Premier Padel
Tour 2026

What Is Padel?

Padel was invented in 1969 by Enrique Corcuera in Acapulco, Mexico, adapting elements from squash and platform tennis into a new racket sport. The game arrived in Spain in 1974 when Alfonso de Hohenlohe built the first European courts at the Marbella Club, and spread to Argentina a year later. By 2025, the International Padel Federation counted over 35 million players across 150 countries, with 77,300 courts worldwide, a 15.2% increase year on year.

The court measures 20m by 10m, roughly one-third the area of a tennis court, enclosed by 4-metre walls of glass and metal mesh. The net sits at 0.88m at the centre. Players use solid, stringless perforated rackets and a ball slightly smaller and less pressurized than a tennis ball. Scoring follows tennis (15, 30, 40, game, set), but two features separate padel entirely: the serve must be underarm at or below waist height, and the ball can be played off the walls after bouncing, creating squash-like rally patterns impossible on an open court. Professional padel is played exclusively as doubles.

The Premier Padel Tour

Premier Padel launched in 2022 as the official global tour of the International Padel Federation (FIP), backed by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). In August 2023, QSI acquired the rival World Padel Tour (WPT), merging both circuits under a unified Premier Padel structure governed by FIP. The 2026 season carries the title sponsorship of Qatar Airways.

Tournaments are ranked by three tiers. Majors carry 2,000 FIP ranking points and €525,000 in prize money per gender category, with equal pay for men and women. P1 events award 1,000 points; P2 events award 500. The season ends with the Finals in Barcelona, reserved for the highest-ranked players. In 2026, the tour visits 17 countries across 25 events, including a first African stop in Pretoria and a first UK event in London.

The men's rankings are led by Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello. On the women's side, Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea hold the top position. Eight of the world's top 10 women play under the Spanish flag, reflecting the country's status as the sport's competitive heartland since Corcuera's invention crossed the Atlantic in the 1970s.

What time do Premier Padel matches start? Match times vary by tournament location. European events typically run from 10:00 to 22:00 local time. A 20:00 CEST match in Madrid translates to 19:00 BST in London, 14:00 EDT in New York, and 03:00 JST (next day) in Tokyo. All times on this page auto-convert to your local timezone.