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What is a padel tournament?
Padel is a sport that is growing increasingly popular around the world, particularly in France. And like any sport on the rise, it needs events that bring people together to compete and enjoy time together. Padel tournaments are ideal events to organise, often at padel clubs. Tournaments also mean padel rankings and, above all, tournament categories. These divide participants by level to make tournaments as evenly matched as possible. Several tournament categories have therefore been created so everyone can play:
- Tournaments for intermediate players: P25 and P100.
- Tournaments for advanced players: P250 and P500
- Tournaments for expert players: P1000, P1500 and P2000
The number after the letter indicates how many points the winners earn for finishing first. Other participants also earn points according to their finishing position. These points help players climb the rankings and qualify for bigger tournaments.
Every club can organise a padel tournament on its courts, provided it is well organised and has enough competitors available. However, for the points earned to count towards the players' rankings, the tournament must be approved by the FFT. A tournament referee must also be present throughout. Smaller clubs sometimes struggle to organise tournaments and turn to larger venues nearby. To be approved, a venue must meet official requirements, such as those concerning the size of the padel court.
How do you enter a padel tournament?
There are several requirements for entering a padel tournament. First, your playing level. To start competing in tournaments, beginning with P25 events, you generally need to be around padel level 4, 4.5 or even 5, depending on your club's ranking system and the region. Beginners are considered to lack the padel experience needed to compete in an official tournament. Unofficial events, such as the promotion-and-relegation sessions some venues organise, are usually a better choice.
Another requirement for entering an official padel tournament is a padel licence. Available through the FFT website, your club or a tournament referee, it is essential for inclusion in the federation's database and therefore for appearing in the French rankings. It costs just €20. Better still, if you already have an FFT tennis licence, you are already registered and do not need to pay extra.
What are the rules of a padel tournament?
Most tournaments follow a standard format, with a draw and seeded pairs. The idea is to keep the best pairs in the tournament from facing each other in the first tour. The losers of the first tour then play each other, as do the winners, to establish a final ranking and award points on a sliding scale. All players play the same number of matches, an important way to ensure nobody misses out.
For P25 tournaments, the format is sometimes different: in the first stage, 5 to 6 pairs are placed in a group and play each other in 10-point super tie-breaks to determine the group standings. The teams are then divided into 3 different draws according to their group standings to compete for their final tournament places, usually playing 3 matches of 4 games each. In the example below, 24 pairs take part, forming 4 groups of 6. This keeps play moving more quickly and lets players face as many different pairs as possible.
What equipment do you need for a padel tournament?
To enter a padel tournament, you don't need any padel equipment apart from a padel racket. However, plenty of products can help you perform better and improve your chances of winning. The right padel clothing can also help, particularly by wicking away sweat throughout the tournament. Padel accessories can also help you manage sweat, especially during hot summer tournaments. Caps, sweatbands and headbands are often popular choices among players.
Padel shoes are also essential for a good tournament. First, they offer greater comfort, with brands using an array of technologies to make them exceptionally lightweight. Padel shoes are also designed to provide firm support to help prevent ankle twists and injuries.
