Day 3. Paula and Ari, Arturo and Agus, number 1 and in the final

The 14.583 fans who filled the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona enjoyed a dream day. The awarding of the number 1s in the FIP ranking for the end of 2024, the tribute to Fernando Belasteguin with other padel legends, the semi-finals of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Finals. Crowned as queens and kings of the season, Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez in the women’s draw and Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia in the men’s will have the chance to end the year with another title.

MEN Coello and Tapia, now in their 47th victory in a row, will be up against Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz, now in their third final of the season after winning in Bordeaux and losing in Finland. In the first semi-final, the number 1 on the draw beat Martin Di Nenno and Juan Lebron 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 15 minutes, without conceding a single break point in the entire match. On the other side of the net, however, there will be Nieto and Sanz, who in the semifinal between the surprises of these Premier Padel Finals broke the dream of Momo Gonzalez and Edu Alonso, overcome 6-3 7-5 in one hour and 45 minutes at the end of a hard-fought match in which Gonzalez and Alonso had started with a 3-0 lead before the return of Nieto and Sanz, who were also able to avoid the tiebreak in the second set. There are eight previous matches between Coello/Tapia and Nieto/Sanz, all won by Arturo and Agus.

WOMEN If among the men it will be the number 1 and 5 pairs who will contend for the title, Sunday’s finals will be opened at 4 p.m. by the challenge between the number 1 and 2 seeds with the women’s title at stake. Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez, crowned queens of the FIP ranking, are one win away from their 10th trophy of the season, after their 6-4 6-3 win over Ale Salazar and Jessica Castelló. Facing them, however, is a pair in great moment, the one formed by Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez, who closed the last two tournaments (Acapulco and Milan) with the cup in their hands and who in the semifinals eliminated the new pair formed by Delfi Brea and Veronica Virseda. First set balanced (7-5), second dominated (6-1). In the previous 11 matches of the season, six wins to five for Paula and Ari, 4-1 the head to head in the finals.

Among the innovations of the Finals 2024, there is that of the finals for the third place, which will start at 11 a.m. and will warm up the atmosphere in view of those for the titles: Salazar/Castelló against Brea/Virseda will open, followed by Di Nenno/Lebron against Gonzalez/Alonso.