The Patinoire de Mériadeck in Bordeaux experienced a legendary day of padel, featuring thrilling matches that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats — like the nail-biting duel where world #1 Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia edged out Momo González and Jon Sanz — but especially for the excitement promised by the women’s draw through to the final.

In the women’s bracket, an unprecedented final is already guaranteed, as two of the four pairs playing this Saturday will reach their first semifinal. These are Alonso-Jensen (#7) — who knocked out Sánchez-Josemaría (#1) — and Caldera-Goenaga (#11), while Araújo-Ustero (#4) matched their best result to date, previously achieved at the Asunción P2. It was also in Paraguay where Bea González and Claudia Fernández (#3) lifted their only title so far. In Bordeaux, they enter as the top favorites following the elimination of Ari and Paula, and with Triay-Brea (#2) absent.

Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga produced the first shock of the quarterfinals by delivering a flawless performance against Aranza Osoro and Martina Calvo (6-0, 6-4). The Spanish duo dominated a first set whitewash and maintained control in the second to reach their first semifinals after four consecutive quarterfinal appearances. For Calvo and Osoro, this defeat marks the end of their partnership, as from Málaga P1 onward, the young Spanish talent will team up with Alejandra Salazar, and the Argentine will join forces with Vero Virseda.

Caldera and Goenaga will seek a spot in the final against Bea González and Claudia Fernández (#3), the highest-ranked pair still alive in Bordeaux. The Spanish duo, who have now reached nine consecutive semifinals, showed great maturity in defeating Lucía Sainz and Patty Llaguno (6-3, 6-2), overcoming a fast start from their opponents by playing patiently — with Claudia constructing points from the right side and Bea growing stronger with her finishing shots.

On the other side of the draw, Sofía Araújo and Andrea Ustero displayed clear dominance over Castelló-Rufo (6-3, 6-1) and will face Alejandra Alonso and Claudia Jensen, who achieved the feat of the day in just their second tournament together by eliminating Ariana Sánchez and Paula Josemaría 6-2, 6-3. Alonso and Jensen came out fired up and gave no chance in the first set. In the second, with Ari showing signs of physical fatigue, they broke Paula’s serve at 2-3 to propel themselves toward victory. With this loss, Ari and Paula once again lose the FIP world No.1 ranking to Gemma Triay.

In the men’s draw, the match of the day was undoubtedly the razor-thin win by world #1s Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia over Momo González and Jon Sanz (6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(11)). The result was unexpected at the start, with Arturo and Agus playing a very solid first set (6-3) and breaking early in the second. But from there, chaos erupted: González-Sanz turned the match around and forced a first tiebreak where they saved three match points to push it to a deciding third set. Riding the momentum, Momo and Jon took a 4-2 lead, but the ‘Golden Boys’ fought back to force a final, nerve-wracking tiebreak. The world number ones edged it 13-11, escaping three match points against them. After the final point, Tapia threw himself to the ground and pointed to his head, once again highlighting the mental strength of the world’s best in clutch moments.

Tapia and Coello will aim for yet another final against Paquito Navarro and Lucas Bergamini, who won a grueling physical battle 6-4, 6-4 against Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto. The first set was fiercely contested — at the one-hour mark, the score was 4-4 — but ‘Berga’ built well and Paquito finished strongly to knock out the fourth seeds and reach another semifinal.

On the other side of the draw, Martín Di Nenno and Juan Tello reached their third semifinal after five tournaments together, thanks to a win over Diestro-Esbrí (7-6(5), 6-2). They fought hard in the first set — even though they were up 5-2 — and winning the tiebreak paved their way to the third semifinal, where they will face Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto (#2), their conquerors in Brussels and Asunción. The ‘Chingalán’ duo once again demonstrated their unmatched competitive spirit to overcome the powerful Cardona and Augsburger (7-5, 7-5).