The land of Vincent van Gogh, The Orange, tulips, windmills, and Gouda and Edam cheese is also this week the land of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour, as the CUPRA Rotterdam Premier Padel P2 takes place for the third year in a row at the iconic Rotterdam Ahoy arena.

The main draw kicked off on Tuesday and concluded its first round this Wednesday, while action will continue through Sunday, with the best padel players on the planet battling for the 600 FIP ranking points that will be awarded to the tournament champions.

From Qualifying to the Round of 16

The standout performers of the opening round of the men’s draw were Teo Zapata and Adrián Naranjo. The Spanish duo secured their best result of the season on the Tour with a victory that sent them through to the Round of 16 for the first time.

Before earning their spot in the main draw, they had to win three qualifying matches, the decisive one against the legendary Miguel Lamperti and his teammate Octavio Álvarez, completing a comeback to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

On Wednesday, the first round handed them another clash between a team who also came through qualifying: Nacho Moragues - Timeo Fonteny. After edging an exciting first-set tie-break 10-8, they wrapped up the second set 6-4 to book a place in the Round of 16, where they will face the No. 4 seeds, Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno.

Lyon Champions Don’t Disappoint

Carmen Goenaga and Bea Caldera, as well as Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero, who conquered the FIP Platinum in Lyon last weekend, secured victories in their Rotterdam debut to maintain momentum.

The women’s No. 10 seeds got the job done in the opening match of the day, beating qualifiers Marta Borrero and Teresa Navarro 6-4, 6-3. Following their victory in France, Goenaga and Caldera have moved closer to the positions that would secure a place at the Finals, although they will need to continue climbing in the FIP Race rankings with strong results at the upcoming Premier Padel tournaments. 

On Thursday, they will face one of the biggest tests: a clash with #4 seeds Claudia Fernández  Martina Calvo, one of the most in-form duos on Tour as they arrive in Rotterdam as runners-up at the Paris Major.

Guerrero and Leal had to work harder to secure their place in the Round of 16. They faced Enrique Goenaga and Guillermo Collado, a pair who joined forces for this European leg of the Tour. After taking the opening set 6-1, they faced a strong response from their opponents, who levelled the match with a 6-2 second set. However, Guerrero - Leal held their nerve to avoid a deciding-set tie-break, closing out the match 7-5.

Two Thrilling Battles

The opening day of the women’s main draw also produced two thrilling matches that both lasted more than two hours.

Marta Barrera and Jana Montes (#11) had to come from behind to seal their place in the next round after an exciting battle against qualifying duo Camila Fassio and Amanda López, winning 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.

Victoria Iglesias and Lorena Rufo (#10) also had to fight back against Laia Rodríguez and Noa Cánovas (#14), who played their final match together in Rotterdam. From next week’s Germany P2 onwards, Rodríguez will team up with Jessica Castelló, while Cánovas will share the court with Laura Luján.

The Star Pairs Make Their Debuts on Thursday

World number 1s Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia will face Álvaro Montiel and Daniel Santigosa (#20), who have knocked out the No. 10 seeds, Edu Alonso and his partner Aimar Goñi. Goñi learned just a few days ago that he had been called up to represent Spain at the FIP World Cup in Qatar.

Meanwhile, Chingalán will begin their campaign against a tough team: David Gala and Enzo Jensen (#13), who were crowned FIP Gold São Paulo champions last week. Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger (#3), meanwhile, will feature in one of the day’s standout encounters against Juan Tello and Maxi Arce (#9), a pair with ambitions to represent Argentina at the FIP World Cup.

In the women’s draw, world number 1s Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea will face Jessica Castelló  and Marta Talaván (#13), who will bring their partnership to an end this week. Perlamita, will look to make a strong start against Alix Collombon and Ksenia Sharifova (#15), while the Paris Major champions, Ari Sánchez and Andrea Ustero (#3), will make their debut against Lucía Sainz and Sofía Saiz (#12), who are also playing their final tournament together.