So thatA1 Padel has just published its 2023 calendar, we wait for the World Padel Tour et Premier Padel do the same.

The FIP publishes a calendar… without Premier Padel !

The International Federation of padel published a draft calendar for 2023, in which there is no tournament stamped Premier Padel, the new official circuit of the FIP.

However, it seems quite logical. Indeed, the players being still under contract with the World Padel Tour (until the end of the season), Premier Padel is forced to wait until the WPT has set all its dates to be able to set its own. In any case, this is what happened last season and we imagine that it is the same this year.

WPT panorama Miami Open Blockchain
The 2022 WPT season resumed on February 21 in Miami.

A situation already known on the side of the WPT

Today is January 17, and the World Padel Tour has still not released its official calendar. Some dates have already been communicated (by the circuit itself or by other media), but for the moment the information is distilled in dribs and drabs.

We can still tell ourselves that this is quite normal. Indeed, in 2019, a year without a pandemic and without Premier Padel, the circuit had waited until January 21 to communicate its official calendar. But the first tournament took place in March, two months later! There, the recovery is expected in just over a month... A situation finally resembling that of last year when the WPT had released its calendar still on January 21, but for a recovery one month later this time! Will we be entitled again to a publication of the official calendar on January 21 this year?

Why drag?

Why does the circuit managed by Setpoint Events SA not communicate its dates earlier? First, we can think that it is a question of avoiding program changes as much as possible. There are already had one, and if the last two years, the dates were subject to variations because of the health crisis, now we say to ourselves that it may be competition with Premier Padel which can cause problems. Indeed, we imagine that some organizers are wondering or have wondered which circuit to favor, delaying the whole process. Besides, the World Padel Tour having lost its monopoly, we say to ourselves that negotiations with certain tournament organizers are certainly more difficult and that this can also weigh in the balance.

Secondly, by not disclosing its dates, the WPT is in a way putting pressure on the new official circuit of the FIP, which will be forced to publish its schedule at the last moment. If we imagine that the players are kept informed of the possible dates by the PPA (players' association), we say to ourselves that it will necessarily be more complicated for the public who intends to go to the first tournaments. Indeed, it is not easy to get organized in such a short time. We imagine that, given the tense relations between World Padel Tour et Premier Padel, all shots are allowed at this level…

If this situation is obviously regrettable, the fans can be reassured since we should know very soon what the 2023 season will look like on the side of these two circuits!

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 !

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