In February, padel enters a new era. From 2024 a single professional circuit, a single calendar, a single ranking. There will be 25 tournaments that will make up the Premier Padel tour under the governance of the International Padel Federation. The first one that opens the season, the Riyadh P1, has already closed its registration period.
161 couples signed up, but only 116 will play
Of course, the best players in the world will not miss the event. The top seeds will be present in a tournament that has had a multitude of applications to play. A total of 161 couples have registered for the tournament, although 45 of them have been left out.
Specifically, in the men’s category 72 couples have registered: with a final draw made up of 40 couples (3 of them wildcards) as well as a qualifying phase with 32 couples (2 of them wildcards). But the tournament has a waiting list of 34 couples. Overall, 108 male couples have decided to sign up for the first Premier Padel event.
In the women’s category, the final draw is made up of 28 pairs (1 of them wildcard), while the qualifying phase is made up of 16 pairs (1 of them wildcard). In addition, the waiting list has 11 couples that in principle will have to wait until the next tournament to play.
Many novelties among the registered couples
As is already well known, the new season has brought great novelties in the main couples of the circuit.
In the men’s category, it is worth remembering that the three pairings that have fought for the most titles remain, including Ale Galan and Juan Lebron, who were speculated to break. The Spanish pairing will start as the top seeds in the Riyadh P1, followed by Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, and Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno. As number 4 seeds in the Riyadh draw, the first great novelty is the pairing of Paquito Navarro and Sanyo Gutierrez.
Other novelties among the men’s pairings are Fede Chingotto and Momo Gonzalez (pairing 5), Fernando Belasteguin and Lucho Capra (pairing 6) and Mike Yanguas with Javi Garrido (pairing 10).
In the women’s draw, as in the men’s, the top three pairings in the ranking have been maintained. Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez will start as couple 1, followed by Bea Gonzalez and Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay and Marta Ortega. As fourth seeds, one of the great novelties appears, Ale Salazar and Tamara Icardo.
As couple 5 we have Virginia Riera and Sofia Araujo, who will play together again. Also, Jessica Castello and Claudia Jensen (pair 6) meet again. Aranza Osoro and Vero Virseda will start from the seventh position, while Victoria Iglesias and Barbara Las Heras will start from the eighth position.
When does the Riyadh P1 start?
The tournament will kick off on February 24 with the first qualifying matches. The main draw will not start until two days later, on February 26. So the countdown to the return of the best padel in the world has already begun, with only 18 days to go!
|
You may be interested in: |
