At La Nucia the charge of 500

500 people, from 17 nations, arrived at the Ciudad Deportiva Camilo Ciano in La Nucia. It will be a week of great padel, with the FIP Senior European Championships reserved for the Veterans (Over 40, Over 45, Over 50), and Super Veterans (Over 50, Over 55 and Over 60) categories, both male and female. Two competitions will be played until Sunday: one for teams, obviously national, and the other Open for pairs, with the only ‘condition’ in the draw represented by the fact that pairs from the same nation cannot compete against each other in the first round. Spain, the host, is the team most likely to win the final.

History makers will be on court in Alicante, in the Comunidad Valenciana, with the Over 40’s being the first category this year: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are the national teams involved in the FIP Senior European Championships. Each match consists of three games, one per category. The three days of the group stage will make up the knockout draw: the first two of each grouping in each category will advance to the quarter-finals, while the remaining two national teams will participate in the draw for positions from ninth to sixteenth.

“Organizing the Seniors European Championships makes me particularly proud and happy”, FIP president Luigi Carraro stated. “It is a particular happiness because I believe that talent has no age in sport in general and in padel in particular. The contests for Seniors organized by the FIP represent a precious ‘treasure chest’ for each continental federation. It is the right moment to transform that talent, as well as the experience gained over the years, and the technical and tactical baggage into a message to be passed on to those who are approaching padel. The focus is on the new generations who will be able to pick up the precious legacy, following the exploits of those who have preceded them. Moreover, I believe that age in sports should not be – ever – a limitation, but an opportunity. Extraordinary athletes who have written fundamental pages for our sport will take the field, so it will be an unmissable opportunity to admire them in such a high-level competition. That is why I thank the president of the Spanish Federation Ramon Morcillo Valle and the president of the Comunidad Valenciana Federation Alfonso Monferrer for enthusiastically agreeing to host these European Championships”.