FIP RISE DOHA 2021
A tournament to welcome international Padel in Qatar
International Padel continues to grow within the CUPRA FIP TOUR itself. The second event of the CUPRA FIP TOUR 2021 circuit took
us to Doha, in a tournament organized in coordination with the QTF (Qatar Tennis Federation) and Padel In.
The FIP event, which scored for the official FIP-WPT ranking, became the first official international Padel tournament to be held in the country.
The RISE category tournament was held at the Padel In club (Doha-Qatar) and could be seen all over the world through the broadcasting of the matches from the first round, through the FIP Youtube channel thanks to the broadcasting signal of Qatar Streaming.
The road to the final
The pair Sacho – Lopez Hidalgo, began the tournament as number 8 seeded pair in the draw. They started their way to the final beating Hani Mohamed and Khalid Al Janahi in the first round (6-0/6-1) and Hassan Almannai and Sultan Al-Malki in the second round (6-0/6-1).
Sacho – Lopez Hidalgo had a firm objective and continued their advance to the final with a surprise 6-0 and 6-1 quarterfinal victory over the number 1 seeds Abdullah Alshaabi and Jorge Ruiz Gutierrez, 54th player in the FIP-WPT professional ranking.
In the semifinals they faced Pablo Franco and Alejandro Garcia, number 7 seeds, whom they beat by 6-3 and 6-1 on Saturday morning.
On the other side, the pair formed by Mohammed Saadon and Emanuel Cura, number 2 seeds, advanced to the final, fulfilling the predictions, beating Jassim Alzeyara and Hamad Almohannadi in the first round (6-1/6-2), Johan Madarsz and Sebastien Farhat in the round of 16 (6-1/6-0) and Jabor Al Mutawa and Angel Carrasco in the quarterfinals, in a disputed match that was defined in the tie break of the third set (6-1/3-6/7-6). Also the victory in the semifinals against Abdulaziz Saadon and Mohammed Abdulla, seeded 4 of the draw, was decided in a tie break, this time in the second set (6-3/6-7).
The final battle
The final of the tournament was decided on Saturday afternoon in a hard fought match between the four players. The pair Sacho-Lopez Hidalgo won by 7-6 and 6-3, becoming the winners of the FIP RISE DOHA 2021, adding 20 FIP-WPT points in the official ranking.
This is how this first tournament in Qatar concluded, giving a foretaste of the good organization and the commitment there is in Qatar with the development of Padel, the country will host this year other CUPRA FIP TOUR events and is the confirmed venue of the XV World Padel Championship that will take place in November.
THANK YOU DOHA, THANK YOU QATAR, PADEL IN AND QATAR TENNIS FEDERATION FOR THIS WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL PADEL!
Photographs: Padelin / Mohhammed Alyafei
New junior padel tour; FIP PROMISES
The great development that European countries are experiencing and the love and passion for Padel that the youth are already preaching in the old continent is a reality. So the first international junior Padel circuit has born, the FIP PROMISES Europe.
The FIP PROMISES will be played in Europe for its first edition, and it will have a minimum of four qualifying events for a Final Tournament at an international level called FIP FINALS Promises.
The competition format will be Open by pairs, always with the same nationality and same federative license issued by any European member association.
The categories, both female and male, will be the official categories of the World Championships; U14, U16, and U18. Although the organizers may include U12 draws to promote those categories if they wish to.
In the FIP FINALS Promises, all the champion and runners-up pairs of the national championships of each FIP member of the country will qualify directly to the final draw, as long as the championship has a participation of more than 9 national pairs.
But it will not be the only way to qualify, each semifinalist pair of the different tournaments of this Promises circuit will also have direct access to the FIP FINALS PROMISES.
The rest of the draw will be completed by ranking obtained during the FIP PROMISES Europe.
This Junior Circuit aims at the creation of an international ranking that can be comparable with the one that emerges from the official FIP Pan American Junior Tournaments, as well as future junior tournaments in Asia and Oceania and, of course, with the Junior World Championship in odd years.
The dates planned for the first events will try to coincide with the summer period in the continent to allow families to travel, and each host country should provide discounts on hotels and lunches.
MEJORSET, Official Court of the International Padel Federation
Mejorset, a Spanish manufacturer of Padel courts, new Official Supplier of the International Padel Federation (IPF).
In an agreement reached last December 2020, the company based in Alicante (Spain) and the International Padel Federation, join forces.
Mejorset products will be used in the tournaments of the International Padel Federation and Mejorset courts will bear the seal of the FIP, as a guarantee of quality and suitability for the professional practice of Padel.
In this way, the biggest event of the International Padel in 2021 will have the official court, the XV World Padel Championship will be played in 8 courts that MEJORSET will install.
