The days of the FIP Platinum Albania will come at a key moment in the international padel season. The event that will light up Skanderbeg Square will take place just a few days before the start of the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel, one of the four most prestigious tournaments in the world, scheduled from 1 to 7 June at the Foro Italico in Rome. Many of the world’s leading players will use the tournament in Tirana to prepare for the Major, which, like the FIP Platinum Albania, will also be played outdoors.
If the Platinum category represents the highest level of the CUPRA FIP Tour, the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour is the ultimate goal for every professional padel player. Launched in 2022 by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), in collaboration with the International Padel Federation (FIP) and the Professional Players Association (PPA), Premier Padel became the unified professional padel circuit in 2024 following the acquisition of the World Padel Tour.
The 2026 season features 24 tournaments divided into three categories: Major events (Rome, Paris, Kuwait City and Acapulco), P1 tournaments (Riyadh, Miami, Buenos Aires, Valencia, Malaga, Pretoria, London, Madrid, Milan and Dubai) and P2 tournaments (Gijon, Cancun, Newgiza, Brussels, Asuncion, Valladolid, Bordeaux, Rotterdam and Germany in a venue yet to be confirmed), in addition to the Barcelona Finals, where the top 16 men and top 16 women in the FIP Race qualify.
The FIP Race and the FIP Ranking — the latter based on the best 22 results achieved over the previous 52 weeks — are therefore calculated through points earned in Premier Padel and CUPRA FIP Tour events. Within the universe of FIP competitions, increasing importance is also being given to the FIP Promises circuit, dedicated to the NextGen.
In 2025, the FIP Promises circuit featured 90 tournaments worldwide for the Under-18, Under-16, Under-14 and Under-12 categories. In 2024 there had been 41 events, compared to 18 in 2023 and 12 in 2022, highlighting the remarkable growth of padel both at elite and grassroots level. In 2026, the FIP Promises circuit evolved further with the creation of continental youth circuits (Europe, America, Asia and Africa), each with its own dedicated ranking, while in 2027 a global Under-18 circuit will be launched.
Padel also includes competitions for national teams. The 2026 season will once again feature the FIP World Cup, after Argentina won the men’s event and Spain the women’s event in Doha, Qatar, in 2024. Last year, Kuwait City hosted the inaugural edition of the FIP World Cup Pairs. Continental competitions for national teams are also organised, including Senior and Junior categories: in the most recent FIP Euro Padel Cup, played in Spain between Madrid (Phase 1 and Phase 2) and La Linea de la Concepcion (Final 8), 36 nations were represented, with 66 national teams taking part.
Padel was also included for the first time as a medal sport at the 2023 European Games in Krakow and has already been confirmed for the 2027 edition in Istanbul. The same will happen in 2026 at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.