All The Angles

All The Angles Padel Business Podcast S2 E4: Focus on Premier Padel Part 1

• Alexander Inglot • Season 2 • Episode 4

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 42:57

In 2002, the first Premier Padel events appeared on the professional padel circuit, alongside the decade old World Padel Tour. By 2024, the World Padel Tour was no more, and Premier Padel was hosting 25 different events across 18 countries.

The evolution of the pro scene, with Premier Padel now firmly at its heart, has been nothing short of remarkable.

Managing Director David Serrahima and Commercial Director Rob Mitchell are among the chief architects of the tour and join All The Angles for a special two-episode interview as we probe the history, the present and the vision for the future of the Premier Padel and the global ecosystem generally.

Introduction

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

The business of padel podcast worldwide, powered by the Hexagon Cup. This week, our objective is to give you, our audience, a unique insight Into premier padel, understanding its status, its vision, and its commercial realities. I'm joined this episode by Rob Mitchell and David Serrahima. We couldn't have two more high profile and knowledgeable people talking about the journey that Premier padel has been on up till now and what it's got lying ahead of it. Rob Mitchell has spent 30 years around sports sponsorship, marketing and commercial across rugby, football with the English FA, triathlon and also as well on the agency side and is now the Premier padel's commercial director. David Serrahima has another 20 yearsOctagon before he joined Premier padel as the CEO, but he also has tremendous marketing and sales experience across his career through tennis and golf, amongst other sports. Thank you both for joining us. Before we get started, if you enjoy this episode or have benefited from previous ones, please share, subscribe, it helps. So without further ado, first question, let's start with the background, the history. So Premier padel basically jumped onto the scene around 2022, out of nowhere, really. so can I ask, do you guys have an insight as to what drove Nasser and QSI to look at this sport and space? And what were, what was the opportunity and what were the kind of metrics that really got the process in the project moving?

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Okay. Thank you. Good morning. Good afternoon everyone. Buenas tardes. Just a small thing to say that our CEO is David sugden. I'm just David Serrahima, general manager, but more than happy to be here. Obviously on 2022, it was a perfect moment for padel. During the World cup in 2021 in Qatar. It was there, our chairman and also the president of the International Padel Federation because the event itself. And one day they were approached by all the players, men and women sharing with them all the thoughts about the Padel situation at the time owned by a private company as a closed circuit, and mainly played and focused on the Spanish markets. It's also true that they were open in other markets, but they approached both of them looking for some advice and looking for some help. And obviously our chairman is a lover of padel also in the sport and being also the president of the International Federation out there, it was the perfect moment for joining efforts together with associations and to launch Premier padel together. QSI through our chairman helps to grow the ecosystem of the sport globally, but also Fip through Paal and and the main goal, it was the freedom to help the players create a new platform and a new property. But yeah, all started during the World Cup in Doha back in 2021.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

and what was missing in the proposition that existed beforehand? What was it that premier padel felt that they could provide and promote that wasn't really being done up until that point?

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Okay. I would say that we all know that our chairman it was a tennis player and he fully understand the mindset of any professional athlete. and also the president of the International padel Federation it's very close to players. And both easily agreed that all the project it was about the freedom of the players. We expected the players to be free to play in some different events. Obviously always being Premier padel the main one, but it was about the freedom of the players. It was also the opportunity to create a big platform, to give the opportunity to them to play in the best conditions ever and that's something that our chairman, CEO and the president of the international is always remembering us that we need to make the standards at high level. And and we put together the men's and the women's playing the best conditions and in a unique. facilities in a unique venues like Rolando Ross or the Fort Italico or in some others. It was the combination between giving the players the freedom also on making the best tour possible and making the events in the major cities in a unique venues.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

I think, yeah, David, just to add, providing that global stage to shine a light on the tour and the players was a real key part of.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yeah, totally agree.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

And so you've both alluded to the players. David, you mentioned FIP, and I remember when the announcement was made that those relationships with FIP and the relationship with the players and through the player associations were seen as a really critical component of what was being presented to not just the players, but also, of course, to the ecosystem, to the fans. Why was it so important to get those two bodies involved in this project? And how has that really evolved and benefited the product?

