Qatar tightens grip on elite padel with takeover of rival Spanish-owned circuit
Qatar Sports Investments, the owner of French football champions Paris Saint-Germain, has confirmed its takeover of the World Padel Tour.
The move concludes around 18 months of wrangling over control of the fast-growing sport at elite level, following the launch of QSI’s rival Premier Padel circuit.
It will see Premier Padel become the main tour in the tennis-squash hybrid game, beloved of sports stars such as David Beckham and Pep Guardiola, with the unified circuit expected to expand further in 2024.
The buyout ends nearly two years of bitter legal rows among the tours and leading players over their freedom to play where they choose.
Bringing both tours under the governance of the International Padel Federation also opens the door to players participating in the Olympics, should the sport joining the Games in future.
Qatar’s push into the high-intensity game has been driven by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of QSI and Premier Padel, who is a keen player.
“This is an historic moment for the sport, ultimately seeing the two leading professional padel tours unified as one single global Premier Padel tour,” said Al-Khelaifi.
“As the fastest-growing sport globally, QSI is proud to be at the heart of driving the development of padel professionally all around the world, always placing the players at the centre of our mission to grow the sport everywhere. We are very excited for this next chapter.”
The deal is another sign of Qatar’s ambitions in sport, following the successful hosting of the men’s football World Cup last winter.
QSI has developed Paris Saint-Germain into France’s dominant club and a global brand, and earlier this year considered taking a minority stake in Tottenham Hotspur.
Until now the World Padel Tour was owned by Spanish brewery Damm, which set up the circuit in 2013 and grew its calendar to comprise 26 tournaments in 17 different countries.
QSI launched Premier Padel last year and set about trying to lure players from its rival tour, who sought legal action to escape from their exclusive contracts.
“The World Padel Tour is now beginning a new stage led by QSI, who will contribute to speeding up the tour’s international growth,” said Demetrio Carceller Arce, Damm’s executive chairman.
“Damm is proud to have contributed to the development of professional padel, making the World Padel Tour a global benchmark, with over 4m followers. ”
Qatar’s investment in the sport is now being rivalled by the US, where two professional tours have launched this year backed by seasoned sports industry figures.