Day 2 in Mumbai: Victories for the Lions and Tigers on their World Padel League debuts

The second day of WPL Season 4 at the SVP Stadium Dome saw the debut of two of the tournament’s strongest squads, Game Changers Lions and Khan Tigers, and produced two matches that, once again, were decided by the narrowest of margins under this game-score format. Neither Hubtown Panorama Panthers nor Vedanta Leopards – the two teams that had won the previous day – managed to repeat their victories.

The Lions win their debut against the Panthers

The Lions, led by Paula, Josemaría and Bea González, made their debut against a Panthers side that were in high spirits following their resounding victory the previous day. The first set, in the women’s match, made things clear early on: Josemaría and González gave Marta Caparrós and Marta Barrera no chance, taking the set 6–2.

The Panthers didn’t let their heads drop. In the second set, the men’s set, Juan Tello and Edu Alonso turned the tie around against Sanyo Gutiérrez and Gonzalo Alfonso, winning 6-2 and levelling the match.

Everything was decided in the third set, with Fede Mouriño and Teo Zapata representing the Lions against Enri Goenaga and Rama Valenzuela. The team in yellow held their ground and closed out the set 6-4, enough to win the match 14 games to 12 and secure the Lions’ first victory of the season.

Khan Tigers surprise the Vedanta Leopards to secure their first victory

The second match of the day pitted two very different teams against each other: Khan Tigers, making their Season 4 debut, and Vedanta Leopards, who were in high spirits after coming from behind to beat the Jaguars the previous day. The Leopards took the early lead: in the first set, the women’s match, Marta Ortega and Verónica Virseda thrashed Raquel Eugenio and Martina Fassio 6–1.

The Tigers responded with equal force. In the second set, the men’s doubles, Íñigo Jofre and Javi García struck back against Miguel Deus and Nuno Deus with a resounding 6-0 victory that levelled the tie at the worst possible moment for the Leopards.

Everything was decided in the third set, the most closely contested of the afternoon. Lucas Campagnolo and Aris Patiniotis, playing for the Tigers, faced Javi Ruiz and Fran Guerrero, who were looking to repeat the heroic performances they’d delivered 24 hours earlier. This time they didn’t manage it: the set went to a tie-break, which the Tigers won 7-6, closing out the match 14-12 and securing their first victory of the season.