Last weekend was held the second Croatian National Championship of padel outside. A spectacular event that saw the titles remained in the city of Umag.

Le padel in Croatia

If you padel remains a minor sport in Croatia, it is still developing there little by little. The first club opened in 2016 and Croatia Padel Federation was founded in 2017. There are also 46 centers in 13 different cities, the largest club being located in the Croatian capital, Zagreb, with 8 indoor courts.

Le padel in Croatia, there are also 310 players registered in the national ranking, more than 10 recreational players and more than 000 tournaments on the calendar for this year 20.

Croatia is also a member of FIP, FEPA and the Croatian Olympic Committee.

Back to the championship

A crowded place in Umag and stunning finals marked the second Croatian championship of padel in the open air, during which the local players showed themselves very much to their advantage!

Among the women, the title was won by Maja Pribanović who comes from Umag, and Tereza Mrdeža, from Poreč, and the former 150th world tennis player. In the final, the two women defeated Nataša Koraca and Martina Klimić 6-3 6-4, and thus became the first Croatian outdoor champions in history.

The culmination of the events of these three days in May Day Square and Umag Padel Center was arguably the men's final, which also saw a home side win.

Indeed, the former fifth player in the world in junior tennis, Luka Belić from Umag, and his partner from Zagreb, Roko Glasnović, defeated their eternal rivals, Boran Poljančić and Arthur Vašarević, both from Zagreb, on a score of 7-6(12) 7-5.

A "Croatian clasico" which kept all its promises in a tournament marked by many hung matches. And a surprise however since until now all the championships had been won by Boran Poljančić and Arthur Vašarević. This is the first time that these two lost in the final of the national championship and their second defeat this year in national competition!

Women's victory Croatian national championship
Men's victory Croatian national championship
Croatian National Outdoor Championship
Outdoor Croatian National Championship Trophy

This wonderful weekend 100% padel in Umag will have had a great importance on the development of the padel Croatian.

In three days at Umag Padel Center and on this magnificent court of the place du 1er mai, the organizers of the event were able to show to what extent the padel could be attractive and how well it could fit into urban environments.

“We are one of the first European federations of padel to have organized the national championship on a place of the city”, said the president of the Croatian Federation of padel Tomislav Margeta.

He thus continued: “A big thank you to the city of Umag, without which this kind of spectacle would certainly not have taken place, to our partners from the Spanish company Jubo Padel, who brought this beautiful pitch to Umag, as well as two professionals who demonstrated with Saturday's exhibition what our sport looks like at the highest level.

This is only the beginning of the popularization of padel in Croatia, and I hope we meet again in the same place next year.”

In addition to the competitive part, in which more than 60 players took part, and the exhibition matches of the professionals and the best Croatian players, this weekend was marked by the presence of many visitors in the town square, who were able to enjoy the show and try their hand at padel.

A successful event that will inevitably call for others!

Eleonore Coulibaly

What a pleasure to be a journalist in the middle of the padel, an attractive growing sport. I hope you enjoy the content offered. See you soon perhaps on the slopes!

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