Double victory for Spain, but in Budapest it’s a celebration for all young talents

The double triumph belongs to Spain, but at the awards ceremony in Budapest the celebration was for all the young padel talents — over 300 of them — who were the stars of a memorable week with 426 matches. At the FIP Juniors European Padel Championships in Hungary, “La Roja” confirmed their championship titles in both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments, following their previous victories two years ago in Valencia. The Spanish boys’ team defeated France in the afternoon: the Under 14 duo of Iago Fuertes and Anselmo Guerrero started strong with a 2-0 win over Sacha Huard de la Marre and Nathan Perrot; the Under 16s then secured the decisive point with Juan Zamora and Manuel Castaño against Olivier Guy de Chamisso/Jérémy Robert (2-0). Despite the defeat, the French team managed to claim victory in the third and final match, where Timéo Fonteny/Thomas Basso faced Francisco Cabeza/Alejandro Calvo. It was a great display of maturity for the newly crowned European runners-up, who completed the podium alongside Sweden, who won the third-place match against Belgium.

Final standings – Boys tournament

1. Spain
2. France
3. Sweden
4. Belgium
5. Italy
6. Portugal
7. Netherlands
8. Estonia
9. Denmark
10. Lithuania
11. Finland
12. Switzerland
13. Austria
14. Norway
15. Germany
16. Hungary

GIRLS Spain’s winning day began in the morning with the girls’ team, who faced Italy in a tie that started with a 2-0 victory in the Under 14s from Martina Vera/Paula Ferran against Sophie Caruso/Emma Speziali. The Under 16s followed with the same score, featuring Martina Calvo and Jana Montes (against Vittoria Giraldi/Matilde Minelli), and the Under 18 match was claimed by Raquel Eugenio and Camila Fassio against Aurora Buscaino/Camilla Livioni. The victory was celebrated with chants and hugs from the entire Spanish team, echoed by the Italian finalists, who also celebrated together with their opponents, acknowledging an extraordinary achievement. Equally thrilling, both on and off the court, was the battle for third place between France and Portugal, won by the Portuguese team 3-0. Belgium completed the top 5 by defeating Sweden 2-1.

Final standings – Girls’ tournament

1. Spain
2. Italy
3. Portugal
4. France
5. Belgium
6. Sweden
7. Holland
8. Estonia
9. Finland
10. Hungary
11. Germany
12. Czechia