The Alpine Paris Major Premier Padel gets close to its defining moments after the end of the Round of 16 this Thursday. The top-four women’s pairs made their debut winning their encounters while the main protagonists were Carolina Orsi - Patricia Llaguno (#13), who will play their first quarter-finals of the season, and Aimar Goñi - Edu Alonso (#13), whose performance today could lead them to be called-up for the FIP World Cup with Spain.
On the other side, some of the best male players also qualified for the next round after experiencing a Champions League night. Agustín Tapia, Arturo Coello, Juan Lebrón, Leo Augsburger and Franco Stupaczuk were welcomed at Le Parc des Princes by Nasser Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, President of Paris Saint-Germain and Chairman of Premier Padel, alongside International Padel Federation (FIP) President Luigi Carraro, to watch PSG vs Slovan Bratislava.
Into the Quarter-finals in Style
A haul of 360 points. That is the minimum Orsi - Llaguno have secured by reaching their first quarter-finals of 2026. The No. 13 seeds ended Victoria Kurz’s dream of becoming the first German to reach the Round of 16 at a Major, alongside her partner Anna Ortiz, who were competing as Lucky Losers. A commanding 6-1, 6-1 victory was enough to see them through in one hour and seven minutes. On Friday, they will face the No. 1 seeds, Gemma Triay - Delfi Brea, on Court Philippe Chatrier.
As for Goñi - Alonso, they produced one of the performances of the day by knocking out the recent Madrid P1 runners-up, Coki Nieto - Mike Yanguas. Goñi was unstoppable with the smash, while his teammate showed his defence skills to seal the victory in two sets (6-4, 6-3). Their level will have caught the attention of Spanish national team coach Juanjo Gutiérrez, who will announce his eight-player squad for the FIP World Cup on September 24.
No. 4 Seeds End Leygue’s Dream
Leygue - Moya’s impressive run as underdogs came to an end in the Round of 16. After starting from qualifiers, they won two incredibly tough matches on Court Philippe Chatrier against David Gala - Enzo Jensen (#21) and Juanlu Esbrí - Sanyo Gutiérrez (#13), but this time they were unable to surpass a solid version of Stupaczuk - Sanz.
Leygue, the first French player to reach the Round of 16 at a Major, can be proud of his performance at home alongside Moya. After overcoming a serious Achilles tendon injury, he has shown that he is ready to keep helping French padel reach new records in the seasons to come.
A Star-Studded Quarter-final Line-Up
Friday’s schedule will feature a number of amazing clashes at Roland Garros. Paquito Navarro - Martín Di Nenno (#6) will take on Stupaczuk - Sanz in a key battle for fourth place in the rankings. Just 616 points separated the two teams when entries for the tournament closed, making this clash a crucial one for their ambitions.
Meanwhile, Tapia - Coello (#1) will be looking for revenge against No. 7 seeds Javi Leal - Fran Guerrero in a rematch of the Pretoria P1 semifinal, which surprisingly went the way of the young Andalusian team (7-5, 7-5).
There will also be a key game in the women’s draw between Bea González - Paula Josemaría and Martita Ortega - Sofia Araújo, No. 2 and No. 5 teams in the rankings respectively. The two pairs have met just once this season so far, at the Madrid P1, where Perlamita claimed a 6-0, 6-2 win.
