Road to FIP Euro Padel Cup. Between Next Gen, Top 100 and…brothers: all the most awaited players

Planes full of talent are landing in La Línea de la Concepción. With the opening ceremony on Monday and the first ties on Tuesday, the Final 8 of the FIP Euro Padel Cup will officially begin. Including Phase 1 and Phase 2 held in Madrid last July, the event has involved 66 national teams from 36 different countries. Only 16 remain – eight in the men’s tournament and eight in the women’s –, fighting for the title.

NEXT GEN While the average age of male players in the tournament is 27 and that of female players is 29, there’s a strong Next Gen presence ready to showcase its quality. British player Rosie Quirk, who turns 17 today, is the youngest of the 160 selected athletes, followed by Spain’s Martina Calvo one of the purest global talents and already No. 16 in the FIP ranking – who won today in the final of the FIP Platinum in Lyon. While Calvo is the only player born in 2008, Spain (with Andrea Ustero, world No. 9), Germany (with Milla Blaschke), and Portugal (with Constança Gorito) are each fielding a player born in 2007. Spain also boasts Ale Alonso (ranked 11th, born in 2006), who recently competed in the FIP Platinum alongside veteran player Lucia Sainz. Among the youngest players in the men’s tournament are France’s Yoan Boronad and Timeo Fontany, both born in 2007, and Sweden’s Willy Släryd (2006), who was born six months before Spain’s David Gala.

RANKING Spain will defend the titles it won last year in Cagliari on home soil. The women’s team is made up of eight players all ranked within the FIP Top 30, and the men’s side includes Javi Leal (born in the province of Cádiz, in El Puerto de Santa María), Alex Ruiz and José Diestro, all also among the world’s Top 30. But Spain will face strong competition. Portugal (with Sofia Araujo, joined by her brother Pedro), France (with Alix Collombon), and Italy (with Carolina Orsi) also each have a player ranked in the Top 30. Among the men, several Top 100 players will be looking to make an impact: Aris Patiniotis, Marco Cassetta, Flavio Abbate and Alvaro Montiel (Italy, silver medalists in two categories last year), brothers Nuno and Miguel Deus (Portugal), and Swedish Adam Axelsson.