Claudia Fernandez, queen of Santiago, and the others: here are the rising stars of padel
June 5, 2024
She is just over eighteen, but she has already achieved a record to be proud of. With the victory at the Banco de Chile Santiago P1, Claudia Fernandez Sanchez – paired with Gemma Triay – became the youngest winner of a Premier Padel tournament, the world’s leading professional circuit.
Born in Madrid on February 28, 2006, and ranked number 9 in the world, the “Niña Maravilla” of padel lifted her first trophy on June 3 at 18 years, 3 months, and 4 days, breaking the previous record set by Claudia Jensen just two and a half months earlier: at 18 years, 8 months, and 3 days, the Argentine won the GNP Acapulco P1 in Mexico on March 24, paired with Jessica Castelló.
Looking back, this result also surpasses the record achieved in international competitions by Beatriz Gonzalez: “Bea,” born in Málaga on November 23, 2001, won in Madrid in 2020 paired with Marta Ortega when she was 18 years, 7 months, and 27 days old.
A statistical curiosity: the youngest female pair to win a tournament, summing the ages of both players, was formed by Ariana Sanchez, current world number 1, and Marta Ortega, who won in Spain, but in Santander, at a combined age of 39 years (19 for Ari, 20 for Martita). Before the title in Chile, Claudia Fernandez reached the final this year at just 18 years and 2 days old at the Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel: however, this is not a record for finals, as the youngest to reach this milestone in the history of major world circuits were Marta Ortega and Claudia Jensen (at 17 years old).
Speaking of the “Niña Maravilla,” if we consider all professional circuits recognized by the FIP, the one in Santiago is not actually the first title for the Madridilenian: in June 2022, at just 16 years and 4 months, she won the FIP Gold Alkmaar (Cupra FIP Tour circuit) in the Netherlands paired with the Argentine Julieta Bidahorria.
But who is the youngest winner of a professional FIP tournament? It is still a player born in the Spanish capital, but not Claudia Fernandez. The record was set by Amanda Lopez Moral (born in 2008 and ranked number 110 in the FIP rankings) who at 15 and a half years old won the FIP Promotion Elche in Spain in July 2023 with her partner Cristina Carrascosa.
Other prodigious girls are certainly Martina Calvo Santamaria (ranked 157) and Jana Montes Cabruja (ranked 113), both born in 2008: at the aggregate age of just 32 years, they won the FIP Promotion Betsson 3 in Goteborg in April and the FIP Rise Burriana in May 2024. The Spanish female “cantera” never stops producing talent: just think of Raquel Eugenio Barrera (ranked 117), another player born in 2008 who has already won four tournaments in the Cupra FIP Tour circuit in 2024 (FIP Promotion La Cala, FIP Promotion Castellon, FIP Rise Isla de la Palma, FIP Rise Bapadel Barcelona).
Focusing on the best-ranked Under 18 champions, excluding Alejandra Alonso (ranked 18) who turned 18 on May 29, the top Under 18 is her Catalan partner Andrea Ustero (ranked 19), with whom she has already reached three Premier Padel semifinals (GNP P1, Mar del Plata P1, and Santiago P1); in 48th place is Agueda Perez, in 65th Noemi Aguilar, both from Madrid, and in 85th place is Lucia Peralta, born in Zaragoza.