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

That, that's the key part of the project. The International padel Federation is the governing body of the sport. They, let's call it, they own the sport and there is a perfect partnership with QSI for joining together the efforts, commercially speaking, and as a government body for launching the property together as Premier padel. But the third part involved are the players, and that's why we joined efforts all together: QSI, the International padel Federation, and the players in order to be able to build the strongest tour and the best tour possible. There is always some different views depending on who talks. too, but it was a key part to get all together in the same table for making the property grow. And I have to say that launched in 2022, but we have more than 500 players playing Premier Puddle. That's in the first year, that's a big number and it's a big compromise. And we are always working together with flip also with the NAs, the National Federation are also key because we want the sport to develop globally. And we are all working together and as again, always in the same table, different views, but always fighting for one common goal that needs to get the strongest tour and the leading tour on the marketplace.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

And Rob, turning to you, so you, at some point in 2022, maybe a little bit earlier, were enjoying a little I'm sure it was sedate life at pitch and suddenly you got a phone call or an email

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yeah,

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

I remember speaking to you a year and a half back where you were, I think at the time you were already the commercial director, but you were also creating the schedule and talking to various potential stops on the tour. Your role has been fairly broad and evolving. So I'm just interested in your personal journey.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

Thanks, Alex. And thanks for inviting us on the podcast. I think from that conversation over 18 months ago, you'll know that we don't do sedate lives at Premiere padel. We have a full agenda and we're pushing very hard. But you're right at the start of the initial idea, during the World Cup in Doha in 21, I was at Pitch International, the sports agency in London who do a lot of media rights work with with BeIN and with Qatar. And I was consulting on a Qatar project at the time. And then the brief to come in and develop a commercial framework for this new tour around sponsorship and media rights. I even remember writing the first brief for the development of the new name and look and feel. back in January 22. And then I think February 1st, 2022, I jumped across from Pitch International to Premier padel to focus as commercial director on the promoter agreements, on sponsorship, on media rights. And as is the way with any startup, there's been a lot going on in that short space of time. Working across all of those different elements, developing the calendar. And I think just a kind of a quick moment of reflection. When we finished the tour finals, the Qatari ways premier padel finals in Barcelona in December, it was a real moment that in a very short space of time, we've gone from no events and no tours through to a quite extraordinary season finale in Barcelona. And A lot of time and effort had gone in from everyone across the team. And then equally, even two weeks ago, we had a session with all of the premier padel team and all of the FIP team together in Madrid for two days, setting out their plans for the year ahead. And I think that's quite a momentous occasion really in the short lifetime and really very uplifting as well. Hearing from all the team who are all operating together. So it's been it's been quite a packed few years.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

And you had to make that decision, Rob, right? You obviously got the opportunity to work, through pitch, for a certain amount of months, on Premiere padel. But to make that jump is quite a big commitment and it shows that you believed in the product, you believed in the project. What was it about what you'd experienced at premier padel that made you think this is a real goer, I really want to focus on this full time?

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

It's a really rare situation when you've got the culmination of a new, fast growing sport. You've got the creation of a global tour. You've got partnership with the International Federation. You've got the Olympic ambition that the sport has, and then you've got the involvement of all the top players in the world from the outset of this project. That doesn't happen very often in anyone's careers. So I think that absolutely the vision to go Yeah, this is going to be something quite special and then really jump in with both feet. It was a bit of a no brainer. It's not to say that it's not been a huge amount of hard work And there continues to be a lot of hard work. But but ultimately you need that vision. You need that passion for the project. Anyone involved in the project needs to be needs to be part of that. And I think culturally, that's an important kind of step for everyone joining the team actually is do they buy into what we're trying to build here.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

and I wanted to David you touched upon what existed before with the world padel tour that was owned by australia Damn, the beer company from spain So The relationship when premier padel joined the scene was obviously quite fraught. was a serious tension. There was some, legal issues that were bubbling away for the Year or so that you guys were both on the scene before the acquisition was completed. What was the lead up to that acquisition? Was that acquisition almost planned from the very beginning, it was inevitable; or did it feel actually that as the relationship evolved, it became clear that was the only way that padel was going to really step into the next phase. There was going to have to be a consolidation rather than having two separate tours.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

At that time, I was not on premier padel. I don't have all the insights on how the conversation it went. But it was clear from day one that QSI and the International padel Federation wanted to join a force for having their own circuit, and they were open, always open to have a conversation with the ownership of World padel Tour. And they were talking openly in different ways, and they finally agree in some way, and that's why we are now actually the only tour and backed by the International Final Federation that I think that's the main asset that we actually have. But as I said, I was not there. It was at the beginning of the process. But I know from the management is that we were always open to talk and to find a way to make it work together. And that's why finally we agree. And now we are here.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

