Padel, after the turning point it’s up to the Olympics. And for Italy there is a third tournament on the way

And finally peace broke out. It was in the air and everyone was hoping for it, but in short, a delicate topic such as the relationship between the World Padel Tour and the International Padel Federation really needed an official announcement, a word “end” after a year and a half of quarrels , disputes and legal battles. The passage of the WPT from the hands of Damm to those of Qatar Sports Investments – but above all the recognition of FIP governance as the only “central brain” at an organizational and development level – marks a historic turning point for padel. And it finally closes a long period of confusion, not easy to explain to non-experts and above all difficult to interpret for the players, who are the real protagonists of this show.

ADVANTAGES

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The FIP president Luigi Carraro speaks of “enormous responsibility in governing the new and unique world circuit”, underlining how “the collaboration with the national federations has produced results that were unthinkable until recently”. And so then the participation in the 2032 Games in Brisbane, in what would be the first time for padel at the Olympics, goes from a “dream” to a “concrete goal” for lovers of this sport, which has experienced growth trends in recent years impressive at both amateur and professional levels. The first step was taken with the presence at the European Games 2023 in Krakow, but we don’t want to stop here, obviously, now that finally all the main players in the padel world can work together in the direction of development. The most immediate practical advantage deriving from the integration between World Padel Tour and Premier Padel, beyond an undoubtedly more relaxed atmosphere, will be the quality of the game itself. Two “top level” circuits resulted in two years of a busy calendar, with highly prestigious tournaments too close together, impossible for the top players to prepare in the best possible way. And so injuries (sometimes even diplomatic ones) came in spades, which weakened scoreboards already filled in and undermined the show. Now we can organize ourselves more calmly and in advance, with benefits for everyone.

“ENHANCED” ITALY

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A more reasoned and intelligent calendar will also guarantee more space for countries where interest in padel is on the rise: in Italy we do not yet touch the levels of Spain and South America, but the success of the Premier Padel tournaments in Rome and Milan in the last year and a half say a lot about the growth potential of the discipline. And here then, awaiting official confirmation, the rumor of a new Italian tournament for 2024, category “P2” is already bouncing (a Major is held at the Foro Italico, a “P1” in Milan). A further opportunity to see the strongest players in the world up close, without necessarily having to take a plane and fly across the border.