Coello-Tapia and Triay-Fernandez still on the throne

Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia the kings, Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez the queens. The Milano Premier Padel P1, the last tournament of the 2024 Premier Padel circuit before the Finals in Barcelona, closed in a fantastic atmosphere. There were 5,500 people at the Allianz Cloud for the finals, 32,000 spectators in total who made this event fantastic for a week, as Fernando Belasteguin, who ended his career in Milano, also deserved. In the women’s final, the sixth title in 2024 for Triay and Fernandez, after Bea Gonzalez suffered an injury that forced the Spaniard and Delfi Brea to retire during the second set. Then came Coello and Tapia, who against Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan claimed their ninth title in a row, the 14th of the season, thanks to their 45th consecutive victory.

MEN Nine titles in a row, 14 in an impressive 2024, 45 consecutive wins. Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, who will be playing in the Premier Padel Finals in Barcellona, just had to win a trophy in Italy this year. After losing the finals in both the Major in Rome and the P2 in Genova, Coello and Tapia triumphed in Milano, beating Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan 6-4 7-5 in the final. Since the defeat in Genova, there has been no more for anyone: Malaga, Madrid, Rotterdam, Valladolid, Paris, Dubai, Kuwait City, Acapulco, Milano. On the throne there are always them. Honour to Chingotto and Galan, able to return to the final after two defeats in the semifinals and, in general, to win five titles this season. But Coello and Tapia proved to be from another planet. “We are very happy to win here in Milan – Coello said –. This is the first time we have done it here, thank you for all the support this week”. Tapia, supported in the stands by footballers Paulo Dybala and Leandro Paredes to whom he gave a ‘pala’, receiving a Roma and an Argentina’s jersey, was voted MVP of the final: “Thank you all for this wonderful week. Thanks also to the boys (referring to Dybala and Paredes, ed) who came to watch us. It’s been a tough week. We have to keep working to keep winning these games. Thanks to my family and Arturo’s family for always following us”.

After a balanced start, Chingotto and Galan had three break points to go up 4-2 in the first set: they did not exploit them and, in the next game, it was then Coello and Tapia who extended, closing the set with a score of 6-4. It was a similar scenario in the second set, with the ‘Chingalan’ who, after failing two break points in the fourth game, gave up the serve in the fifth. The match, however, did not end there, with the number 2 seed trying to keep themselves in the match, managing to recover the break. The decisive one, however, came at 6-5, with Coello and Tapia going to serve for the match, ending it with a smash from Tapia.

WOMEN A week after triumphing in the Acapulco Major, Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez are also the queens of the Milano Premier Padel P1. The two Spaniards – who started at the top of the women’s draw – closed the match in their own favour after Delfi Brea and Bea Gonzalez withdrew when the score was 6-7 5-2, due to an injury of the Spanish player, not the first of an unlucky season. “We are sorry to win like this and we are close to Bea for what happened to her – Gemma’s words –. We wish her a speedy recovery. It’s not the first time something like this has happened to her, we hope they can play in the Finals. On the court it was a battle, we are happy to have won in Milan”. A match that ended with Bea almost in tears, but which had been beautiful in the first set: “We were playing an incredible match – Claudia added –. But we have been doing it all week and we are happy about that”.

The match had started better for Brea and Gonzalez, ahead 5-2 in the first set before being recovered by Triay and Fernandez, who however paid for too many unforced errors in the final set and in the tiebreak. But the great merit of Gemma and Claudia was that they didn’t give up and started off strong in the second set, when however first Brea then especially Bea Gonzalez had to deal with physical problems, the most serious of which forced Bea to retire. For Triay and Fernandez this is the sixth title of the season, which allows them to overtakte Brea and Gonzalez at the second place of the winningest pairs of the season: “The most important thing today was not to fall after losing the first set. In the second we got back on our feet”. Looking forward to the Premier Padel Finals, Fernandez is enjoying another title after Santiago, Bordeaux, Madrid, Valladolid and Acapulco. “It’s the best season of my life, I have more and more confidence – said Claudia –. I’m happy with the support everyone gives us, from Gemma to the coaches. Now I feel I have the level to be among the 3-5 best right players in the world”.