It's a special start to the season on the World Padel Tour, and not only because the Coello/Tapia pair wins everything. Indeed, several Top 20 players have already missed events in which they are normally obliged to participate according to their contract. Despite this, no sanction, or even communication from the circuit. The reason for this seems fairly obvious. By offering a fourth category of tournaments – the Open 500 – the circuit has created a chaotic climate that allows players to find a contractual breach to free themselves more or less of their obligations.

It should be understood that the contract that the players signed mentions three categories of tournaments in which they are obliged to participate. However, in addition to the Masters and the Master Final, there are now the Open 500 and Open 1000, instead of just the Open of previous years. The creation of these two new categories renders the clause invalid.

The athletes therefore exploit this unforeseen situation by their contract to free themselves from the obligation to take part in all the Open 1000 (17 tournaments over the year) in order to gain space on their calendar and, why not, to get more involved on the circuit Premier Padel which includes more interesting prize money.

The South American tour perfectly illustrated this problem: Paquito/Tello missed a tournament, just like Lima/Nieto. Sanyo and Bela meanwhile missed two based on "personal issues". As a high point, the controversy concerning the injury of Ale Galan and the strong words of Lisandro Borges at the time of the La Rioja Open.

The Reus Open 500 confirmed the seriousness of the situation, as only one member of the Top 20 took part in the tournament. It seems obvious that the PPA (Professional Players Association) rejects the schedule World Padel Tour, the players put pressure on the circuit which for the moment does not communicate on all these absences.

The options for the WPT are limited. Forcing players to participate in all 27 tournaments risks creating an uproar. On the other hand, it seems unthinkable to see a season with tournaments where only half of the Top 20 are present.

As long as the World Padel Tour has not found a solution that can satisfy everyone, players are leaning more and more towards Premier Padel, To the picture world numbers 1 Alejandra Salazar and Gemma Triay. Moreover, it would seem that the WPT is about to be acquired by QSI : a final admission of impotence?

Martin Schmuda

A competitive tennis player, Martin discovered the padel in 2015 in Alsace and appeared in a few tournaments in Paris. Today a journalist, he deals with current affairs padel while continuing its rise in the world of the little yellow ball!

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