All set at Pretoria’s state-of-the-art SunBet Arena for what promises to be a special day for South Africa’s growing padel community: the debut of the world’s best male players. Action gets underway on Wednesday from 09:00 local time, with the men’s round of 32 taking centre stage, while the women’s round of 32 will also be completed.
The headline act is undoubtedly the world No. 1 pair, Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia, who arrive in South Africa on the back of five consecutive titles. In Pretoria, they will be looking to extend both their trophy haul and their lead at the top of the FIP rankings, beginning their campaign against Libaak-Alfonso. Their closest challengers, Ale Galán and Fede Chingotto (No. 2), open against Rubini-Maxi Sánchez, while Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger (No. 3) – runners-up at the Málaga P1 – get their tournament under way against Gil-Lijó.
The biggest absentee in Pretoria is the No. 4 pair, Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas, with the Argentine ruled out through injury. The rest of the top eight will all be in action on Wednesday, led by Martín Di Nenno and Paquito Navarro (vs Diestro-Sintes), followed by Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz (vs Castaño-Goenaga), Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero (vs Collado-Hernández), and Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo (vs Ruiz-Pineda).
TOP FOUR WOMEN’S SEEDS AWAIT IN THE ROUND OF 16
Wednesday will also complete the women’s round of 32, with the opening match between Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen (No. 6) and Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga providing one of the day’s standout contests. Icardo and Jensen are the only top-eight seeded pair in action on Wednesday, after Marina Guinart and Alejandra Alonso secured their place in the round of 16 on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Escacena-Martínez, while Ale Salazar and Aranza Osoro also progressed thanks to a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Collombon-Sharifova.
Pretoria will have to wait one more day to see the leading title contenders in action. World No. 1s Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea — champions at the Málaga P1 — will begin their campaign on Thursday, as will Bea González and Paula Josemaría (No. 2). Missing from the tournament, however, are Ari Sánchez and Andrea Ustero (No. 3), while fans will witness the debut of two particularly exciting partnerships: the young duo of Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo (No. 4), and the third reunion of Marta Ortega and Sofia Araújo (No. 5). All of them will take to the court on Thursday, starting directly in the round of 16.
SOUTH AFRICA BOWS OUT
The tournament will no longer feature any home representatives after all the South African pairs were eliminated in the opening round. In the men’s draw, the country’s No. 1 pair, Luan Krige and Richard Ashforth, were beaten by Hernández-Collado on Monday. Egmond Van Heerden and Jason Blakey Milner, along with Warren Kuhn and Adam Van Harte, also exited the competition.
The Pretoria P1 will also be without its leading women’s representatives from now on. On Tuesday, Linge Steenkamp and Zoë Kruger were eliminated by Borrero-Baldi, while Tamara Pieters and Simoné Roets also bowed out against Fassio-Eugenio.
