Cagliari, 18 July 2024 – In 2024, Italy confirms itself as the absolute protagonist in the world padel racing calendar by hosting some of the most important events of the season. A strategic position for our country which - as highlighted by the numbers of the World Padel Report 2024 - is significantly contributing to the further spread of this exciting sporting discipline. Thanks to the constant synergy between the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation and the International Padel Federation , the Italian summer is very hot for paddle lovers. After the one offered by the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel in Rome and the Genoa Premier Padel P2 (30 June-7 July), the show will move to Cagliari . The second edition of the FIP Platinum Sardinia (14-20 July) will 'open the ball' at the Cagliari Tennis Club . For the Sardinian capital, a great confirmation after last year's sold-out event (entrance will also be free for this edition), for the top category tournament of the CUPRA FIP Tour , the most important circuit in the world, with over 170 tournaments in all over the world from 23 countries. Up for grabs are 250 precious FIP ranking points for the winners of the men's and women's tournaments and a prize pool of 60 thousand euros equally distributed between men and women, for a total prize money of 120 thousand euros. After the FIP Platinum Sardinia, the prestigious Cagliari club will then welcome the FIP European Padel Championships .
SARDINIA, 'THE ISLAND OF SPORT' - With the precious support of the Sardinia Region and the Municipality of Cagliari , from 22 to 27 July , the Sardinian capital will host the thirteenth highly anticipated edition of the main competition for national teams of the 'Old Continent'. The protagonist, once again, will be the Cagliari Tennis Club with its courts immersed in the suggestive green oasis of the Monte Urpinu hill. Sardinia aims to offer Italian and foreign fans an unforgettable experience to promote its territory also through sport. Cagliari believed and invested in padel from the beginning, immediately perceiving its extraordinary potential. After hosting numerous international events, ' the Island of Sport ' is therefore transformed into the 'Island of Padel ', preparing to embrace the great champions of this sport, ready to lead their respective selected teams in the hunt for the prestigious title of Champions of 'Europe.
THE FORMAT OF THE TOURNAMENT – The qualifiers held in Oslo on the weekend of 7-9 June last assigned the last six places available for the Final Phase of the FIP European Padel Championships, to which the top ten nations in the ranking were already directly admitted, including ' Italy . Each national team will be made up of a minimum of six and a maximum of eight players, in both the men's and women's competitions. The opening ceremony will be held on July 21st , at the end of which there will be a draw for the Group Phase which will start the following day on the 8 padel courts set up at TC Cagliari and will end on July 24th (double daily session with the competition starting at 9 am and 5 pm). The 16 nations will be divided into 4 groups of 4 teams : Spain, Italy, France and Sweden, as seeds, have already been directly distributed in each of the four Groups (A for the Iberians, B for the Azzurri , C for the Transalpines , D for Scandinavians). The top two in each group will win the right to compete for positions from first to eighth, while the countries ranked in third and fourth place will compete for positions from ninth to sixteenth. The semi-finals will be played on Friday 26 July, twenty-four hours later - starting at 10 am - the finals will be held (not only those to assign the title but also those to determine all the other positions, from third to eighth).
THE HISTORY OF THE COMPETITION – This year with Cagliari, our country will host – for the fourth time in the history of the competition – the FIP European Padel Championships. The first Italian edition held in Lido di Savio (a hamlet of the municipality of Ravenna, in Emilia-Romagna), dated 1995, was also the first ever of the European Championships. Subsequently, the prestigious team tournament returned to Italy in 2005 in Bologna and in 2019 in Rome . In the 12 editions played so far, Spain has been the undisputed dominator, winning the title 10 times in the men's and 9 times in the women's. The Azzurri have succeeded in the feat only once, in 2019, when the men's selection led by Gustavo Spector defeated France in the final at the Bola Padel Club in Rome with a clear 2 to 0. For the women, however, the best result is the bronze won in 2021 in Marbella.
From the first in Ravenna to the upcoming thirteenth edition in Cagliari, the numbers of the FIP European Padel Championships have grown constantly, in terms of Federations involved, public and participating athletes. Pre-registrations for the Sardinian tournament have in fact reached record numbers : 30 national teams for men and 21 for women, for a total of 51 participating teams. In the previous edition of the event, held in 2021 in Marbella, Spain, there were 29 competing teams , 16 male and 13 female. The number of participating selections has therefore almost doubled, demonstrating the exponential growth of the padel phenomenon in Europe . After all, the 'Old Continent' can count on 59% of the over 30 million players spread across the world, as highlighted by the World Padel Report 2024 .
THE EUROPEANS ON SUPERTENNIS AND SUPERTENNIX – The FIP European Padel Championships will be broadcast live in full on SuperTenniX (the FITP streaming platform) and on SuperTennis , mainly through the HbbTV ( Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV ) channels, accessible on Smart TVs connected to the Internet.
THE PRECIOUS CONTRIBUTION OF THE PARTNERS – The Cagliari event can enjoy the precious support of the partners: Bullpadel , Official Ball of the FIP, will also dress the ball boys and the s taff with his collection; Cupra will be the Official Automotive Partner of the event. They acquire the qualifications of Official Supplier Mejor Set , Official Court , Mondo , Official Turf , and Valmora , Official Water . Finally, the Unione Sarda ensures its commitment as Media Partner of the event.