Utrecht, Aug. 14, 2024 - Siem De Jong and Raemon Sluiter have won the first edition of the padel tournament called The Legends Game in Utrecht. For Fatima Moreira de Melo and Rafael van der Vaart, the event served as a "dress rehearsal" for Decathlon Premier Padel Rotterdam, for which the former top athletes have been recruited as tournament directors. Decathlon Premier Padel Rotterdam will take place from Monday, September 9 to Sunday, September 15 in Rotterdam Ahoy, where the absolute world's top men's and women's players will compete for the coveted title.

Some thirty well-known (former) athletes and Dutch celebrities came to Utrecht for The Legends Game. Among them were Valentin Verga, Billy Bakker, Sanne van Kerkhof, Glenn Helder, Ronald de Boer, Michel Mulder, JayJay Boske, Ricardo Krishna, Anouk Hoogendijk, Raemon Sluiter and Jamie Trenité, who will also serve as stadium speaker during the tournament in Rotterdam.

Decathlon Premier Padel Rotterdam guarantees world-class sport, with the tournament in Rotterdam as the absolute highlight. Besides the matches, there is also an active role for the visitors. On Thursday, September 12, Decathlon Premier Padel will organize Ladies Night. During this evening the organization, together with the KNLTB, calls on women to come and watch the best Padel players in the world. In addition, these women will be inspired and pampered. Research shows that women play Padel less than men. On Friday, September 13, there will be a student tournament in Ahoy during Decathlon Premier Padel in cooperation with Van Lanschot Kempen. Students can register to compete alongside the world top players themselves in Ahoy to determine who is the best student pair in Padel. On Saturday, September 14, a new Padel concept will be tested. People can register to experience a new Padel form. This dynamic form is inspired by the King and Queens of the Court which is successful in beach volleyball.

Social initiative

In collaboration with Decathlon Premier Padel Rotterdam, Sportbedrijf Rotterdam and Padel-Only, a social contribution will also be made with a target group for the first year (2024) underprivileged youth from Rotterdam-Zuid. They will be activated through padel clinics in the Zuiderpark. In addition, we aim to make an impact through structural activation and the youth will be invited to come to Rotterdam Ahoy.

About Premier Padel  

Premier Padel is the official professional padel tour worldwide, founded by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) together with the International Padel Federation (FIP) and the Professional Padel Association (PPA). Launched in 2022, supported by the Professional Padel Association (PPA), more than 500 players from around the world participated in Premier Padel tournaments in its first year and played at some of the most iconic venues in sports history, including Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. More than 110 professional female players joined Premier Padel through the International Padel Players Association (IPPA) in March 2023. In August 2023, it was announced that QSI would acquire World Padel Tour (WPT) to create a single global professional padel tour - called Premier Padel - overseen by FIP. As of 2024, Premier Padel includes 25 tournaments in 18 countries as the tour continues to grow and explore new territories to expand the sport. As a global brand, Premier Padel also captures the dynamic essence and spirit of padel, with the sport beginning an exciting new era on a global level thanks to this new unified world tour.