The last question I've got on history is really the history of the players. So obviously with the World padel Tour and the various international tours that existed since probably the 80s, there have been various legends, various historic players who have really sat at the top of the game, you know as sophisticated as the game or as the tour was at that time They were the best. Does premier padels think about how to integrate those legends and that history in the narrative of where Premier Padel, because Premier padel is the latest and hopefully the future chapters of this sport. But the initial chapters are also quite important to recognize and respect and appreciate and weave into the story. Tennis obviously has a rich narrative that really calls upon the Borg's and then the Stars season and all of these players through to Becker's and Agassi's and San Francisco's. Is this something that premier padel thinks about and looks to integrate more in the future?

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yes, no doubt on that. We really love the heritage of the sport. We are still a younger sport, but as you have said, there are a lot of legends of the sport that they can add a lot of value. On our new view of the productivity we are always thinking on growth and on a global scale and moving padel everywhere in the world. But we cannot forget the Spanish background of the sport and the Latin part of the sport and also the legends that they have been building the sport for many years before we arrive and we have to get. all our respect to them. And we'll be more than happy to get them engaged in some different projects that we are actually developing through our player service team and definitely we want them to be engaged in. Because, we are sometimes we are saying that we are close to a start up and and we are still listening learning a lot and I'm sure that these people and these players that has been on tour for many years, they have a lot to to share with us and to help us to grow and to learn. And again fully agree on this heritage piece and to get legends Of the sport engage with our day-to-day decisions.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

And I think maybe David just to add, I think as we build not only the global tour, but we're building an international team and we're bringing people with different skills, mindsets and experiences of the sport. And David is there in Barcelona and spends time in Madrid, and I'm based out of London. The ability to walk down Oxford Street in London and realize that not everybody is thinking about padel all the time,

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yeah.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

I think that's a really important sense check for us as a global tour, make sure that we're taking the views of the legends of the game. We're crafting the sport in the right way, but also building for new audiences and new markets coming around. An important piece and a piece of work that we're also doing with our partners. And I guess we'll talk a little bit about Red Bull a bit later, creating new programming. How do we tell the stories of the players? How do we tell the stories of the legends of the game? And we're just starting out in that journey, but absolutely it's important.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

And talking about legends let's just remember what we did in Barcelona with Bella. the, On the last day that he was playing there with the piano and the music. For me it was a unique moment for us. Not only because Vela itself and what he represents for our sport, it was on the way that we make a thanks to him for all the job that he has been doing for the last 30 years in padel. And again, it was because we fully respect heritage and the legends. And it was a very nice moment, by the way.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

So do you see players or X players, X legends contributing, shall we say in the boardroom? Quote unquote with shirts and jackets about the management, the direction, the strategy the branding, the messaging, all those kinds of, shall we say more. More corporate, more governance, more business aspects of the future of padel. But also, do you see any opportunity for them to events and contribute on or around the court as, coaches or team captains or players or a legends tour, even like we've got in tennis. There seems to be a big appetite for retired sports people to still be rolled out onto the field of play and still compete and, hearken back to those glory days. Do you see something like that potentially? both of those avenues being something that might appear in the horizon,

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

I'm not hundred percent sure, but I would say that the answer is yes, actually. We have some of them that they are opening academies like Bella itself, that is already opening academies. But I'm sure that some of them will love to be engaged with padel after their professional life as a player. And there will be plenty of opportunities everywhere in the world. Not only as coaches, not only as academies, but because our ambition is to grow as a sport. I'm sure that as a commentator or as organizers or as other working with other brands, will be plenty of opportunities for them for sure. And yeah, I fully agree that. Some of them will be engaged.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

Alex, yeah, we also have legends in the commentary box. We have

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yeah.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

on the coaching benches. We have legends working for some of the key suppliers, some of the key technical brands in the industry. So they're not far away. They're either partners of ours. They're close collaborators of ours. And we will always seek to take the views of many people. We want to build a stronger product as possible.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

let's turn a little bit closer to where we are today. Let's look at the last year or so. As you said, Rob, the team has developed and grown pretty rapidly. Can you talk us through a little bit at the beginning of the year, there was some fluctuation in the leadership of the team and of the project. And now you're talking about this big offsite that you had in Barcelona a few weeks ago or a few days ago, even, with a significant number of staff. Can you talk us through how the resourcing of Premier padel has evolved since you started? To where you guys are now as a team,

