DOHA: Premier Padel, the official new global padel tour, governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and backed by the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), today announced another broadcasting deal, with Sky named as the tour’s broadcast partner in Italy, UK & Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Sky has penned an initial one year agreement covering the 2022 Premier Padel season, and will begin its Premier Padel coverage with the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 which gets underway on 28 March at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
The news comes just days after ESPN agreed a major four-year deal to showcase Premier Padel in almost 50 countries across LATAM, covering South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. These agreements will elevate the sport to a global audience like never before. Further broadcast agreements are set to be announced in the coming days.
Since its launch a month ago, FIP, PPA and QSI have made a flurry of major announcements connected to the new Official tour, including confirming at least ten (10) new tournaments will be held this year – including four Majors. Registrations for the first Official tournament, the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022, has already seen records broken, with 123 pairs registered including players from 19 different countries. The prize money for each Major – which is also a record – has been disclosed as €525,000 for each tournament, while significant new ranking points for the new tour have also been announced.
Luigi Carraro, President of the International Padel Federation (FIP), said: “Week after week we are bringing on board the most incredible new partners, while also breaking records and elevating the sport and its players at completely new levels. We have said from the start that we want to take padel truly global and we want fans to join us on this journey, so having Sky as our trusted broadcast partner is exceptional news. Sky are renowned as the gold standard-bearer in global media, and that’s exactly the standard of partner this new tour is based on. There is so much more to come, and I can’t wait for the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 that will kick-start this new global era for our sport next week.”
The Board of Directors of the Professional Padel Association (PPA) said: “This landmark deal with Sky is another sign of professional padel players finally getting the global exposure and platform that they – and the sport of padel – deserve. These major TV deals will shine a light on our sport, and ensure our players are inspiring existing and new fans, in established and new markets, every day. Through greater exposure, our players will also inspire the next generation of padel enthusiasts, which is how our sport will truly grow.”
Premier Padel is the only official tour in padel, being under the governance and regulation of FIP, having the benefit of FIP’s official player ranking system, and falling within the auspices of the wider international sports community. Uniquely from a governance perspective, under FIP’s Official tour, player representatives sit on various committees directly helping to shape the future of their game.
