World Padel Tour

The World Padel Tour is the international professional padel circuit, showcasing the best men’s and women’s players across the globe. The World Padel Tour was founded in 2012 and has continued to grow over the past nine years, with more players than ever competing in the sport at a professional level.

The tour boasts a number of Open and Master level events throughout the season, alongside the International Padel Federations, European and World Championships.

With the full calendar and schedule for the 2021 season still to be announced, fans can look forward to some more spectacular venues across the globe, with cities such as Barcelona, Miami, Dubai and Monte Carlo – among others – hosting World Padel Tour events in the past.

However, one key date for the diary is 28 June, when Europe’s leading padel talent will take centre stage to compete in the European Championships 2021.

Ones to watch

In the men’s game it’s hard to look past last season’s number one pairing Alejandro Galán and Juan Lebrón. While they narrowly missed out on winning the season-ending Menorca Masters Final, where they reached the final, the Spaniards won six titles across the year, including the Barcelona Masters.

Bidding to challenge them will be the experienced duo of Fernando Belasteguín and Sanyo Gutierrez. The pair have played almost 900 matches between them on the World Padel Tour and at the ages of 41 and 36 respectively will form a legendary pairing.

Belasteguín showed he still has what it takes after winning the Menorca Masters Final last year. His team mate on that occasion, raising star Agustín Tapia, became the youngest Masters Final champion at the age of 20 and is set to play alongside the experienced Pablo Lima in another exciting pairing for 2021.

In the women’s game Gemma Triay Pons and Lucía Sainz Pelegri were the top-ranked team last year after winning five out of six events to end the season, including the Menorca Masters Final and Barcelona Masters.  But having played together since 2016 the pair decided to part ways at the end of 2020.

Fans will have been excited by the news late last year that the 2019 World No.1 duo Marta Marrero and Marta Ortega will once again join forces moving forward with success in their sights. With more time to work together this off season, don’t be surprised if the Spaniards once again rise to the top.

The British padel stars

In terms of the Brits on the World Padel Tour, one name to look out for is Christian Medina. Ranked just outside the top 100, Medina is a young rising star in the game, who often plays alongside Spain’s Pedro Meléndez Amaya. The British No.1 put in a good showing at the Menorca Open towards the end of the season and will be a bright hope for years to come.

A familiar name for British padel fans will be Richard Brooks. The 39-year-old first started playing padel back in 2011 after leaving a career as a tennis coach in Spain, having worked with top players, including former World No.3 Jelena Jankovic. Brooks has been one of the driving forces behind the growth of British padel and has represented his country on the tour for several years.

On the women’s side 16-year-old Tia Norton, one of Britain’s leading players, will also start to compete on the World Padel Tour. The teenager – who has also represented England in rounders – is an exciting prospect and will be one to keep an eye on in 2021 and beyond.

Other British players that will look to continue their progress into the professional game include Sam Jones, Louie Harris, Cameron Dollimore, Ryan Wyatt and Nikhil Mohindra.

LTA Padel Tour

Closer to home, 2021 will also usher in a new season of the LTA Padel Tour circuit. The tour gives the best players in Great Britain an opportunity to gain valuable competitive match experience at a national level. Events are played at venues all over the country and are graded between one and three, depending on the weight of rating points on offer.

In a season disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a number of events being cancelled, Natalia Lozono and Estafania Velasco of Stratford Padel Club finished top of the women’s leaderboard and will look to extend their reign in the coming year. Spanish partners Jorge Martinez and Angel Benito of Thistle Padel Club are top of the men’s leaderboard, with Javier Serrats and British player John Leach coming in just behind.

The 2021 calendar for the LTA Padel Tour will be confirmed early this year, with events due to start from March (dependent on Government restrictions).