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

David is probably the best place because he's a driving force. But certainly we've evolved from a very few people who've come from different entities who are close to the chairman, from people, from BeIN sports, from a pitch international, as mentioned. We've got extra agency support being involved. And really we have to build the team at the right time as well, because, can't build a team of. of 20, 40, 50 people right at the very start. We need to build the requirements and develop the model. But as we do that, we understand the different skill sets required and the different expertise that we need, because we can't just have all the same people join. as well. and now David with I'll spare his blushings, but he joined us very happily he was originally on the other side of the fence and David and I had, I've had many

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

have been fighting a lot in the past.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

We never fight. We never fight. And, but as David as a promoter in Spain, but then joined us last summer as our general manager. And one of, David, if it's fair to say, one of your key strategic goals is really driving that growth in the team. And maybe that's a hand over to you.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Thank you, Rob. I fully agree with all your comments. As we have been sharing with you we finished the 1st ever meeting, putting everyone together in a room in Madrid for 2 days, where we share all our views, our ambitions, our concerns. It was a fantastic day, a couple of days. I always said that we are all working on a double remote because as Rob has said, we have people around the world working in different offices, Madrid, Barcelona, Italy, UK in London, France. But on top of that, we are traveling around because 25 tournaments worldwide. Then it's a double remote because it's not easy at all to meet everyone in the same room. But talking about the team and the project, one of my, I would call it dreams or goals, it's to build the most trustable team in the sport marketplace. And to build trust, it's a challenging one because you have to earn it and you cannot buy it. But I'm fully convinced that all the talent that we are putting together as one team, it's the right group of people to develop that project. And I'm more than happy about these days in Madrid where everyone put together a lot of energy and a lot of long views on some specific areas that we want to grow. And it was really a key moment for everyone.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

and let's drill a little bit into the commercials of the tour. So which parts of the commercial revenue pie do you feel is where you think it should be, where it needs to be, is in a healthy position? And which of the revenue streams needs some extra percentage points in the overall scheme, really need to grow, really are the next areas of focus for you guys to develop.

Supporting the Event Promotors

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

We continue to be restless. We're always looking for that drive for growth, and that growth is not only across the tour, across the tournaments, but it's also across our commercial program as well to invest back into the tournament, to help elevate standards, to go to new places, to really grow the overall ecosystem. So really what I believe is. Is a good start so far. And I think, but I don't take that lightly. We were revenue coming from our hosting licenses, from broadcast media rights revenue, from our partnership revenue as well. And we've got a mix of brands who are coming into the sport, new brands to the sport, global brands, such as Qatar Airways, such as Red Bull. We've got endemic brands as well, such as the bull padel on apparel and racket side. And some of the endemic brands around MejorSet, Mondo, Wilson, bull padel. They're not only partners, but they're also licensees as well. So we're developing our licensing program as well. And I think that's an important piece how do we create presence, build the premier padel brand? How do we get it in the hands of fans and consumers and create those experiences? We need to create a direct to consumer platform around our e commerce with consumer products, creating branded experiences as well. We're looking into the creation of the betting marketplace. We're looking into documentaries. We're looking into creating gaming solutions. So there's many different component parts which we haven't even started yet, but we're at the start of those of those journeys. What's been really interesting is obviously those early stage conversations around commercial particularly being in London. For some, it's it's it's been a relatively open door. People are keen to understand what is going on around the sport of padel. I think what we're seeing lot of corporates have probably now heard of the sport, have probably played the sport and now beginning to understand what, what is actually happening. And now we've got consolidation in the marketplace with the global tour. We can really tell a strong story given we've just completed Our first season, the numbers are very strong. We've been broadcasting in 242 territories around the world. We have a live audiences in excess of a hundred million people in the last season. We've got strong highlights, the highlights are performing strongest in America, which are different to the live broadcast. And all of a sudden we're opening up new markets with all of the things that we're doing. Now this helps us create an even richer story as we engage with People here. Some people are just exploring a bit about the sport and the tour and where the opportunities sit. And one of the other things I didn't touch on actually is a large part of our commercial program is also they're supporting our promoter partners. It is really important that we can make sure that they have a strong tournaments: generate revenue. We make introductions all the time. We're not precious to try and keep everything for ourselves. It's important that we

