Premier Padel, the leading official professional padel tour worldwide, is delighted to announce a new multi-year partnership with Qatar Airways, which will see the multiple-award winning airline become the ‘Title Sponsor’ of Premier Padel.
As part of this significant agreement, the official tour will be renamed the ‘Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour’, with the season’s December tour finals in Barcelona becoming the ‘Qatar Airways Premier Padel Finals’. Qatar Airways will also become the ‘Official Airline Partner’ of Premier Padel for the remainder of the 2024 season and beyond.
Both entities have a shared commitment toward supporting the growth and expansion of padel worldwide – with 25 tournaments across 17 countries during the 2024 Premier Padel season – while Qatar Airways and Premier Padel will also collaborate to design custom solutions for players and fans alike to enhance their travel experiences.
The partnership with Qatar Airways will also seamlessly connect padel fans, athletes and officials through the airline’s network of over 170 destinations through its award-winning hub, Hamad Intenational Airport (DOH), which has recently been voted by Skytrax as the ‘World’s Best Airport’ for the third time.
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman of Premier Padel, said: “We are delighted to welcome Qatar Airways – the best airline in the world and one of the world’s leading global brands – as the new title sponsor of Premier Padel. We are entering a fantastic new era for the sport and our collaboration with Qatar Airways will deliver exceptional experiences for players and fans, as well as global visibility for the tour. We are committed to the growth of padel all around the world and this latest partnership shows the commercial and sporting appeal of Premier Padel, together with our desire to take the tour – and the sport – to the next and highest level.”
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said: “Padel is thriving with ever-increasing participation around the world. Our global network will serve as the perfect way to connect fans, players and the officials on this 25 destination tour. We look forward to playing our role in accelerating the popularity and growth of padel as Official Title Partner and Official Airline Partner of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour. The sport exemplifies the diversity of our portfolio as we continue to extend our passion for bringing people together through sport.”
Premier Padel will support Qatar Airways in strengthening its footprint across Europe and the Middle East, in key markets such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, as well as in the KSA and the UAE. Premier Padel is committed to bringing a unified global tour with the world’s best players to new audiences and countries around the world. Qatar Airways joins Red Bull, Wilson, MejorSet, Mondo, Bullpadel, and Playtomic as a key strategic partner of Premier Padel, supporting its development and expansion by offering fans and players unique cross-industry experiences across padel.
About Premier Padel
Premier Padel is the leading official professional padel tour worldwide, founded by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) together with the International Padel Federation (FIP) and the Professional Padel Association (PPA). Launched in 2022, backed by the Professional Padel Association (PPA), over 500 players from around the world competed in Premier Padel tournaments in its first year and played in some of the most iconic venues in sports history, including at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. Over 110 leading professional female players joined Premier Padel in March 2023 through the International Padel Players Association (IPPA). In August 2023, it was announced that QSI would acquire World Padel Tour (WPT) to create a single global professional padel tour – called Premier Padel – governed by FIP. From 2024, Premier Padel includes 25 tournaments in 17 countries as the tour continues to grow the sport in new territories and in every dimension. As a global brand, Premier Padel also captures the dynamic essence and spirit of padel, with the sport embarking on an exciting new dawn on a global scale driven by the new unified global tour.
About Qatar Airways
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways won the ‘World’s Best Business Class’ for the tenth time at the 2023 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. The airline continues to be synonymous with excellence, also taking home, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Lounge’ and ‘World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining’ at the prestigious awards held during the 2023 Paris Air Show. Qatar Airways is an unprecedented seven-time winner of the ‘World’s Best Airline’ voted by Skytrax (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022). As leaders in industry innovation and digital adoption, Qatar Airways was recently voted the ‘World’s Best Airline Website’ by World Travel Tech Awards.
Qatar Airways was the first Airline in the Middle East to be certified to the highest level of IATA’s Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme, based on recognised environmental management system principles (such as ISO 14001). As an inaugural signatory to the Buckingham Palace Declaration in March 2016, Qatar Airways became the first airline globally to be certified to the industry standard for the prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking in aviation.
Qatar Airways currently flies to nearly 170 destinations worldwide, connecting through its Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, the ‘World’s Best Airport’, as voted by Skytrax in 2021, 2022, and 2024. In 2024, Hamad International Airport also received the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ accolade for 10 consecutive years, as well as ‘World’s Best Airport Shopping’ for the second year in a row.