World Padel Tour vs. APT Padel Tower

The calendars of World Padel Tour and'APT Padel Tour were unveiled. The two circuits are fighting for the place of “World reference circuit”. We will therefore compare them!

No more dates for the WPT but ...

Le World Padel Tour hate 26 dates on its calendar with 1 Exhibition, 6 Challenger, 13 Open, 5 Master and 1 Master Final in Madrid.

THEAPT Padel Tour, meanwhile, will count 18 events with 11 Open, 4 Master, 2 Grand Master, and 1 Master Final.

But by removing from the list the exhibition which is not really a tournament, and the 6 Challenger of the World Padel Tour which are smaller tournaments, we end up with a total of 19 events for the WPT.

If the WPT offers more Open (13 against 11), the APT offers more Masters (6 including 2 Grand Masters against 5).

APT: a more international circuit

Le World Padel Tour is regressing internationally. Only 6 countries will be visited with Spain, Argentina, Sweden, Portugal, Italy and Mexico, and more than three quarters of the tournaments will be organized in Spain, inconvenient for a circuit which advocates its international dimension ...

Proof, all Challenger will take place in Spain, which has already earned some criticism at the WPT, but how to blame him in view of the current period. The World Padel Tour play it safe, and what follows may prove him right ...

As for APT Padel Tour, we focus on the international. Indeed, the APT will visit a total of 11 countries with tournaments in Paraguay, Monaco / France, Belgium, Argentina, United States, Mexico, Spain, Finland, Switzerland, Portugal, and Sweden. That's almost twice as much as the WPT! Initially planned in Chile, the launch of the tour was shaken up by the health crisis, and it will finally be done since Paraguay.

“We are internationally oriented and we are proving to you that this is the future, this is where we must invest,” expressed Fabrice Pastor, the President of the APT Padel Tour.

The stars engaged with the WPT until 2023

For the moment, the very best players in the world will remain on the World Padel Tour. According to Fernando Belasteguin, joining the APT is not an option for the moment:

“I am under contract with the World Padel Tour to 2023. I can't tell you about a track I don't play on."

Note, however, that this is not a definitive no of THE legend of padel. We understand here that the stars of World Padel Tour will have to wait until 2023 to decide on the rest of their career ...

For Fabrice Pastor, the players “Play it safe” staying on the WPT. "ANDn 2023, I think we will see some players who are still reluctant to join us for good. Top players will be there. ”

Even if the will to attract the best players is strong on the side of the circuit which counts in these ranks the hyper spectacular Léo Aguirre or even Cristian Ozan, Stefano Flores, Julio Julianoti the 4 numbers 1 of the APT Padel Tower, le WPT For many still remains the benchmark round in terms of level of play. Especially since it offers a male circuit and a female circuit.

On this aspect, it could move soon at the level of the APT Padel Tour, which is currently working on a format for the promotion and development of padel ladies.

Two heavyweights of the organization

The seniority of the WPT and the experience of the organizers in the various towns visited each year make the events on the circuit belonging to Estrella Damm real organizational references. Proof of this expertise, the WPT was able to organize 11 tournaments in 2020 in the midst of a health crisis! It has also been able to make agreements with television channels to increase its visibility.

But the APT, which already has demonstrated its organizational quality in 2020, has with Fabrice Pastor a real event specialist padel, he has already proven it with the Fabrice Pastor Cup, the Monte Carlo Padel Master, the many events at Tennis Padel Sun… The Monegasque has surrounded himself with a leading team, led by a certain Thomas Johansson, which has the means for its ambitions, and is not afraid to offer tournaments in 11 different countries!

Prize money: an opportunity by joining the APT

The duel of prize money interests us, because it is probably he who will determine the choice of players in the future.

For the WPT, 101 000 euros are to be distributed for Masters in men (see opposite), 92 for Open, and 105 on the Final Master.

APT will organize its prize money as follows:

Open: $ 35
Masters: $ 60
Grand Master: 100 euros

The prize money of the two towers will therefore ultimately be quite close, but theAPT could be a great economic opportunity for players who are struggling to reach the final tables of the World Padel Tour. It is even rumored that excellent French players could be tempted by the APT Padel Tower…

You will understand, the presence of two professional circuits of padel, with each its specificities, is a very good thing for gamers who can more easily earn a living by playing padel. For the spectators, it is obviously a chance since we will be able to benefit from more spectacle!

Dates and institutions

Le World Padel Tour will begin next April while the APT begins in early March with an Open and a Master in Paraguay.

And again, the Chile event organized by the APT should have taken place in mid-February. But the sanitary conditions and the crisis in Chile have changed the schedule of Fabrice Pastor's circuit.

Finally, the two circuits are each supported by one of the two international institutions: the FIP (Fédération Internationale de Padel) supports the World Padel Tour while FEPA (European Federation of Padel) and also the CAPF (American Federation of Padel) also support the APT Padel Tour.

Lorenzo Lecci Lopez

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !