The Golden Boys beat Yanguas and Garrido. Josemaria and Sanchez unstoppable against Triay and Fernandez
On the day of the end of the collaboration between Juan Lebron and Ale Galan, Augustin Tapia and Arturo Coello make things clear – once again – about who will be the couple to beat in Premier Padel. After the 15 titles in 2023 comes the first of 2024 for the Golden Boys, who conquer the Ooredoo Qatar Major in Doha, outclassing Mike Yanguas and Javi Garrido in the final. The two outsiders, seeded number 10, had already beaten Lebron/Galan and Stupaczuk/Di Nenno before reaching this final, but they were unable to overcome the other top couple of Premier Padel (and they were visibly tired). Coello and Tapia make up for Riyadh’s defeat against Lebron and Galan and automatically become the first couple in the world (after the separation of the Galacticos). It ends 6-0 6-2, in a match that was first stopped by rain and then lasted less than an hour.
CHAMPIONS
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If last year they started off great, at the start of 2024 Ari Sanchez and Paula Josemaria are simply perfect. The world number 1 couple beats Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez (18 year old in her first career final) and also wins the title in Doha. If there was a game in the first set and the break came in the eighth game, in the second set Paulita and Magic Ari flew towards victory, after a hard-fought fifth game in which they secured a double break. From there Gemma and Claudia’s match ends and Sanchez/Josemaria win 6-3 6-1.
PRESIDENT
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The Ooredoo Qatar Major in Doha was the opportunity for the president of the International Padel Federation Luigi Carraro to draw a very first assessment of the 2024 season which is projecting padel into a new era. “I think the balance of the first tournament of the year is very positive. In Riyadh we had a sold out event on the last two days of the competition, a very high technical level, the players happy. In Doha, with the Qatari Federation (QTF) confirming itself as the best in organizing this type of tournament, we experienced a fantastic event.”. Carraro also expressed his opinion on the Lebron case, after the controversy in the match against Yanguas and Garrido. “In this discipline I was born as a player, I had the ambition of becoming a champion but I didn’t make it, even if I later managed to achieve other goals. But I know well that when athletes play they want to win. Also because this is a Major that rewards you with 2 thousand points. Therefore, there is a lot of tension, adrenaline, desire to win, elements that can emerge during a match. I want to underline how Lebron’s public apology represents the strongest message he could have received regarding the episode.” Then, the president also talks about the abolition of the Punto de Oro which has lengthened the average duration of matches. “We made the decision to use the advantages system with the players. Premier Padel is a special circuit: someone would prefer the Punto de Oro, someone prefers the advantages, but I think that for the moment I think this remains the best system But if we see in the future that it will be necessary to change something, we will study the best option for sport, fans and television broadcasters.” Finally, Carraro announced that the venue for the next World Cup will be announced by the end of March.