Malaga Premier Padel P1, Josemaria and Sanchez in the history. Coello and Tapia come back to the throne

Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia’s rematch, history rewritten by Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez. The final day of the Malaga Premier Padel P1 was the Sunday of the number 1s: among the women, the Spaniards – beating 1-6 6-4 6-2 Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez – won their 32nd title as a pair, equalling the record of the Gemelas Atomikas, Mapi and Majo Sanchez Alayeto. Then it was the turn of Coello and Tapia, who after losing the two finals in Italy to Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan returned to lift a trophy, their sixth of the season after Doha, Acapulco, Puerto Cabello, Asuncion and Santiago, overcoming Chingotto and Galan 6-2 6-3 in the ninth chapter of what has become an endless challenge (now ‘Chingalan’ lead 5-4). However, at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena, the day began with an emotional moment: players, coaches, FIP, Premier Padel and the tournament organisers on the court with a special jersey dedicated to Charlie Moon, the Ecuadorian player who is fighting his battle against leukemia. “We Play Together, Charlie”.

MEN In the first three games of the men’s final, Coello and Tapia won more games than they won a week ago in the final in Genova: first break (3-0) for the number 1 seeded players, who maintained the advantage obtained with the break in the opening set until the end of the set, which closed 6-2 with another break. In the second set, Chingotto and Galan had three break points in the seventh; Coello and Tapia cancelled them, then earned three in the eighth game. And the break came in the second with Coello’s trick, with ‘Arturito’ and Agu closing 6-2 6-3 in an hour and 8’. “A week ago in Genova we came out humiliated, but here we redeemed ourselves and are overjoyed to have won the title”, Tapia said. “When things go wrong I realise how much, before being partners on the court, we are friends with Agus”, Coello’s words.

WOMEN The women’s final that consigned them to history had started in the worst way for Josemaria and Sanchez, who in half an hour had lost the first set 6-1 against Triay and Fernandez, never managing to hold serve and winning their only game at 3-1. And even at the start of the second set, the biggest difficulty for the FIP number 1 ranked players was to hold serve again: after five breaks in the first five games, however, Paula and Ari won a game on their own serve (4-2), keeping the lead until the end of the second set, which closed 6-4. The match, at that point, changed direction: Sanchez and Josemaria also won the break in the opening game of the third set, a gap that became double at 4-1, with Claudia Fernandez’s error giving the victory – the fifth of the season after Riyadh, Doha, Mar del Plata and Rome – to the FIP ranking queens. “What I always say and what I try to convey to everyone is that you must never give up, never stop trying”, Paula’s words after the great comeback. Words shared by Ari Sanchez: “We must be proud of our work, the fight on every ball, the determination to overcome such difficult moments”.

The Premier Padel circuit will come back to the court in the week between July 29th and August 4th with the Finland Premier Padel P2, in which – especially in the men’s draw – there will be many new pairs.