Libaak and Chozas secure major victory in Nola: “What an emotion to face Sanyo!”. Fassio–Eugenio: “Clear ideas and confidence”

The momentum of Tino Libaak and Alex Chozas continued with a second consecutive title, alongside the strong performance of Martina Fassio and Raquel Eugenio, immediately successful after their reunion as a pair at the beginning of the month. The finals of the FIP Silver in Nola, a key event on the CUPRA FIP Tour over the weekend, concluded a spectacular week in the Italian city, which featured 18 players from the world top 50, including Javi Barahona and Carolina Orsi, as well as former world number ones such as Maxi Sanchez, Patty Llaguno, Lucia Sainz and Sanyo Gutierrez.

 

MEN At a packed Pala Padel Nola, two hours and thirty minutes of high intensity were required for Libaak and Chozas – world champions with Argentina at the FIP World Padel Championships 2024 – to secure victory, fresh from their title at the FIP Silver in Aguascalientes last week. The highly anticipated final ended 7-6 6-4 against another reigning world champion, Sanyo Gutierrez, in his second tournament alongside Victor Ruiz. The first set was perfectly balanced, with only a dramatic tie-break separating the teams: at 6-2 and one point away from closing the set, the Argentine pair saw Gutierrez-Ruiz recover, before saving a set point before eventually taking it 12-10. The second set also followed a tight pattern, with the decisive break coming in the fifth game for the number 3 seeds.

 

The match carried particular significance for Libaak, who shared his emotions after the final: “Playing a final is something special, and facing Sanyo is always a pleasure. He has been one of my references since I was a child,” said the number 44 of the FIP Ranking, who won the world title precisely alongside Gutierrez. “It is the first time in my life I have managed to beat him, and I am very happy.”

 

“It was spectacular,” said Chozas after the match. “We must value the way we played, the team we are building and the sensations that are improving step by step. We need to get used to playing these kinds of matches, gain experience in finals, and manage the tension and emotions that can sometimes work against us. We are working very hard on this. Our opponents also had a great tournament, so congratulations to them, and also to Tino, because he carried the team. I am really happy.”

 

WOMEN A strong comeback also for Raquel Eugenio and Martina Fassio, one of the most promising young pairs, who had already shown important signs in their first spell together in 2024 on the Premier Padel Tour. At 18 and 21 years old respectively, they have resumed a project aimed at the top level in the coming months, starting with a near-perfect performance, defeating Araceli Martinez and Lucia Sainz 6-1 6-2, who were also playing their first tournament together. It was therefore an immediate direct matchup between Eugenio and Sainz, former partners until the Miami P1, and who in 2026 had won together the FIP Platinum in Marseille and the FIP Silver in Parma.

 

 

Now with three titles since the start of the season, Raquel explained the key to her composure on court: “It is certainly not natural, there is a lot of work behind it. I am still young, so it is very demanding to enter the professional circuit. I have worked a lot with the whole team, and I am very happy with the attitude, the physical condition, everything. We prepared very well here, we had great confidence and it showed. We are very happy. And of course, congratulations to our opponents as well.” Fassio added: “We entered the court with clear ideas, we worked a lot on how we wanted to play. We managed to put everything into practice and it worked very well. Congratulations to our opponents for reaching the final. We are very happy.”