Opening ceremony in Reus, games start tomorrow. Carraro: “You, young people, are our stars”

• The competition kicked off with a parade of 35 countries in the city center. The FIP president: “Thanks to the national federations that allow so many talents to grow.” The first phase groups

Reus’ Plaza de la Llibertat was the setting for the opening ceremony of the FIP Junior World Cup Costa Daurada Reus 2025, with 35 national teams filling the city with colors, flags, and an Olympic atmosphere. The event officially marked the start of the competition, which will take place from tomorrow — Monday, September 29 — to Saturday, October 4, at the Aurial Mas Sedó, the Club Tennis Monterol, and the Pavelló Olímpic Municipal, bringing together promising young padel players in the Under 14, Under 16, and Under 18 categories.

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela attended the ceremony.

The delegations, accompanied by their flags and composed of the players participating in the world event, transformed the square into a mosaic of colors and a reflection of the international spirit of the championship.

The president of the International Padel Federation, Luigi Carraro, was the spokesperson for the ceremony that officially declared the FIP Junior World Cup Costa Daurada Reus 2025 open, a tournament that will crown the junior world champions in the coming days. In his speech, he highlighted the extent of padel’s growth: “More than 600 athletes from 35 countries are participating in this edition. Do you know how many flags were represented last time? Only 17. Today there are 35. A truly impressive figure. We are in Catalunya and it’s a great gift for world padel. I don’t want to forget that this championship was initially intended for Valencia. A year ago, Valencia experienced a very tragic event and, for this reason, it was not possible to celebrate there.

We are very happy to be here, but on behalf of the global padel community, we promise that we will return to Valencia very soon, because your region has always supported us and will continue to support us”.

“I must thank the authorities: the mayor of Reus, the Generalitat of Catalunya, the Diputación of Tarragona. Thank you for your words, thank you for your support, thank you for organizing all this. I would like to thank Joan Cuscó, organizer of this event, but I would also like to thank Guillermo Alcaide, sports director of the FIP, and José Luis Martínez, supervisor of Premier Padel, who left his role for a few days to come here and supervise the FIP Junior World Cup. Do you know why? Because this is the most important competition we have”.

“Special thanks also go to all our national federations. We have many presidents here: thanks to them, who organize programs and activities every day in every country, you can enjoy yourselves and compete. Thanks to the national federations, which organize competitions everywhere throughout the year, allowing all players to grow and become great athletes. And to those of you who will take to the court, I say: have fun! Play your best! You are the protagonists, the stars of this competition. You are our stars!”.

The mayor of Reus, Sandra Guaita, addressed a few words of welcome to the tournament participants and the public, thanking them for their presence and emphasizing that the city will be the world capital of junior padel this week: “Welcome to Reus. We hope you enjoy these days, have fun, and take away fond memories of this city, which has always been closely linked to sport”.

The ceremony also included the traditional oath, recited by Paraguayan captain Facu Dehnike, player Yume Ito, and Spanish referee Cristian Vázquez, representing all the players and referees in the tournament. The oath was taken in three languages: English, to emphasize the international character of the competition, and Spanish and Catalan, the official languages of the city hosting the FIP Junior World Cup.

The inauguration brought together leading figures from the worlds of sport and government. Alongside the mayor of Reus and the president of the FIP, the president of the Spanish Padel Federation, Ramón Morcillo, and the Secretary General for Sport of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Abel García, were also present. They gave speeches welcoming and thanking the athletes, while also highlighting the unstoppable growth of padel. Among the personalities present were the Reus City Councilor for Sport, Enrique Martín, the president of Octagon Spain, the event organizer, Joan Cuscó, as well as the presidents and delegates of the various participating national federations.

Sixteen countries will compete in each category, men’s and women’s, in the final draw. Twelve teams had already secured their place, while the remaining four qualified in the preliminary round held in Reus over the last few days.

Starting tomorrow, Monday, the city of Reus will host the decisive matches of the world championships, where the young stars of international padel will battle it out for the title of champions of the FIP Junior World Cup Costa Daurada Reus 2025.

MEN

Group A: Spain, Italy, Chile, Egypt

Group B: Sweden, France, Portugal, Netherlands

Group C: Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Germany

Group D: Paraguay, Brazil, Belgium, Venezuela

WOMEN

Group A: Spain, Mexico, Egypt, Germany

Group B: Argentina, France, Chile, Japan

Group C: Italy, Portugal, Uruguay, Venezuela

Group D: Sweden, Brazil, Paraguay, Belgium