and Premier Padel, despite behind-the-scenes mediation efforts. If these two pairs had been present in Belgium, this would have clearly marked a turning point, if not the symbolic end of the conflict.

P2 Gijón: the boycott explained by Pablo Cardona

Towards a gradual exit from the crisis?

Among the other pairs still expected, some could join the table before the closing of registrations, such as Garrido / Libaak, Alonso / Arroyo or, Alex Ruiz / Chozas, the latter also being president of the PPA. Their presence would further reinforce the idea of ​​a gradual return to normal.

But as long as the two leading pairs of world padel will remain absent from the P2, it will be difficult to say that the tensions are definitely behind us. The Brussels tournament could mark a decisive step…but not yet the official end of the fracture.

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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