Since its creation in 2002, Mejorset claims to have “positioned itself as the leading Spanish manufacturer of Padel courts, with a comprehensive service that includes the design, construction, and maintenance of the facilities”. Its clients include sports clubs, city councils, hotels, campsites, neighborhood communities, and individuals.
MEJORSET currently has customers in 20 countries and 80% of the company’s sales are made to foreign markets
Candidatures IPF 2021
The International Padel Federation informs you of the NOMINATIONS SUBMITTED for the positions of President and the Board of Directors members to be voted on April 28, 2021
Position of PRESIDENT:
Luigi Carraro:
Nominated by the following members:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- Spain
- United States
- Italy
- Japan
- Mexico
- Paraguay
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay
Alfredo Garbisu:
Nominated by the following members:
- Germany,
- Sweden.
Positions of BOARD OF DIRECTORS member:
- Oscar Nicastro – Argentina (Nominated by APA)
- Eduardo Langer – Brazil (Nominated by CoBraPa)
- Ole Egholm – Denmark (Nominated by DPF)
- Ramón Morcillo – Spain (Nominated by FEP)
- Sergio Ortíz – United States (Nominated by USPA)
- Roberto Pellegrini – Italy (Nominated by FIT)
- Koji Nakatsuka – Japan (Nominated by JPA)
- José Luis García Frapolli – Mexico (Nominated by FeMePa)
- Jorge Ramírez Vidal – Paraguay (Nominated by FeParPa)
- Christopher Chavane – Senegal (Nominated by APS)
In compliance with the provisions of our Statutes, the following nominations are VALID and accepted:
PRESIDENT:
- Luigi Carraro
- Alfredo Garbisu
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
- Oscar Nicastro – Argentina
- Eduardo Langer – Brazil
- Ramón Morcillo – Spain
- Sergio Ortíz – United States
- Roberto Pellegrini – Italy
- Koji Nakatsuka – Japan
- José Luis García Frapolli – Mexico
- Jorge Ramírez Vidal – Paraguay
Please consider that the nominations for the position of President submitted by Australia and Japan do not comply with article 18.2 of our Statutes and thus cannot be considered, as the national teams of the abovementioned federations have not participated in at least four World Championships.
On the other hand, the nomination of Mr. Chavene as Board member submitted by Senegal cannot be accepted, as the federation of Senegal joined the IPF on 1 January 2019 and does not meet the requirement of three years of membership under article 17.3.(i).b of our Statutes. Furthermore, the nomination of Mr. Egholm as Board member submitted by Denmark cannot be accepted, as the federation of Denmark has not participated in at least four absolute World Championships (as per art. 17.3.(i) of the Statutes).
CAS decision
The Executive Board of the International Padel Federation (“IPF”) hereby provides you with the following information relating to the 3 appeals that the Portuguese Padel Federation (“PPF”) with its President Ricardo Da Silva Oliveira filed against the IPF.
In all 3 proceedings, the highest body of sports justice has ruled in favor of the IPF.
Further details follow.
On 4 February 2021, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has issued the arbitral awards in the 3 appeal proceedings filed by the PPF against the IPF with respect to:
- the provisional suspension of the PPF and its President Ricardo Da Silva Oliveira decided by the Disciplinary Committee of the IPF on 17 September 2019 in relation to the organization of a parallel European Padel Championships in Portugal in November 2019;
- the resolutions passed by the IPF during the General Assembly of 18 October 2019;
- the disciplinary sanctions imposed on the PPF and its President Ricardo Da Silva Oliveira by the Appeal Committee of the IPF on 20 January 2020.
The ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport has been the following:
- the appeal of the PPF has been rejected, because PPF had no standing to appeal in relation to the provisional suspension imposed by the Disciplinary Committee on 17 September 2019, given that such decision was superseded by the final decision issued by the Appeals Committee of the IPF on 20 January 2020. The PPF has been condemned to reimburse legal expenses to the IPF;
- the full legitimacy of all resolutions of the IPF General Assembly of 18 October 2019 has been affirmed and the PPF has been condemned to reimburse legal expenses to the IPF. In particular, the CAS has denied all claims and allegations of the PPF, finding that:
- during the Assembly meeting there was no need to vote on maintaining the PPF’s provisional suspension, given that such suspension had been imposed by the disciplinary bodies of the IPF;
- the Lawn Tennis Association, the Federacion Nacional Padel Chile, the Federazione Italiana Tennis and the Monaco Padel Federation all had the right to participate in the Assembly meeting in their capacity of affiliate members;
- no reasons existed to vote in relation to the affiliation to the IPF of Femexpadel;
- the allocation of voting rights within the IPF – with affiliate members having different numbers of votes – is fully compliant with Swiss Law;
- no IPF rules or regulations provide for means to remove the President of IPF prior to the expiration of the statutory 4-year term; consequently, any request to this aim from an affiliate member must be dismissed;
- the audit of the 2018 IPF’s account had been made in compliance with the IPF’s rules and regulations;
- no violation of the rights of non-English-speaking affiliate members had been committed during the Assembly meeting;
- no violations of the rules governing the secret ballot – asked for by the Spanish Federation in relation to many deliberations – occurred;
- the full legitimacy of the 7-month suspension imposed on the PPF and its President Ricardo Da Silva Oliveira and the pecuniary sanction imposed on the PPF has been confirmed, the CAS finding that the organization of any international competition by an IPF affiliate member without the authorization of the IPF represents a serious violation of the IPF Disciplinary Regulations;
- the pecuniary sanctions imposed on the PPF for renouncing to the organization of the Minor Championships 2019 and for applying for the registration of trademarks referring to padel international competitions have been canceled for the following reasons:
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- no contract had been signed between IPF and PPF for the organization of the Minor Championships;
- all trademark applications of the PPF had been rejected by the EUIPO;
- the PPF has been condemned to reimburse legal expenses to the IPF.
The decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport have been received by the IPF Board as a high-profile confirmation of the key role of the IPF in the international padel arena and the good management of the current administration of the IPF, as well as an incentive to defend the interest of our affiliate members who keep working hard, day after day, for the development of padel in their territories and in the whole world.
The IPF, far from celebrating this result, deems it essential to draw the attention of all affiliate members, all of them having the same rights and obligations, to the key value of mutual respect, which must prevail over any difference, endorsing the solidity of sports institutions and their leaders around the world who make great efforts to improve day by day.
Once again, we invite all members to cooperate alongside the IPF for the success of our projects, that are beneficial for all national federations and will be even more successful if we all work together.
DECISIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL PADEL FEDERATION (FIP) and WORLD PÁDEL TOUR (WPT)
A new category is created, the player participation restrictions are reduced, and the number of tournaments increased to generate more revenue for professional Padel players.
World Padel Tour and the International Padel Federation have taken a decisive new step to consolidate the competitive structures of Padel globally. Besides the STAR, RISE, and PROMOTION categories, a new, higher-ranking FIP tournament, called FIP GOLD, is created, counting as well for the unified WPT-FIP ranking. In addition, both organizations have agreed to reduce ranking restrictions, allowing more players to participate in them with the aim of ensuring a more ambitious competitive offer that will allow to add more points and increase revenue.
In mid-2019, the International Padel and World Padel Tour Federation launched an ambitious framework of collaboration in order to provide the high-competition with a solid structure at the global level that would allow establishing the paths to be followed by players and federations of the five continents in order to reach the highest level represented by the Professional Circuit.
Back then, the creation of a unified ranking and the establishment of a series of tournaments with different categories and scores were decisive in establishing a solid base. Now, because of the continuous conversations and work meetings that both organizations hold regularly, a new category called FIP GOLD was born. In the already existence of the FIP STAR, FIP RISE, and FIP PROMOTION tournaments, the new FIP GOLD category definitively completes the stage for high-level players, offering players around the world a full competition offer that involves all possible levels of the WPT-FIP ranking and perfectly complements the World Padel Tour.
All four categories will count for the WPT-FIP ranking and will maintain proportionality in the score table to favor a dynamic situation in position variation. It is therefore the birth of a vital category for the large number of players who seek to access the positions of the privilege of the ranking and who thus find an ideal competition for their purposes.
Comparative table:
The President of the International Federation, Luigi Carraro, values this agreement by stating that
“The mission of internationalizing Padel and helping the National Federations to develop having tournaments that gives the possibility of approaching the professional circuit, World Padel Tour, is great news for all. We build the basis of our relationship with WPT with the same objective: to increase the number of players of different nationalities and to give the best players in each country a chance to see themselves in an international ranking, giving more visibility to our sport. With this agreement, we not only consolidate all sections of the ranking by improving the status of professional players, but also improve the organizational capacity of all federations that already include important tournaments to their calendars, in that sense, I hope to continue collaborating with WPT to place Padel among the most important sports.”
For his part, World Padel Tour CEO Mario Hernando points out that:
“This is an important step forward for the consolidation of the global structure of elite Padel worldwide. Two seasons ago, World Padel Tour and the International Padel Federation set the clear goal of putting the necessary wickers to allow the growth of players from all countries to the top of WPT tournaments. The first stone was the unification of the ranking and now, with this new scenario, the calendar is definitively drawn for hundreds of players with professional aspirations. FIP and WPT will continue to work together to further improve Padel and place it among the biggest in professional sport.”
Despite the enormous difficulties generated by the global health situation and mobility restrictions in the organization of sporting events, a situation that both the FIP and the WPT faced in 2020 achieving an incredibly significant number of tournaments for the main benefit of the players, and with the sustained objective of continuing the development of Padel around the world. Both WPT and FIP are confident that they will be able to complete a calendar in 2021 as planned and thus allow this agreement to demonstrate the great advance that it represents for the specialty.
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