Padel: Battle of the associations - now also in court
There is a risk of trouble in padel sport: The World Padel Tour and the International Padel Federation are at loggerheads.
by Robin Huiber
last edit: May 29, 2022, 03:57 pm
Anyone who thinks that there are only major coordination problems between the individual organizations such as the ATP/WTA, the ITF and the Grand Slam tournaments in tennis can also take a look at padel. That is where the representatives of the World Padel Tour (WPT) and the International Padel Federation (FIP) will see each other in court in Madrid. The WPT has filed a lawsuit against the FIP, the Quatar Sports Investments and, particularly piquantly, also against the Players Association. Main accusation: The above three organizations would cause the top players to break their contracts with the WPT.
In fact, it seems that the two leaders in the World Padel Tour ranking, Alejandro Galan and Juan LeBron, are also ahead in the International Padel Federation ranking. How come? Galan and LeBron compete in both series of tournaments, this week at the Foro Italico in Rome, where they meet Fernando Belasteguin and Arturo Coello in the final. These two have already won one of the big tournaments on the World Padel Tour this year, namely in Miami.
World Padel Tour in Vienna
Who has the upper hand here? At the moment it looks like the FIP. Because with the event of the first "major" in padel in the Stade Roland Garros from July 11th to 17th, 2022, a highlight will be set that will certainly find resonance beyond the padel community. It goes without saying that the best players in the world will appear in Paris.
padelrafaacademy
Meanwhile, the World Padel Tour continues its regular tour operations, this week a Challenger tournament will be held at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor. And from June 6th, the world elite will meet in Austria for the first time: in the STEFFL Arena in Vienna for the Vienna Padel Open.