The round of 16 at the Comunidad de Madrid Premier Padel P1 by Oysho delivered a series of iconic victories at the Movistar Arena. Tino Libaak / Gonza Alfonso defeated Juan Lebrón / Leo Augsburger, the latter former champion of the 2025 edition, in a thrilling encounter. Álex Arroyo / José Jiménez showed their full potential with an impressive win over Franco Stupaczuk / Jon Sanz, who had arrived in Madrid after their win at the FIP Gold Belgrade just days earlier. Alonso Rodríguez / Flavio Abbate also booked their place in the quarter-finals after overcoming Rama Pereyra / José Solano. Meanwhile, Alejandra Salazar will have another opportunity to captivate the Madrid crowd as she continues her farewell campaign in what is her final professional tournament on home soil.

The two top-ranked women’s and men’s pairs continued to underline their dominance. Gemma Triay / Delfina Brea opened the day with a convincing victory over Nuria Rodríguez / Giulia Dal Pozzo (6-3, 6-1), one of the breakthrough partnerships of the season and one still in contention for a place at the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Finals. Their main rivals, Paula Josemaría / Bea González, were equally emphatic, leaving Alix Collombon / Ksenia Sharifova with no chance (6-2, 6-1).

Agustín Tapia / Arturo Coello defeated Juan Tello / Maxi Arce, a pair with genuine ambitions of breaking into the world’s elite, 7-6, 6-3. Ale Galán / Fede Chingotto, meanwhile, comfortably saw off Juanlu Esbrí / Sanyo Gutiérrez (6-4, 6-0), the pair having reached the semi-finals at the Pretoria Premier Padel P1.

MADRID, THE STAGE FOR EPIC VICTORIES

Alfonso / Libaak, Arroyo / Jiménez and Abbate / Rodríguez emerged as the standout pairings of the day. Alfonso / Libaak produced the biggest upset of the round against Lebrón / Augsburger, particularly given that last year the backhand player from Posadas Misiones, was crowned champion at the Movistar Arena alongside Martín Di Nenno. It was also the first time that both Argentine had defeated the ‘Wolf’ in an official match.

Arroyo / Jiménez defeated Stupaczuk / Sanz, who had been enjoying an excellent run of form after securing the No. 4 seeding for next week’s Alpine Paris Major Premier Padel. The Spanish pair saved a set point in the opening set and maintained their outstanding level in the second to reach their first quarter-final together. On Friday, they will battle for a place in the semi-finals against Jairo Bautista / Íñigo Jofre, who produced a superb performance to overcome Momo González / Lucas Campagnolo, the No. 8 seeds in Madrid.

For Abbate / Rodríguez, the victory over Rama Pereyra / José Solano was equally valuable, with their opponents having made it through to the round of 16 from the qualifying draw. As a result, the 22-year-old becomes the first Italian player ever to reach the quarter-finals of a P1-level tournament. His reward is a quarter-final clash with Libaak / Alfonso on Friday, with a place in the semi-finals at stake and a guaranteed first-time pairing in that stage of the competition this season.

Elsewhere, Paquito Navarro / Martín Di Nenno, London P1 champions Martina Calvo / Claudia Fernández, Tamara Icardo / Claudia Jensen, Ari Sánchez / Andrea Ustero, Nieto / Yanguas and Marta Ortega / Sofia Araújo all lived up to their billing as favourites to secure their places in the quarter-finals.

SALAZAR, ANOTHER DAY PLAYING AT HOME 

The most decorated player in the history of the sport will take to the court once again on home soil this Friday alongside Aranza Osoro. The Spanish-Argentine pairing prevailed in a gripping battle against Lorena Rufo / Victoria Iglesias, who refused to give up and pushed the match all the way to a deciding set, fighting for every point until the very end (7-6, 6-7, 6-2).

As a reward, Salazar will face Triay — the partner with whom she wrote a golden chapter of her career, spending two consecutive seasons at world No. 1 in 2021 and 2022.

STAR QUARTER-FINAL LINE-UP

The following quarter-final clashes will take place this Friday from 9:00 a.m. (Spanish time) at the Movistar Arena:

Icardo / Jensen (#6) vs Ari Sánchez / Andrea Ustero (#3)

Jiménez / Arroyo (#14) vs Jofre / Bautista (#15)

Triay / Brea (#1) vs Salazar / Osoro (#8)

Di Nenno / Navarro (#6) vs Galán / Chingotto (#2)

Fernández / Calvo (#4) vs Guinart / Alonso (#7)

Ortega / Araújo (#5) vs Josemaría / González (#2)

Coello / Tapia (#1) vs Yanguas / Nieto (#5)

Abbate / Rodríguez (#30) vs Libaak / Alfonso (#17)