Day 1 women’s. What a battle between Belgium and the Netherlands, solid debut for Spain and Argentina

The first women’s round of the FIP World Padel Championships in Qatar has wrapped up, and it was an exciting start at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha. Spectators, who had already packed the stands on day 1, were held in suspense by the tie between Belgium and the Netherlands in Group D: a clash that began shortly after lunch and extended into dinnertime after a long, hard-fought battle. The “Oranje” came out on top, with Betz/Hemmes securing the decisive point in the third match against Cuypers/Boeykens (6-1 3-6 6-2). The tie opened with a win for the Dutch team Groenveld/Luttikhuis against Pysson/Van Mol (1-6 6-1 6-0), and Belgium later evened the score with Wyckaert/Mestach against Koek/Weterings (6-4 0-6 6-4).

Among the day’s most exciting matches was Germany against Chile, both vying for a quarterfinal spot behind Spain. On court 4, Germany took the first match with Hering/Blaschke (6-0 7-6 over Mosca/Paz Coccio) and went on to win the second with a 2-1 by Kurz/Hoefer against Arancibia/Ahumada Carrasco (6-1 1-6 6-2). “La Roja” claimed the third match, with Castro Diaz/Araneda Curtze triumphing over Scholten/Buttner (6-4 2-6 6-0).

SPAIN, BEA RETURNS Spain’s opening round wrapped up smoothly with a 3-0 win over Brazil. The defending champions quickly took the lead in Group A, with the added highlight of Bea Gonzalez’s return to the court. Paired with Paula Josemaria, they cruised to a comfortable 6-0 6-0 win over Julia Gomes and Luana Trautwein. The duo of Triay/Salazar also started strong, winning 6-1 6-1 against Schuck Silva/Cirne, and “Martita” Ortega and Ari Sanchez closed with a 6-2 6-0 over Abbud De Barros/Abarzua Branchi. In Group B, Argentina also finished with a 3-0 in their tie against the United States: starting powerfully with Valenzuela/Riera (6-0 6-0 over Morga Alonso/Ruiz Alvarez), the “Albiceleste” sealed the result with Jensen/Fassio against Rodriguez Sanchez/Dubins (6-2 6-2) and wrapped up the “sweep” with Osoro/Ferreyra against Riobueno/Adamowich (6-1 6-0).

In Group C, Italy had a strong start, with a 3-0 over Uruguay, while Portugal (Group B) defeated Egypt by the same score, although Egypt managed to take a set in the match between El Nimr/Hakim and Fernandes/Nogueira. Sweden and France also dropped a set, to Japan and Denmark respectively, yet both the Scandinavians and the “Bleues” prevailed over their opponents with 3-0 wins.

DAY 2 On Day 2, beginning at 2 p.m local time (12 CET). on Tuesday the 29th, all eyes will be on the French team, who will face the Netherlands in another match-up to watch closely; other highlight matches include Belgium against Denmark and Germany against Brazil.