Good form can make all the difference, and Julieta Bidahorria - Virginia Riera (#21) proved that theory on Tuesday. The experienced team carried their dominance from the CUPRA FIP Tour, where they have won three titles together this season, over to the Kuwait Premier Padel Major Powered by BNK, defeating the tournament’s No. 8 seeds, Alejandra Salazar - Aranza Osoro.

It was the standout result of a day that also featured the debuts of some of the men’s leading title contenders, including Agustín Tapia - Arturo Coello (#1), Juan Lebrón - Leo Augsburger (#3) and Mike Yanguas - Coki Nieto (#6), all of whom delivered winning starts.

A Major Upset to earn a Round of 16 ticket

Bidahorria - Riera, who will represent Argentina at the FIP World Cup next week, secured their best Major result of the season after winning a battle lasting more than two hours against Salazar - Osoro, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

The Argentine team bounced back after letting the second set slip away and played the deciding set brilliantly to shock the tournament’s No. 8 seeds, underlining the remarkable progress that has seen them win as many as three FIP titles (Nairobi, Seville and Amsterdam) since joining forces.

Riera is also one of the players with the highest win percentage on the CUPRA FIP Tour this year, having lifted as many as eight titles alongside different partners. Now, she and Bidahorria will have the chance to battle for a place in the Major quarter-finals on Wednesday when they face Victoria Iglesias - Lorena Rufo (#13).

This result, meanwhile, is a major blow to Salazar - Osoro’s hopes, as they are fighting for a place in the Finals during the last stretch of the season. They will now have to turn their attention to the Dubai P1 and Mexico Major in their bid to qualify.

MEN'S Favourites Deliver on Their Debuts

In the men’s draw, both the Golden Boys and Leburger lived up to their status as favourites in their first taste of action on centre court at The Arena Kuwait.

Tapia - Coello, fresh from winning the Milano P1, continued to showcase their trademark dominance against Flavio Abbate - Franco Dal Bianco (#34), defeating them 6-3, 6-0 in just 54 minutes. They know that lifting the title on Saturday would secure their fourth consecutive season as No. 1 in the FIP Ranking, and today they took the first step towards that major goal.

Meanwhile, the team they defeated in that closely contested final in Italy, Lebrón - Augsburger, also made a winning start, defeating Martín Abud - Juan Cruz Belluati 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes. The qualifying team can be proud of their tournament after making it all the way to the Round of 32.

Yanguas - Nieto, the Madrid P1 runners-up in early September, also reunited on court. Nieto missed the Düsseldorf and Milan events due to physical issues, and on Tuesday he had to dig deep alongside his partner to defeat José Solano - Rama Pereyra (#39) in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

The tournament’s No. 6 seeds had to overcome some difficult moments, coming from behind in the deciding set after conceding an early break. They will now set their sights on the Round of 16, knowing that this tournament is crucial to their bid to finish the season as the Tour’s fourth-ranked team ahead of Franco Stupaczuk - Jon Sanz and Paquito Navarro - Martín Di Nenno.

Time for WOMEN'S Favourites

On Wednesday, the four highest-ranked women’s teams will make their debuts: Gemma Triay - Delfi Brea (#1), Bea González - Paula Josemaría (#2), Ari Sánchez - Andrea Ustero (#3) and Martina Calvo - Claudia Fernández (#4).

The tournament is crucial in the battle to finish the season at the top, with 2,000 points on offer to each champion. Sánchez - Ustero arrive in excellent form after winning three of the last four Tour events, but they will need to maintain that level at this Major. Triay - Brea, meanwhile, have been the model of consistency at this category of event, having won four of the six Majors contested since joining forces, including this season’s Italy Major.

Perlamita, meanwhile, need to win this tournament to keep their hopes of finishing the year as world No. 1s alive, while young team Calvo - Fernández will look to take another step forward at a Major after finishing runners-up at Roland Garros in mid-September.