The World Padel Tour published its 2023 calendar this week. If the fans are happy with the 27 events announced, the players seem especially annoyed. So much so that they put pressure on the course and threatened not to participate in the Open 1000. And that’s not all!
The information comes to us from our colleagues at Olé. According to the Argentine media, many players, members of the PPA, would have sent letters to Mario Hernando, general manager of the WPT, to express their displeasure. Indeed, they believe that the calendar does not respect the contract which binds them to the circuit of Setpoint Events SA before the end of the year.
There are three main elements.
The presence of Open 500 and Open 1000
Small news in the WPT calendar: There will now be two types of Open tournaments, 500 and 1000. And the Open 1000 will function as Masters, namely that the first four seeds start from the sixteenth. For the players, these tournaments do not correspond to what was foreseen in the contract signed in 2018. Thus, they threaten to play only the Open 500, which works according to the same principle as the old Open. With these tournaments three in number, versus 18 for the Open 1000, it would be a real earthquake for the WPT if the players carried out their threats!
Not another tournament!
As often, the circle reserves the right to change its calendar during the season. For this, he only needs to communicate about the change one week in advance. In return, the contract stipulates that he cannot add tournaments once the calendar is published.
However, the WPT stated that the latter “was subject to the addition of new events.” The players therefore warned that they would not have “no obligation to play additional tournaments.”
Uncertainty hangs over Chile and La Rioja Open 1000 previas
In said contract, it is also specified that the circuit is supposed to communicate its calendar at least one month before the start of the competition. However, the release was made on January 18th, and the Chilean and La Rioja Open 1000 previews are scheduled for February 10th and 13th…
Thus, players reserve the right to boycott these events which were announced late. Furthermore, they complain that previas for the Paraguay tournament (from February 24 to 27) take place during the Abu Dhabi Master (from February 18 to 26).
The season has not yet started and the showdown between the players and the World Padel Tour is already well underway and we should soon be entitled to a response from the circuit. Whatever happens, this year 2023 promises to be full of surprises!
Xan is a padel fan. But also rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel players, he uncovers atypical positions or deals with current topics. It also gives you some tips to develop your physique for padel. It is clear that he imposes his offensive style as on the padel court!
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