FIP Juniors Asian Padel Championships, Asia’s NextGen shines in Bahrain

A major event for the Asian NextGen, marking the end of a year in which the popularity of padel has grown exponentially across the continent. Bahrain will host the FIP Juniors Asian Padel Championships, which will take place from December 16 to 21 and will be reserved for three categories of young talents: Under 14, Under 16, and Under 18. The tournament will feature seven countries: in addition to the host nation, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon will compete at the “Let’s Padel” facilities.

The first stage of the nation competition, which will feature men’s national teams, will be structured into two groups: one with four teams and the other with three. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, while the remaining teams will compete for positions 5 through 7. The group stage will take place from December 17 to 19, followed by the semifinals on the 20th and the final on December 21. In addition to the nation competition, the Juniors Asian Padel Championships will also include a national pairs tournament, divided into the Under-14, Under-16, and Under-18 categories, with a main draw of sixteen pairs per category.

For padel in Bahrain, this will be the second major event dedicated to the NextGen, following the ISF Gymnasiade 2024 at the end of October. This event, organized by the International School Sport Federation, a reality within the IOC, saw padel included for the first time among the 26 disciplines in its program.