The recently published article on the concept of "treason" of the International Padel Federation (FIP) with regard to the World Padel Tour has sparked numerous reactions. It reflects a feeling shared by part of the padel world at the time of the transition to Premier Padel and raises legitimate questions about the governance, player protection and institutional breakdown between the two circuits.
https://padelmagazine.fr/pourquoi-parle-t-on-de-trahison-de-la-fip-retour-sur-une-rupture-qui-a-marque-le-padel-mondial/

But this interpretation is not the only possible one. Other equally qualified actors believe that this pivotal period deserves a more in-depth analysis. nuanced, incorporating contextual elements rarely exposed publicly. This is notably the viewpoint defended by Vincent Laureyssens, President of Brussels Premier Padel and World Association of Padel International Organizers (WAPITO), organizer who knew the World Padel Tour and Premier Padel, and today the only promoter from the WPT era to have been integrated by the new circuit.

His perspective is not intended to invalidate the criticisms leveled against the FIPHe registers as another perspective, based on a direct experience of both systems.

"His detractors don't know everything."

“I want to defend the FIP facing her detractors. She is too often criticized by padel players of all stripes, but that's also because they don't know everything. As is often the case, it's easy to criticize. I would like to express my views on certain points. untruthsI knew the World Padel Tour and I know now Premier PadelI'm the only one who knows both versions perfectly. And I can tell you there's no comparison.

At the heart of the debate lies the break between the FIP and the World Padel Tour, often presented as a sudden and unilateral reversal. Vincent Laureyssens advance one different chronologywhich he considers essential to understanding the decisions taken by the Federation.
https://padelmagazine.fr/premier-padel-vs-world-padel-tour-retour-sur-deux-annees-folles/

The FIP would not have betrayed them. On the contrary…

The Belgian, who is also member of the global management committees of Premier Padel and the FIPHe did not formally confirm this to us, but several concurring sources They report the following elements. The FIP would actually have tried to find a mediation, a sequel for the World Padel Tour. But One dinner would have changed everything.

Un strategic dinner meeting would have gathered the World Padel Tour, Ramon Agenjo (its president), Imker Capital (an investment company involved in the WPT) – then a candidate to acquire the WPT – as well as Luigi Carraro for FIPaccompanied by his lawyer S. Laporta. A working day was to be held the following day in order to define the future of the circuit, of the WPT and FIP from 2024 onwards. However, at the end of the meal, the World Padel Tour et Imker Capital reportedly announced that there would ultimately be no workday.

That was the end of the real relationship between the FIP and the WPT. And the FIP moved closer to Premier Padel.

For Vincent Laureyssens :
« Ramon Agenjo was a great president WPT but he was unfortunately surrounded by authoritarian and brittle managerscausing discontent among various stakeholders in the padel community.

Imker Capital's role in the failure of the joint project

This meeting, which was intended to revive a common dynamic between World Padel Tour and FIPThis would have produced the opposite effect. It is in this context that Luigi Carraro would have taken other steps. According to this interpretation, the FIP would therefore not have “abandoned” the WPTbut tempted to pursue a collaboration under different conditions of those imposed until then by the World Padel TourThis interpretation directly challenges the idea of ​​a deliberate betrayal.

Another rarely mentioned element concerns the role ofImker Capital in the failure of the joint project around the World Padel TourThe Imker representative, Ignacio Aguillo, is described by several actors as having had a particularly problematic management of the case, to the point of having contributed to scuttling the takeover of WPTHe would then have been discarded following this chaos and the break with the FIP.

Player dissatisfaction, a determining factor

In this already fragile context, another major factor comes into play: the deep dissatisfaction among the players with regard to the World Padel Tour, a point that Vincent Laureyssens It is essential to remember this.

« Let's not forget that the players were very, very unhappy with the World Padel TourIt's important to say that. »

According to him, this climate of tension largely explains what happened next, particularly during the exchanges at Doha .

"When Luigi Carraro was at Doha in October 2022 and that he complained about WPT, just like the players, alongside NasserHe offered to help them and create a new circuit with the players, the female players and the FIP »

In this reading, the creation of Premier Padel fits more like a response to a structural impasse than a simple, opportunistic change of alliance.

A job considered undervalued from the outside

Vincent Laureyssens also emphasizes the reality of work carried out today by the FIP and Premier Padelwhich he often considers undervalued from the outside.

"I know Luigi Carraro For 7 years, and much more than 2 years. He got me into world padel steering committeeAnd I can assure you that there is a enormous workThe team that Premier Padel The implementation is worthy of a Formula 1 teamI know what I'm talking about, I was the number two of Sauber Petronas in F1 »

He also mentions thepersonal engagement of the president of the FIP.

« Carraro works twenty hours a day, twenty-four hours a day., like me. I am the sole promoter of the WPT to have been accepted by Premier PadelTherefore, I believe I have a particularly goalThere isn't a single promoter left from that era. WPT"...except for me."

If he takes on the responsibility of defending Luigi Carraro, Vincent Laureyssens specifies the reasons for this position.

"I defend" Luigi Carraro Because he deserves it. He leads a institutional and sporting relations work towards 2032 which is considerable. His father's background is an asset, but it's not everything.

As a reminder, Franco Carraro was a influential Italian sports executive, former president of the CONI and European Olympic Committees, member of IOC and a major player in the international sports governanceAn inheritance which, according to Vincent Laureyssens, may have facilitated certain procedures, but does not alone explain the scale of the project undertaken today by the FIP.
https://padelmagazine.fr/le-padel-sur-la-voie-olympique-le-president-du-cio-en-visite-au-major-de-rome/

This another look It does not claim to close the debate. It does not erase the criticisms leveled at the FIP, nor the gray areas of the transition between the World Padel Tour et Premier PadelHe simply reminds us that this period cannot be summarized in a single reading.

Between contested decisions, Missed opportunities, balance of power et opposing viewsSeveral interpretations coexist. The one supported by Vincent Laureyssens one of them is based on a direct experience of both systemsAs such, it deserves to be included in the debate so that the analysis of the global padel governance remains plural, balanced et true to the complexity of the facts.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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