The 2026 season of Premier Padel It truly took flight during the round of 32 of the Riyadh P1. For this first big day with the entry of the best men's pairs in the world, the spectacle was there: expected confirmations, scares for the big names and significant surprises.

In the stands of the Padel At Rush Arena, several football figures had made the trip, including Cristiano Ronaldo, David Villa and David Silva.

Coello / Tapia jostled then relentless

Facing the French pair of Bastien Blanqué and Dylan Guichard, Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia conceded the first set (3-6). The Frenchmen believed they could pull off an upset, but the world number ones responded immediately: a one-sided second set (6-1), followed by a controlled finish (6-2). Final score: 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Blanqué and Guichard take a set from the world number 1s: a historic performance despite the defeat

Galán/Chingotto and Lebrón/Augsburger strong starters

The second seeds, Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto, dominated Ruiz/Rubio (6-2, 6-2). Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger also demonstrated their dominance, defeating Álvaro and Pedro Meléndez (6-1, 6-2).

The new pair Mike Yanguas / Franco Stupaczuk also secured their place (7/6(3) 6/3), while Paquito Navarro / Fran Guerrero, Martín Di Nenno / Momo González, Lucas Bergamini / Javi Garrido and Tolito Aguirre / Alex Arroyo lived up to expectations.

Castaño/Jofre and Valenzuela/Martínez take down seeded players

The biggest upset came from Manu Castaño and Íñigo Jofre. After losing the first set, they rallied to defeat Jon Sanz and Javi Leal (5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5)). The Sanz/Leal pair, brought together due to injuries to Coki Nieto and Pablo Cardona, lost in a decisive tiebreak.

Another notable performance was the victory of Rama Valenzuela and Javi Martínez against Sanyo Gutiérrez and Gonzalo Alfonso (6-3, 6-7, 6-3). Two wins that reshuffle the cards in this section of the draw.

Alonso reassures, the top 4 women enter the scene

In the women's draw, the second day of the round of 32 confirmed the momentum of the new partnerships. Less than 48 hours after her retirement in the final of the FIP Platinum Marseille, Alejandra Alonso stepped up alongside Alejandra Salazar, securing a decisive victory (6-3, 6-1).

Injured on Sunday in Marseille, Alejandra Alonso surprised everyone with a winning return at Riyad P1

Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen also secured their qualification (6/4 6/3), as did several other pairs in rebuilding.

The four best pairs in the world will make their direct entry into the round of 16: Delfi Brea / Gemma Triay, the only ones unchanged from 2025, as well as the new associations Bea González / Paula Josemaría, Ariana Sánchez / Andrea Ustero and Sofia Araújo / Claudia Fernández.

This first big day confirms that the hierarchy remains solid at the top of the table, while revealing closer gaps from the start of the season.

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, 11 FEBRUARY, 2026Download
Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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