SA padel gets a global upgrade: Premier Padel P2 launched

Premier Padel will come to South Africa for the first time at the end of July, marking a milestone for the sport’s growth in the country. The tournament will bring the world’s top players to South African soil for official competitive action. Just a year after most of the world’s top 20 padel players featured in a friendly exhibition at the SA Invitational hosted by Gayle and 360, the stars are ready to get serious under the lights at Sun Bet Arena in Time Square, Pretoria, from 27 July to 2 August. On Tuesday, Primedia held a launch event at Balwin Padel, Waterfall City, to welcome the Premier Padel Pretoria P2 to South Africa and give media and stakeholders more information on the event. A concern among the broader padel community was ticket prices after the high cost of tickets to the SA Invitational. However, Primedia Sport vice-president Tobie Badenhorst said pricing had been made more reasonable so that the event was accessible to more people. He said the most expensive ticket in the stands would be R1 250 for the days of the semi-finals and final, while VIP tickets were expected to cost R5 000. For those who won’t be able to make it to Pretoria to watch it live, the tournament will be streamed globally on Red Bull TV, the official broadcast and streaming partner of Premier Padel. Across sub-Saharan Africa, ESPN Africa (available on DStv Channel 218 and StarTimes 248) will deliver full live coverage of the tournament. The broadcast will also be available on the ESPN linear channels on Disney+ in South Africa. Furthermore, the tournament will also be carried on Canal+ (French-speaking only platform). Padel Promises fuels youth grit A chance for local talent to shine Badenhorst confirmed that qualifiers would take place for South Africa’s elite players, with spots for four men’s teams and one for a women’s team. Two men’s teams will have to go through the tournament’s qualifiers and two teams will be entered straight into the main draw. Players such a