triumph for Japan, UAE and Lebanon on the podium

The FIP Juniors Asian Padel Championships concluded with a historic win for Japan, in a tournament showcasing the best of Asia’s NextGen, the “cantera” of the coming years. On the final day in Bahrain, the new champions defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 after an emotional and hard-fought tie. The decisive match began with a victory for the UAE’s Under 14 team (2-1, 6-4 4-6 6-4), but Japan evened the score thanks to Takada/Tanaka in the Under 16 category (6-2 6-3). The showdown was sealed by the Under 18 pair Iwamoto/Oshima, who won in straight sets with a nail-biting tiebreak in the second (6-3 7-6), unleashing joy across the entire team.

In the third-place playoff, Lebanon edged out Iran with a 2-1 victory, while the battle for fifth place went to Kuwait, who defeated the hosts 3-0. Saudi Arabia finished in seventh place. Six days of intense competition came to a close on a high note for a continent where padel has grown rapidly this year, highlighted by the creation of Padel Asia.