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yeah,

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

investment into the whole ecosystem.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

that's a very important point, Rob. The one that you mentioned, it's about the promoters. Because sometimes we talk a lot about the QSI, FIIP and the players, all associations, but we cannot forget that in the end the promoters, the tournaments. are the ones that are delivering the events that we are having worldwide, and they have the challenge to attract new brands to the sport, and also to players at them. And as Rob has said, one of the key priorities for us is to attract global brands. Endemics are still there. We have very good partners as Qatar Airways, and Red Bull, but still. making a learning process to attract more non endemic brands that in some territories still doesn't know quite well; maybe they know the property, Premier padel itself, but we also need to help them to understand about our sport, our ambition, and why they should be engaged with Premier padel as a property. Because the other properties are also making good numbers on TV and doing great events, but there is a why behind why Premier padel is the right property to engage that we are working really hard through Rob and the team.

Connecting with the Grassroots

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

Yeah, and I think maybe the two missing bits the you know from what I was saying, the two big areas for us to really focus on now and the work is very much in play is around our kind of data strategy and building our digital ecosystem. So from websites to apps to player portals. To ensure that we've got addressable consumer data that we can then can build and really drive the commercial program through data. And equally, then there's the grassroots of the game. There's much talked about the growth of padel and a lot of that is happening in and around the clubs around the world. And it's how we connect the grassroots of the game with the elite of the sport as well. And so that's a really important one which has all sorts of challenges across digital across marketing around making the tour accessible and visible through our broadcast as well. So there's lots of things there for us to work on.

Connecting the Love of Play with the Love of the Pros

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yeah, talking about grassroots, obviously, the Cupra FIP Tour is a key element too, helping the young generations to enter to the professional public. Yeah, but anyway.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

Yeah, and that connection is not as strong. as the industry would like it to be. And I see, padel as a participation sport going gangbusters right now, clubs popping up, can't be fast enough federations popping up, participation numbers going through the ceiling. How do you feel we can create a better connection between those people who love playing the game, who love going to their local club and, playing for that hour or an hour and a half, doing that social, playing in that community; to get them to really engage with the tour, with the Lebrons, with the Galans, with the Delphis, with the Martitas of this world. Because it feels like there's still a bit of a disconnect that's perhaps bigger than it should be. And that's, as you said, that challenge is to grow that translation pipeline.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

I think there's many parts here, Alex. That's part of creating the global tour. We're going to new markets. We're holding tournaments in countries that haven't held tournaments before, and there's more tournaments. We're obviously entering the U. S. this year. We obviously want to push out into Asia. We want to have something in the U. K. as an example, and Germany. All of this is an important part of how do we drive that reach, access and visibility for the elite part of the sport. It's a classic mantra that sits quite often around women's sport. If you see it, you can believe it. And, so all of these different parts, from the broadcast, to the streaming, to the digital products, to the social media strategy are important for really lifting a lid on the elite of the sport, the professional sport and seeing the unbelievable skill that these guys play. I think the top the top social media post last year was a winner from Galan in Santiago last year, and I was fortunate enough to be in the venue at the time, and it was a jump out your chair moment. It was just extreme, extraordinary skill. And I think, when you've got 20 million people watching these clips it's hugely exciting. But I'm also not complacent, again, being in UK, I play at the local club and padel Hub in Slough. We really want to try and make sure that the people that are aware of Premiere padel are watching it on TV. We've done some play and watches in clubs. We've been working with the guys at Playtomic as well. So it's all many different component things that really help us drive that reach, access and visibility and close the gap from the grassroots to Premiere padel.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

And I'm conscious that content creators and influencers and YouTube streamers, these are people who are now being leaned on more and more as the gateway into new audiences, into greater fandom, into deeper engagement. There are endemic examples. There are people like Pablo from fourth set and various other people who are able to do some of that bridging. IsA greater relationship and a greater interplay with these kind of content creators, endemic ones, but also non endemic. You look at someone like Ibai, who is an incredibly powerful Spanish speaking content creator. My understanding is he's quite a keen padel player as well, to try and use these individuals, whether they're endemic or non endemic, give them access, give them rights to really help them promote the sport to these new and especially younger audiences.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

