Official Statement - World Padel Tour

Official Statement - World Padel Tour

31-03-2022

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Given the participation of players currently under contract with World Padel Tour at a Padel tournament organised by the Federación Internacional de Padel (FIP) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in Doha coinciding with a Challenger event of the professional Circuit, WPT wants to state the following:

1. In order to preserve the image of the Tour and of all the professional players who participate in it, World Padel Tour has maintained a prudent silence, confident that all players would finally comply with the signed contracts, despite the false information and news stories that have been spread in recent weeks.

2. World Padel Tour has scrupulously fulfilled its contractual commitments with every player who, freely and voluntarily, signed said contracts for the provision of professional services in 2018 and whose validity ends on December 31st, 2023.

3. With regards to the 2024 season and beyond, World Padel Tour maintains its contract renewal proposal presented to the players in 2021 in which, among other aspects, it contemplates an update for current prize money that multiplies by 3 (Open) and by 5 (Master) from this year onwards.

4. The players who have participated in the tournament in Doha, despite having been warned (not threatened) beforehand, have knowingly and deliberately breached some of the essential terms in the agreed contracts, for which an unfounded pretext, allegedly based on Community law, has been sought. It goes without saying that the commitments that have been undertaken are binding for both parties, both the players as well as the organisation, and are not at the discretion of one of them, and for this reason, WPT has taken the appropriate legal action provided for and established in the signed contracts. These actions seek the fulfillment of what has been agreed and compensation for the damages and detriment caused. WPT has neither requested nor threatened the imposition of any fine.

5. The behaviour of some of the professional players has been neither spontaneous or isolated. It has been orchestrated with the participation, planning, coordination and funding of private entities and organisations, some of which are supposedly non-profit and should maintain strict neutrality in the best interest of the very sport they claim to defend.

6. WPT will exercise all legal action available within the law against any disloyal and illegitimate attack, wherever it comes from, in order to defend its own reputation, its rights and the value of the WPT Circuit, as well as the interest of professional players, promoters and venues, including the claim for all the damages and detriment caused.

7. In this light, it is appropriate to recall that, in present time, World Padel Tour:

• Is a brand with worldwide recognition and prestige. It is a highly competitive Circuit that has been able to more than double the number of tournaments (from 15 to 33) from 2014 to 2022.

• Has led the globalisation of Padel, going from 2 tournaments (out of 15) held outside of Spain in 2014 to 16 (of 33) in 2022.

• Has equalled the prize money between men and women, being the first professional sports competition to do so. This will remain unchanged for the remaining two years of the current contract.

• Has introduced television to the world of padel for the first time in its history with Gol TV. Today, television coverage will be shown in over 120 countries worldwide thanks to agreements with world-class broadcasters like Movistar (Spain), Sky (Italy), Canal Plus (Europe and Africa), Nent (Nordic countries), Direct TV (Latam), Zapping (Chile), Ziggo (Netherlands) and Telenet (Belgium). Additionally, in an effort to bring fans worldwide closer to the action, WPT TV was created.

• Has encouraged innovation in the world of padel: Centre courts with higher visibility, courts without sand of the highest quality and safety for the players, a fast ball to make games more dynamic, the implementation of the “gold point”, a decision adopted by all today, including the FIP itself.

• Has invested in human capital, creating a solid, experienced and solvent team of professionals who have been one of the foundations of the success of the Circuit.

• Has taken courageous decisions such as playing in the middle of a pandemic and organising 11 events in 6 months, accepting the great economic deterioration in order to guarantee the spectacle to the fans and not stall the growth of the sport.

• Has managed to help professional WPT players to multiply their income by 10, which WPT is very pleased with.

8. Finally, WPT is grateful for the unconditional support from promoters and main brands who are part of the padel industry and ratifies its intention and desire to reach an understanding with the male and female players’ collective that will allow to endorse and consolidate the growth of the sport in the coming years.

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