Premier Padel lands in Argentina Coello and Tapia looking for a hat-trick

Everything is ready in Mendoza for the fourth round of the Premier Padel circuit, the first in South America: after the Majors in Doha and Rome and the P1 Premier in Madrid, Premier lands in Argentina for another P1. Great expectations at the Arena Aconcagua, where over the weekend the qualifications for the main draw were completed. There are 48 pairs, of which eight qualified and 16 already in the second round. As was the case in Madrid, it will be played indoors and the strongest players in the world will be on the court. In Mendoza, only the men’s draw is scheduled, after Rome and Madrid had played in combined mode. A choice, as specified by FIP President Luigi Carraro, due exclusively to logistical-organisational reasons, with the Premier Padel that from 2024 will always see both men and women on the court.

There has been a change in the entry list, with Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia who, thanks to the Rome-Madrid double, have surpassed Fede Chingotto and Paquito Navarro to become the third ranked pair and therefore the third seed in the draw. They will debut against the winners of the match between Scatena/Bueno and Chozaz/Cepero. Unchanged, however, the top two, with Juan Lebron and Ale Galan leading the seeding despite the complicated moment the number 1 ranking pair is experiencing. Lebron just returned to Rome after a wrist injury, but the Spaniards did not go beyond the quarters at the Foro and even beyond the round of 16 in Madrid. Debut against a qualified pair: Sanchez Blasco/Rolla or Andornino/Restivo and potential semifinal against Coello and Tapia.

Number 2 on the draw, the Argentines Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno, who will therefore also be able to count on the support of the home crowd (same for their compatriots Sanchez-Capra, semi-finalists in Madrid). Stupa, who was forced to retire in Madrid, is ready to return to the court, looking for his second consecutive title in Mendoza after the one he won in 2022 paired with Pablo Lima. Debuts against Gaspar/Mouliaa or wild cards Britos/Rivero. Chingotto and Navarro, meanwhile, will face either Gutierrez/Huete Hernandez or French qualifiers Guichard/Blanqué. The other qualified pairs are Leygue/Insa Sotillo, Lopez/Rubini, Calleja/Andenmatten Gudiño, Di Bene/Salandro and Gonzalez Galan/Puppo. In total, four Argentinean pairs qualified, as Argentinean is the legend Fernando Belasteguin, who with Mike Yanguas forms the sixth seed in the draw: they will meet Leygue/Insa Sotillo or Gil/Sager in the second round. Today the first eight matches of the main draw, the curtain rises on great padel in Mendoza.