The Kuwait Major Premier Padel Powered by BNK delivered memorable battles on Friday, with the semi-finals deciding which teams will compete for the titles.

In the women’s draw, Ari Sánchez-Andrea Ustero (#3) defeated Bea González-Paula Josemaría (#2) in a three-hour-and-44-minute battle to consolidate their position at No. 2 in the FIP Race and set up a final against their main rivals in the fight for the world No. 1 spot, Gemma Triay-Delfi Brea (#1), who defeated Martina Calvo-Claudia Fernández (#4) in three sets.

Meanwhile, in the men’s draw, Maxi Arce-Juan Tello (#9) took a giant step towards the Finals by beating Aimar Goñi-Edu Alonso (#11) in a surprise semi-final and will compete for the title against Agustín Tapia-Arturo Coello (#1), who halted the excellent run of one of the season’s standout teams, Tino Libaak-Gonza Alfonso (#12).

No. 1 Is on the Line

The first women’s semi-final was strongly reminiscent of the Italy Major semi-final a few months ago. On that occasion, Sánchez-Ustero defeated González-Josemaría after four hours and 12 minutes (4-6, 7-6, 7-6), in what remains the longest match in Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour history. This time, the same story unfolded in three hours and 44 minutes, producing the fourth-longest match in that particular ranking.

Both teams needed to win to keep their hopes of reaching No. 1 in the FIP Race alive during the final stretch of the season. On this occasion, Sánchez-Ustero came out on top, once again showing that momentum can win matches.

The Catalan pair, who have won three of the last four tournaments, fought back not only after losing the opening set but also after trailing 4-5 with González-Josemaría serving in the second set and then going 0-3 down in the ensuing tie-break. Coached by Ángel González, they showed remarkable resilience to win a match that will live long in the memory and put themselves in an excellent position to close the gap further on No. 1 in the Race.

Sánchez-Ustero will face Triay-Brea for the 13th time this season, with the world No. 1s having now reached 14 finals after winning another intense battle against the Prodigy Girls. The top-ranked team were made to work hard by opponents who had beaten them in their previous two meetings and were unable to convert their only match point in the third set. Triay-Brea eventually forced a deciding tie-break to book their place in the final (6-4, 2-6, 7-6) after three hours and seven minutes.

The Kuwait Major's grand final will be a crucial battle for No. 1. If Sánchez-Ustero win the title, they will cut the gap to just 1,180 points, while a victory for Triay-Brea would put them firmly on course to retain their position at the top for a second consecutive year, extending their lead over their closest challengers to 2,780 points with three tournaments still to come (Dubai P1, Mexico Major and Finals), offering a combined 4,500 points to the champions.

A First-Ever Final in Kuwait

Juan Tello and Maxi Arce won the ‘unexpected’ semi-final at the Kuwait Major. The tournament’s No. 9 seeds faced No. 11 seeds Aimar Goñi-Edu Alonso in a hugely important match in the battle for the Finals, which will feature only the top 16 players in the FIP Race.

The Argentines produced a highly solid performance to secure a straight-set victory (6-4, 6-3) in just one hour and 19 minutes, earning an impressive 1,200 points each to propel themselves up the standings. In fact, following this result, they move up to 13th and 14th respectively in the Race, overtaking players such as Momo González, Coki Nieto, Lucas Campagnolo, Javi Leal and Alonso himself.

It will be their first final as a team, but there is more to it than that: Arce will make his Tour final debut on the biggest possible stage, doing so at a Major. Tello, meanwhile, had not played a title decider at a tournament of this category for more than four years, when he competed alongside Fede Chingotto in the 2022 Paris Major final against Ale Galán and Juan Lebrón, who ultimately denied them the title.

On Saturday, they will contest a first-ever final against Arturo Coello-Agustín Tapia, who gave one of the season’s breakout teams, Libaak-Alfonso, no chance. The Golden Boys imposed their authority to close out the match in just 56 minutes with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. The win makes them virtual world No. 1s, a status they can mathematically secure tomorrow if they claim what would be their 13th title of 2026.

Here is the order of play for the decisive day at the Kuwait Major:

Start at 4.00 p.m. (GMT+3)

Sánchez-Ustero vs Triay-Brea

Not before 7.00 p.m. (GMT+3)

Tello-Arce vs Tapia-Coello