I think padel has a really extraordinary opportunity. It's a sport that is either the second favorite sport or the favorite sport of sports stars, and entertainment stars. They play it on their holidays, they play it in their spare time. So we have this non endemic kind of audience who are playing the sport, who can tell stories about the sports and we've been working with that across our tour. We've held exhibitions with the Formula One drivers around the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix. We held that similarly around the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and we're going to be doing a lot more of that. But also we're working with influencers who are endemic to the sport or not, that authenticity, it's really important. These guys have a real passion for the sport. They're playing it. And they're playing it a lot. And I think, you know, we harness that that opens up new fan groups. So we're looking at these strategic alliances. Part of the pre season activity they did with Paris Saint Germain. Last year, we put a court in it at Parc des Princes and Qatar AIrways ran their pre season activity all around Padel. And that helped elevate the Paris Major with the French Tennis Federation. We've got the footballers involved. We've got this really quite extraordinary opportunity. But yeah, working with influencers. is a very much an important part of our communication. It can't all be on the players. We need to pull all these levers in order to elevate the sport, to bring it to new audiences. And tell the story of the elite of the game.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

I'm fully agree with you Rob., I would say, that the most of the sports athletes out of padel. Their second sport is actually padel. If you ask the tennis players, the football players, the F1 drivers, which are their preferred second sport, probably is padel. That's why that combination between endemic and not endemic ambassadors or influencers is key for us, because we can attract and keep working with our niche market as padel, but also through this. Second sport athletes, we can attract new audiences worldwide in a different way. And we are, as Rob said, working in that double strategy with Jasmin and her team that they're doing an amazing job on that territory.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

And one of those, is obviously Red Bull, we createdd our Red Bull TV studio, around the Majors, and we've had the likes of Sandy Farquharson involved in the studio providing some match analysis on the games. And I think that's just another step forward where we're using different knowledge and expertise from around the industry, bringing them into Premier padel to help tell our story and educate new fans coming to the sport. I think that's really important. It's happening with an English voice. At the moment. And yes, if we can do it in other languages, we absolutely, we'll be able to do that. But these are big steps forward. And as a result, we have greater engagement in those shows because we've got the TV studio from Red Bull TV. So it all helps itself.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

Yeah. And when we are talking about new markets, that's even more important to use these non endemic ambassadors to help us to attack new audiences.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

I wanted to spend a bit of time on the promoters. As you mentioned, you wanted to underline their importance. Can you just outline a little bit about what the proposition for event promoters is? It's difficult to put on an event. It's, difficult to bring people in, get the audiences, bring the sponsors in. Maybe corporate hospitality. So what is the proposition that is presented to potential or existing promoters? And specifically, can you talk a little bit about the longevity of the relationship? Because, in tennis, when I was working at the ATP, we sold sanctions and those were significant, Long length assets, frankly, which gave you a guaranteed position, guaranteed, tier of event, guaranteed space in the calendar, guaranteed duration of event. with the commitment of the players, a certain, guarantee about the quality of the players that were going to come in. But it was really that ability to own an asset for a duration that allowed people to feel comfortable, invest, build and know that if they do something today, they will reap the benefits tomorrow. How does Premier padel approach promoters? Is it the same way? Is it slightly different?

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

It's quite different, but let me share my view as promoter. Okay. Because I've been promotor for many years, not only with Premier padel, also running some tennis events in the past, among Cycling and the others. I think that the biggest opportunity that Premier Padel is putting actually on the marketplace, it's to be engaged. with the most growing sport actually worldwide. That's the opportunity. It's now or ever, let's say, on that way because there is a big opportunity now to engage on the beginning of the process, on the first years of the project. There are only 25 slots available that are already booked and there are too many calls happening during the year asking for a slot. They are asking Can we join and Rob with Guillermo on the FIP side are leading that conversation with future promoters. But I would say that the biggest opportunity that there is actually in the marketplace. is to be engaged with the, as I said, the most growing sport actually also because our proposal, as you have said, is not the same that ATP that you have a blocked week. And let's say you own a sanction with the license model, but this makes competitive war. And we are helping and supporting all our promoters. But then the other way back, we have a long list of new promoters, that they would like to be engaged. And it helps a little to put some pressure to everyone to make that proposition working on the next years.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

