The Valencia Premier Padel P1 is wasting no time in finding its storyline. Three days into the tournament at La Fonteta, the week has already brought long battles, major scares for top seeds and another reminder that form from one tournament does not always travel easily to the next.

That was certainly the case for two of the pairs who had made such a strong impression at last week’s BNL Italy Major Premier Padel. After reaching the semi-finals in Rome and becoming two of the standout stories of the week, both Giulia Dal Pozzo and Nuria Rodríguez, and Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo, saw their Valencia campaigns end at the first hurdle.

Dal Pozzo and Rodríguez were pushed into a demanding battle by Araceli Martínez and Laura Luján, who held their nerve across almost two and a half hours to claim one of the most eye-catching wins of the day. The result underlined the depth of the women’s draw, where several emerging projects continue to make life difficult for more established names.

In the men’s draw, Momo and Campagnolo’s exit came in crueler fashion. Their match against Valentino Libaak and Álex Chozas had opened with a fiercely contested first set, but Campagnolo began to struggle physically in the second and was eventually forced to retire through injury. For the young Argentinians, it means a place in the last 16 and a major opportunity ahead. For González and Campagnolo, it was an abrupt end after one of their best weeks of the season in Rome.

Their reward is a high-profile clash with Federico Chingotto and Alejandro Galán, who also had to work far harder than expected to survive their debut. The number 2 seeds were taken to three sets by Curro Cabeza and Mariano González, two young opponents who played without fear and came close to turning La Fonteta into the stage for one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Galán and Chingotto were below their most fluent level and even found themselves under real pressure in the decider, but they eventually relied on experience and competitive edge to secure their place in the next round.

Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia also began their tournament with victory, keeping their title ambitions on track as the men’s draw moves into a last-16 round full of intrigue.

Elsewhere, Javi Garrido and Lucas Bergamini also had to survive a demanding debut, coming from behind against Maxi Sánchez and Sanyo Gutiérrez to book a meeting with Juan Tello and Maxi Arce. That promises to be one of the standout matches of the next round, with Tello and Arce arriving in Valencia with growing confidence and the look of a pair capable of troubling anyone.

Mike Yanguas and Franco Stupaczuk will also face a dangerous test against José Jiménez and Javi García, while Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz meet Íñigo Jofre and Jairo Bautista in another match with plenty at stake. The winners of that section could find Coello and Tapia waiting further down the road.

In the women’s draw, several of the top seeds are preparing to enter the tournament directly in the last 16, with attention firmly on Paula Josemaría and Bea González. After seeing their run of five consecutive titles ended in the semi-finals in Rome, the Spanish pair arrive in Valencia looking to reset quickly and recover the momentum that had made them the dominant force of recent weeks.

There will also be focus on Carmen Goenaga and Bea Caldera, who face Raquel Eugenio and Martina Fassio in one of the most open women’s matches of the round. Four young players, all with plenty of projection, will compete not only for a place in the quarter-finals, but also for another important step in their rise on the Premier Padel stage.

With favourites already tested, Rome semi-finalists already out and La Fonteta fully behind the spectacle, Valencia has confirmed what the opening rounds had suggested: this week, there will be no easy passage for anyone.