Premier Padel has made its first inroads into the sport’s heartland of Spain, with Madrid’s WiZink Center to host a new tournament for the challenger series.
Governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and backed by the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), Premier Padel is seeking to take on the established World Padel Tour (WPT), which has its base in Spain.
The multi-year event deal for Madrid sees the Spanish capital land Premier Padel’s first second-tier ‘P1’ tournament in Europe. The inaugural Madrid Premier Padel P1 will take place from August 1-6 at the WiZink Center.
The new event becomes the second P1, category two tournament to be announced after the Argentina Premier Padel P1 was unveiled earlier this year.
Premier Padel will host at least 10 new tournaments in 2022 – including four category one ‘Major’ events. The first of these – the Qatar Premier Padel Major – took place in Doha in March. The second, the Italy Premier Padel Major at the Foro Italico, concluded a fortnight ago.
The other category one tournaments are the Paris Premier Padel Major at Stade Roland-Garros, taking place from July 11-17, and the Mexico Premier Padel Major at the Club Sonoma in Monterrey, Mexico from November 28 to December 4. The Argentina Premier Padel P1 takes place from August 8-14.
Spain is said to have almost six million padel participants, more than 14,000 courts and over 1,000 officially registered clubs.
Luigi Carraro, president of the FIP, said: “We are very proud to bring Premier Padel to Spain – the spiritual home of padel. The love and passion the country has for padel is for all to see.
“We know Spanish padel fans will support the P1 tournament in their numbers. Only a fortnight ago we attracted record crowds at the Foro Italico in Rome, and I’m sure we will also create a special atmosphere at the WiZink Center in August.”
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