Focus on… Sweden. Winning to become the “King Arthur” of the FIP ranking

Sweden is proof of how great talent finds its natural place in the global architecture of the CUPRA FIP Tour. And how it manages to grow to reach the top of the world. This is the case of the current number one in the male FIP ranking, Arturo ‘King Arthur’ Coello, who in June 2021, paired with Miguel ‘El Canoso’ Lamperti, won the Swedish Gold in Stockholm.

The Rise of Gothenburg – whose main draw is scheduled from April 5th to 7th – is the 12th tournament of the CUPRA FIP Tour (9 male, 3 female) played in Sweden. The activity of the Swedish Federation in the circuit is demonstrated by the 6 Rise tournaments (5 in Gothenburg and one in Gavle), including the one in April 2023, where the Swedish player Simon Vasquez won in partnership with the Spanish Rocafort.

The four Rise tournaments of 2024 (2 male, 2 female) played so far, all in Gothenburg, have seen the “double” of the Spaniards Santigosa-Collado, while in the women’s category, the victory came between January and February for the French Touly-Ginier and the Spanish Lopez-Lujan.

Data from the FIP Research & Data Analysis Department highlights 9 successes by Swedish players in the CUPRA FIP Tour: 3 by Simon Vasquez (in addition to the FIP Rise 2023 in Gothenburg, the Promotion in Torremolinos, and the Rise in London). Three victories also for the most representative player of the country, Daniel Windahl (in 2023 in London with compatriot Vasquez, the Rise in Kaunas, and the Rise in Oslo, Norway). There is only one victory by a completely Swedish pair in the Tour’s hall of fame: in January 2023, at the FIP Rise Australian Padel Open in Melbourne with Johan Fors and Linus Forst raising their arms to the sky, while in May 2022 the first victory for a Swedish female player was recorded, Evelyn Lacamoire, paired with the Spanish Carolina Gallo, at the FIP Promotion Alforat in Alexandria (Egypt).

In the male FIP ranking – following the data from the FIP Research & Data Analysis Department – there are 59 Swedish players who have scored points, while women are 20. Among men, the best ranking (54) belongs to the ‘96 class Daniel Windhal, the only top 100 player consistently present in the main Premier Padel draws, who will take the court in Gothenburg as the number one seed alongside the Spaniard José Solano. The ’92 class Simon Vasquez is 109th in the world ranking and seeded number 3 with the Spanish Alvaro Montiel.

Among women, there is a Top 40 in the new FIP ranking: it’s the veteran Carolina Navarro Björk, born in 1976, currently ranked number 33. Navarro Björk was born in Malaga, Spain, and has been playing for the Swedish national team since 2022 (she was number one in the world ranking for nine years, three-time world champion in doubles, and four-time team champion when she played for Spain). Among the notable home players is the young (class of 2002) Amanda Girdo, ranked number 107 in the FIP ranking and this year a finalist at the FIP Rise in Gothenburg last January.

Sweden is the fourth country in the world in terms of padel club and court facilities (in Europe it is the third after Spain and Italy) with over 1,050 structures – of which more than 230 are affiliated with the Swedish Padel Federation – and 4,200 courts. That is one court for every 2,500 inhabitants, making Sweden the second country in the world behind Andorra (one court for every 2,350 inhabitants).

In Sweden, there are approximately 600.000 amateur players, of whom – according to data from the Swedish Padel Federation – about 5.300 are professional players (33% women) and 800 are young athletes. On the social front, an estimated 2 million Swedes are passionate about this sport.