The history of the World Padel Tour

We review the history of the World Paddle Tour, from its creation in 2012 to the present day.

The dates of this year 2021 of the World Padel Tour were recently confirmed and we have decided to take the opportunity to review a little the history of this competition from its creation and the Argentine success, until the new era of Spanish domination.

The World Padel Tour championship was created in 2012 as a replacement for the previous professional circuit of reference, the Padel Pro Tour , and is the result of an agreement between the group of organizers of Professional Padel Tournaments, the Association of Professional Paddle Players ( AJPP) and the Spanish Women's Padel Association (AFEP).

Every year between 15 and 20 tournaments are held in the WPT, plus a final master where the 8 best couples in the ranking face each other. These tournaments are distributed among different cities around the world where players fight to score points in the ranking to reach the final master.

Padel Pro Tour

Before talking about the champions of the different years of the WPT in the different categories, male and female, we must give a bit of context and explain the years prior to the creation of the WPT. Prior to the appearance of the WPT as a reference circuit for professional paddle tennis, there was the so-called Paddle Pro Tour . This is the direct predecessor of the WPT, it was founded in 2005 and lasted until 2012 where it was finally replaced. During the course of this championship over the years, a series of milestones were achieved that set a precedent for future installments of the PPT and later for the WPT.

One of these first objectives achieved in 2010 was to internationalize the tournaments. 3 tournaments were held in Argentina, 2 exhibitions and an international tournament in Mar del Plata.

In 2011 the organization achieved one of the greatest achievements for the future of the circuit, the sponsorship of Bwin, renamed the Bwin Padel Pro Tour circuit. The celebration of the PPT circuit contributed to the knowledge of paddle tennis as a professional sport through the great diffusion obtained in different media at a national level.

World Padel Men's Tour

From its first edition we could see what would be a constant during the next 6 years of the Argentine reign in the men's WPT, where we can highlight Fernando Belateguín as the most dominant player, winning 5 WPT in a row together with Juan Martín Díaz , in 2013 and 2014, and accompanied by Pablo de Lima from 2015 to 2017. A new Argentine couple claimed the victory of the WPT in 2018, Maxi Sánchez and Sanyo Gutiérrez . It is here where we see a Spanish couple appear as WPT winners, highlighting the performance of Juan Lebrón current number 1 in the ranking and champion of the last 2 editions of the WPT accompanied by Paquito Navarro and Alejandro Galán.

World Paddle Tour Women

If we had to define the women's WPT in two colors, they would be the red and yellow of the Spanish flag. From its first edition to the last one last year 2020, the women's WPT has been fully owned by the Spanish women, highlighting the 4-time champion couple formed by Mapi Sánchez Aleyato and her twin Majo Sánchez Aleyato , currently occupying position 1 and 6 in the ranking respectively.

World Paddle Tour 2021

Although the dates have been confirmed, we do not know how the WPT will develop this year due to the special conditions, which already affected the competition in 2020. Added to this situation is uncertainty and the desire to see who will emerge as champions of this edition. Will the Spanish repeat their victory, or will we have a surprise discovering a new pair of winners?

Leave us in the comments how you think the season will go and who you think will win the final master of this WPT 2021!

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