The draws: Sanchez-Josemaria vs. Alonso-Ustero, what a challenge in the first round!

From Dubai to Kuwait City, from one Premier Padel P1 to another. The season’s race for a place in the Premier Padel Finals enters its decisive stage, with the draw for the penultimate P1 of 2024 (the last one will be played in December in Milan) offering a super challenge already in the first round of the women’s draw. FIP number 1 ranked Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez against Ale Alonso and Andrea Ustero, out of the top seeds in Kuwait City but in the semifinals in Dubai. The world’s top players will all be at the start of the tournament, with the women’s 32-pair draw and the number 2 seeded Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez making their debut against Teresa Navarro and Noemi Aguilar. Delfi Brea and Bea Gonzalez are the number 3 seed: first round against Carolina Orsi and Nuria Rodriguez, with Marta Ortega and Sofia Araujo (eliminated in the quarters in Dubai) who will start with a pair from the qualifiers. These are the hypothetical quarter-finals: Josemaria/Sanchez (1)-Osoro/Virseda (8), Salazar-Castelló (5)-Ortega/Araujo (4), Brea/Gonzalez (3)-Icardo/Jensen (7), Sainz/Llaguno (6)-Triay/Fernandez (2).

MEN There are all the world’s best ‘parejas’ in the 48-pairs men’s draw as well, with the 16 seeds making their debut directly in the second round. For Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia (1) there are Emilio Sanchez Chamero and Facundo Dominguez or the wild cards Javier Navarro and Abdulaziz Redha. Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan (2), will surely start against a pair coming from the qualifiers and are in the same half of the draw as Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas (4), who will instead debut in Kuwait City against Ramiro Moyano and Juan Cruz Belluati or against Agustin Torre and Javi Valdes. In Coello and Tapia’s half, as in Dubai, are Martin Di Nenno and Juan Lebron (3), opposing in the second round Juanlu Esbri and Xisco Gil or José Solano Marmolejo and Ivan Ramirez. These are the possible quarter-finals: Coello/Tapia (1)-Bergamini/Garrido (8), Nieto/Sanz (6)-Di Nenno/Lebron (3), Stupaczuk/Yanguas (4)-Gonzalez/Alonso (7), Cardona/Navarro (5)-Chingotto/Galan (2).