Premier Padel expands to London and Pretoria for 2026

The 2026 Premier Padel season will feature tournaments in the UK and South Africa for the first time as the professional padel tour further expands its global footprint.

The tour will come to Pretoria on July 27 to August 2 and London on August 3-9, while a new Spanish location, Valencia, will also feature this year, hosting a tournament on 8-14 June.

In all there will be 26 tournaments across 18 countries, with nearly 75% indoors. In 2025 there were 24 tournaments across 16 countries.

The announcement of the expansion followed the launch of the Hexagon World Series, developed through a partnership between the International Padel Federation (FIP), Hexagon Cup, and sport and entertainment agency 54.

Premier Padel is also a shareholder and major strategic partner in the new global team circuit, which is designed to complement FIP’s flagship professional tour for individual pairs.

The 2026 Premier Padel tour will start immediately after the Hexagon Cup, which takes place in Madrid on 28 January to 1 February.

The Riyadh Season P1 on 9 February 2026 will be followed by Spain’s first tournament of the year in Gijón, before heading on its first trip to the Americas and the second editions of tournaments in Mexico (Cancun) and the US (Miami).

Following a return to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe – with tournaments in Qatar (Doha), Egypt (New Giza) and Belgium (Brussels) – the Premier Padel tour will make its South American return for tournaments in Argentina (Buenos Aires) and Paraguay (Asunción).

Europe takes centre stage between June and October, with a return to several recognised countries and locations including Italy (Rome, Milan), Spain (Malaga, Valladolid, Valencia, and Madrid), France (Bordeaux, Paris), the Netherlands (Rotterdam), and Germany (Dusseldorf).

The tour will then return to the Middle East for tournaments in Kuwait (Kuwait City) and UAE (Dubai), with the FIP World Cup being hosted in between Premier Padel events. 

Following the long-term renewals of three Major tournaments (Qatar, Italy and Paris) earlier this year, the world’s best players will once again return to Doha in April, Rome in June and Stade Roland-Garros in September, before closing the regular season with the Mexico Major at the end of November in Acapulco.

The Premier Padel Finals returns to Barcelona for its third edition from 7-13 December – where the top 16 ranked players in the FIP Race Ranking in both the men’s and women’s competitions will qualify to compete for the 2026 season title. 

The 2026 season will also see the implementation of the new ‘Star Point’ scoring system, which Premier Padel said was driven by the need to balance tradition with innovation, while improving player welfare, broadcast appeal, and fan engagement.

David Sugden, CEO of Premier Padel, said: “The 2026 calendar is a fantastic moment for professional padel, with the Tour entering three new cities and reaching a bigger audience than ever before.

“It not only reflects our long-term vision to expand padel’s global reach, but, with our first year in the UK and our second in the US, it also demonstrates how Premier Padel has driven padel into the world’s most competitive sports markets.

“We are confident 2026 will be the best season the sport has ever seen – with innovation in the scoring system, more indoor tournaments, new entertainment concepts, and an ever greater focus on the fan experience, all contributing to a fantastic year ahead for players, fans and all our partners.”   

Luigi Carraro, FIP president and vice chairman of Premier Padel, said: “Professional padel has never been stronger than it is today, and the 2026 calendar sets out how Premier Padel will develop the elite level of the sport even more.

“The entire pyramid is elevated by the further internationalisation of padel, reaching new and more diverse audiences, and supporting our collective Olympic ambitions.

“We are also delighted to see Premier Padel embracing feedback from across the ecosystem and adopting a FIP-backed innovative scoring system for 2026 – which will also be implemented in the Cupra FIP Tour.

“Designed to preserve padel tradition, whilst improving player welfare and broadcast predictability, this move also aligns with International Olympic Committee objectives around sport innovation and fan-driven adaptations – propelling our sport forwards across the board.”

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