A few minutes after the announcement of the Spanish selection for the  Doha World Cup 2026 ,  Carolina Navarro  confided in BRAND on his choices. For his first major list as head of the women's team, the former Spanish padel legend had to decide between several players capable of claiming a place.

The strongest choice obviously remains the absence of Alejandra Salazar , dismissed in favor of  Marta Ortega , While  Martina Calvo  et  Andrea Ustero  fully symbolize the Spanish generational renewal.

"A very difficult decision"

Carolina Navarro doesn't hide it: building this list gave her a lot of work.

"I don't know if the word is relief or tranquility. It's been quite a complicated few months with this selection process."

With such a dense pool of names, the selector explains that she wanted to disregard all the context surrounding certain names.

"I tried to block out all the noise around me and think as objectively as possible about the best team."

For her, the first six players on the list were practically indisputable, both in terms of ranking and their level of play.

The real choices were therefore made in the final positions.

Martina Calvo preferred to Tamara Icardo

One of the decisions concerned  Martina Calvo .

Carolina Navarro explains that she hesitated with  Tamara Icardo , but the young Spaniard's recent performances have finally made the difference.

"Martina has an incredible attitude on the court. She plays very well, finishes matches very well, and she's also an aggressive player."

The conditions expected in Doha also played a role.

With the heat and a move expected to be quick, Navarro believes that Calvo's attacking profile can bring a lot to Spain.

The difficult choice between Salazar and Marta Ortega

The other major decision concerned  Alejandra Salazar and Marta Ortega .

And that was the one that was the most difficult on a human level.

Salazar, who is playing his last professional season, could have experienced his last World Cup with Spain in Doha.

"Alejandra deserves it for her entire career. She played well and this would have been her last World Cup."

But Carolina Navarro also points out that this meeting could be one of the last for Marta Ortega.

And regarding her current form, she felt that  Martita deserved her place more .

"She plays very well, she's a very fast player, with moments of aggression too, and I think she's performing better right now."

"Marta earned it on the track."

The coach insists on one point: the choice of Ortega is primarily based on sporting reasons.

"She's having a great year. She deserved it and earned it on the track."

His profile also suits the conditions in Doha, with plenty of speed and an ability to accelerate when the game demands it.

For Navarro, it was therefore not a question of selecting a player for her history or status, but of building the team that she considered the most competitive possible.

A particularly harsh decision with Salazar

However, the emotional aspect was not easy to manage.

Carolina Navarro knows Alejandra Salazar very well. They played together and the coach explains that she herself experienced a similar situation at the end of her career.

"I've been through that situation. I played in my last World Cup without knowing if I was going to play or not, and in the end I didn't play. It was very tough."

She therefore admits to having given a lot of thought to what this absence could represent for Salazar.

But when it came time to decide, she claims she wanted to remove all the emotional dimension.

"I had to try to remove all the subjective elements and think with my head."

An impressive generational renewal

With  Martina Calvo and Andrea Ustero Spain will also arrive in Doha with a very young team.

Carolina Navarro says she is impressed by the maturity of this new generation.

"It's madness. The players we have are very young."

And yet, despite their age, they already possess a lot of experience with big dates.

Finals, titles, high-pressure matches: several of them have already experienced important situations on the circuit.

Navarro reminds us, however, that a World Cup remains a special event.

“Wearing the Spanish jersey is not the same as playing on Premier Padel »

Spain is the favorite according to Navarro

When asked if Spain has the best team, Carolina Navarro does not dodge the question.

 Yes. 

And when asked if she considers her team her favorite, the answer is also positive.

However, she remains cautious with regard to Argentina.

According to her,  Delfi Brea, Claudia Jensen and Aranza Osoro  They include players capable of turning a game around.

Navarro particularly emphasizes the ability of the Argentinian women to transcend themselves when playing for the national team.

"When they put on the jersey, they play ten times more."

Italy, France and Portugal behind the two major nations

Finally, the Spanish coach also mentioned the nations capable of gradually getting closer to Spain and Argentina.

Three countries are mentioned:  Italy, France and Portugal .

Three selections which, according to her, have very good teams and which could gradually reduce the gap with the two historical benchmarks.

For Carolina Navarro, the course is now clear: after months of reflection, the list is finalized. And despite the difficult choices, notably leaving Salazar at home, she fully embraces her group to go and find a  tenth women's world title for Spain .

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !

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