Audemars Piguet has entered padel as the Official Timekeeper of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour, adding a major haute horlogerie name to one of sport’s fastest-growing luxury spaces.
The Le Brassus manufacture has also signed Agustín Tapia, the current world number one, giving the partnership a recognizable sporting figure at the center of its move onto the court.
Audemars Piguet joins Premier Padel
The Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour was created by Qatar Sports Investments with the International Padel Federation and now sits at the top of the professional game.
For the 2026 season, the circuit spans 25 tournaments across 17 countries, with broadcast reach extending to more than 244 territories.
Audemars Piguet will appear through dedicated court clocks and selected branded elements at tournament venues, making timekeeping a visible part of the sport’s professional presentation.
Agustín Tapia gives AP its player connection
Tapia brings credibility beyond logo placement.
Born in Catamarca, Argentina, and known as “The Mozart of Catamarca,” he has become one of padel’s defining modern players, with more than 30 professional titles and a win rate above 90 percent.
His arrival places padel inside Audemars Piguet’s wider athlete network, which already includes Serena Williams, Aryna Sabalenka, Antoine Dupont, Simone Biles and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Watch brands are moving early
Audemars Piguet is not alone in seeing opportunity here.
Hublot brought Alejandro Galán into its circle in 2022, Richard Mille followed with Fernando Belasteguín in 2023, Rolex welcomed Arturo Coello this year, and Frédérique Constant has taken timing duties with the North American Pro Padel League.
That spread says plenty about where the sport is heading, because watch brands rarely commit to a playing field unless they see audience, aspiration and long-term cultural momentum.
Padel is becoming a lifestyle category
Part of padel’s appeal is that it does not carry tennis’s fully established visual codes.
Tennis already has Wimbledon, the Grand Slams, the country-club wardrobe and a deep archive of luxury associations, while padel is still forming its identity in real time.
That makes it unusually open territory for brands that want to help define the atmosphere around a sport rather than simply attach themselves to an existing tradition.
The luxury push is already visible beyond watches, from Lamborghini’s collaboration with Babolat to Prada’s Re-Nylon racket and Kith Ivy’s private padel club concept in New York’s West Village.
For Audemars Piguet, padel offers a social, doubles-led environment that feels closer to a community space than a distant stadium spectacle.
That may be the point. Padel is still young enough to be shaped, but established enough to matter, and watchmaking has clearly decided it wants a place on court before the game’s luxury language is fully written.