Yeah. And David, I think Alex, it's important to remember we've just complete our first full season. And therefore the model needs a degree of flexibility sits in it. We have a licensing model, with partners, and we work with three different types of promoter. We work with national padel federations, with national tennis federations who have padel under their remit and with private operators as well. And it's important that we have that blend actually as well. And we're receiving inbound requests as well as going out and working with with promoters. And it's really important that those promoter partners have a strong vision for what they want their tournament to be, where they've got experience as well. They open up new markets or new territories as part of that. But ultimately, we're building up these tournaments with the players very much at the heart of the requirements and the obligations. So that because, going back to the very start of the conversation, the whole premise of the tour is about elevating the standards in padel; providing new opportunities for the players; raising the standards on and off court, providing medical support, providing the right accommodation and travel and food and beverage, et cetera. All of these things are important. The model that we have: there are obligations on the promoter side. There are obligations on the premier padel side as well. And there's revenue generating opportunities as well. And inevitably, it's going to take some investment at the start and then we'll move forward on. We're going through renewal phases at the moment, having been through our 1st few years.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

That's a key decision for us. Alex. We were talking first about hiring the right people on the team and having the most trustable team in the marketplace. But then the other way back, we also need to attract the best promoters to our property. That's something that we are now working very hard in order to be sure that we have the right strategy and the right partnership with the best promoter in every single country in the world in order to be sure that we could together deliver the highest standard that we want to put on the table in front of the players. And that's something that we are now are working in a very detailed process in order to be sure that we choose the best promoters in every city. And every decision that we are making on the promoter side is in a very strategic decision that we need to make it carefully and going through a strong process.

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

Yeah, and I think that, with those promoter agreements. I mentioned we need that vision. We need the experience. We need the kind of the countries and markets, but we need that cultural fit as well. And whilst it's important to drive a consistency and deliver and relevating those standards, we also want some character, local character around each of those tournaments. When we go to Africa, we go to Egypt and the continent of Africa, the tournament will necessarily be slightly different from one in Brussels. It will be slightly different from one in Bordeaux. It'll be slightly different from the one in Dubai. And I think that's an important part of the rich tapestry of a global tour.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

Yeah, promoters? What are the ingredients you've touched on some of them, but are there, just to give a complete list for any potential hosts out there who might be listening to this and who are wondering what is it that the premier panel is looking for? What's the list?

rob-mitchell_1_01-29-2025_140730

Yeah. I think there's always some unknowns and you get that with certain, some conversations and you get surprised and you go, okay, that's really exciting. But we want promoters who have a vision for their tournament. We want to know it's going to fit with our strategic ambitions to grow the sport,to open up new markets, to go to new cities. Germany is a big conversation at the moment. It's a big racquet sports marketplace. It's one of those new markets that we need to open up for the tour. We need the experience on the promoter side as well. I think there are big commitments that need to be made and we need to be able to work very closely with them. So we need experienced promoters, and the stronger the promoter, the better it is for us and the tour. And then commercially we need to work very closely with them as well because we want it to be a success for all the promoters. Because that's good business and it means that we can build strong tournaments as well and that's good for the players and ultimately good for the fans as well. All of those component parts are key.

david-serrahima-artiga_1_01-29-2025_150729

in my opinion, there are a few: one is the ambition to grow as we have, because obviously there are many good promoters around the world and it's quite easy to get the right promoter on the table, but not all of them could get the same ambition that we have as Premier padel. The other one is to be able to work together with the NA, with the National padel Federation. That's a joint that we are always looking for. And also about the brands as Rob has said, we need to learn in territories where the brands are asking us to be because they potentially think it's a market that will be able to grow shortly. But as I said at the beginning, that ambition that we have for growing is something that we want to put on the mindset of our promoters that we need to make the sport grow locally, but also globally with the ambition that Premier padel is putting on the table.

alex_1_01-29-2025_140729

That about wraps up episode. Please like share and subscribe. If the content was thought provoking, please comment on LinkedIn or Twitter. If you have any recommendations around our format topics, we should devote an episode to questions. We should ask and speakers that we need to bring on. We want you all those driving the next phase of this industry's future to tell us what you want to hear about and who from. Thank you. Thank you, Rob and David for this incredibly detailed and open episode. And for joining us today. Will keep doing our best to cover all the angles of the business around padel episode after episode. Until the next one.