The first major upsets of the Emaar Dubai Premier Padel P1 came on Wednesday. Albert Roglan-Manuel Aragón, a team that came through qualifying, stunned fourth seeds Paquito Navarro-Martín Di Nenno on centre court while Diego García-Marcos González booked their place in the Round of 16 as Lucky Losers after defeating Juani Rubini-Álex Chozas (#19).

In the women’s draw, Marina Guinart-Alejandra Alonso (#7) took a significant step towards qualifying for the Finals. They won their match while four of their main rivals in the FIP Race, Alejandra Salazar-Aranza Osoro (#8) and Giulia Dal Pozzo-Nuria Rodríguez (#11), were knocked out in the first round.

Roglan-Aragón Pull Off a Major Upset

The underdogs made the most of their adaptation to the court conditions at the Hamdan Sports Complex to knock out Paquito Navarro-Martín Di Nenno. It was the first time the latter leave a tournament in the opening round since reuniting at the Italy Major in early June.

Roglan-Aragón produced a comeback to remember. After being blown away by an outstanding performance from their opponents in the opening set (0-6), they regrouped and took control at the crucial moments, turning the match around with a 6-4, 6-2 victory in one hour and 35 minutes.

“Lost for words, team. What a match!” Aragón wrote on social media, while Roglan went even further: “I suppose we still haven’t quite realised what we’ve achieved today… We beat two legends of this sport, Paquito and Di Nenno, in the third set. Unbelievable, Manu. Thank you so much to everyone for all the messages and to everyone who believed in us, even when things weren’t going our way." As a reward, they will face Franco Dal Bianco-Flavio Abbate (#30) on Thursday for a place in the quarter-finals. Dal Bianco-Abbate knocked out Álex Ruiz-Javi García (#13) in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The other two players to make headlines on the day were García-González. The Spanish team had been knocked out in qualifying, but the late withdrawal of Arturo Coello-Agustín Tapia opened up a place in the main draw for them as Lucky Losers, after they were drawn to take the spot.

They made the most of their stroke of luck against Juani Rubini-Álex Chozas (#19), winning the longest match of the day after two hours and 30 minutes, prevailing in the deciding-set tie-break, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. They will now face world championship runners-up Tino Libaak-Gonza Alfonso (#10) for a place in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, the two leading contenders for the men’s title also made their tournament debuts. Juan Lebrón-Leo Augsburger (#2) had to dig deep to overcome the promising Manu Castaño-Pol Hernández (#20), while Franco Stupaczuk-Jon Sanz (#3) brought the day to a close with a 6-3, 5-1 win over local player Arnau Ayats and his partner Emilio Chamero, who was forced to retire after getting injured.

Guinart-Alonso Close in on the Finals

In the women’s draw, it was the turn of Martita Ortega-Sofia Araújo (#5), Claudia Jensen-Tamara Icardo (#6) and Guinart-Alonso (#7) to make their debuts. All three teams came through their opening matches to keep their campaigns alive.

Ortega-Araújo had to come from behind against qualifying team Anna Ortiz-Maria Laura Ferreyra, who put in an impressive performance. After one hour and 40 minutes, the fifth seeds eventually secured a three-set victory, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. Icardo-Jensen also came through a tough encounter against Dal Pozzo-Rodríguez, a team that has already reached two semi-finals on Tour this season. The team coached by Maxi Grabiel lived up to their billing as favourites, claiming a 6-2, 6-3 win in one hour and 38 minutes.

That result worked in Guinart-Alonso’s favour, as two of their main rivals in the race to qualify for the Finals were eliminated. Combined with their own 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jana Montes-Marta Barrera (#13), it guarantees that they will earn more FIP Race points this week than several of the players chasing them, including Dal Pozzo, Rodríguez, Alejandra Salazar, Aranza Osoro, Carmen Goenaga and Bea Caldera, all of whom lost in the first round.

The Women's Top Seeds Begin Their Campaigns in the Round of 16

This Thursday, the top four women’s teams in the draw will make their Dubai P1 debuts in what could prove to be a pivotal tournament in the battle for world No. 1.

Reigning champions and recent Kuwait Major winners Gemma Triay-Delfi Brea will open the day against Marta Talaván-Sofía Saiz (#19). Next up, Ari Sánchez-Andrea Ustero (#3) will take on Letizia Manquillo-Lucía Sainz (#17), while Bea González-Paula Josemaría (#2) face Martina Fassio-Verónica Virseda (#10). Fourth seeds Martina Calvo-Claudia Fernández will also get their campaign underway against Jessica Castelló-Laia Rodríguez (#16).