Day1. Defending champions Spain make a strong start. Winning debut also for France and Portugal

Excitement, high-quality contests and a determination to showcase their talent: the NextGen lit up Portugal on the opening day of the Final 8 of the FIP Junior Euro Padel Cup, the final stage of the men’s and women’s national team competition taking place in Porto and running until 4 July.

 

Spain’s boys’ team showed all its quality in its opening Group A match, securing a 3-0 victory over Denmark without dropping a set across the three ties. The defending champions will be aiming to retain the title they won in 2024, but the challenge will not be an easy one, with several other highly competitive nations in the field. One of them is in their very group: hosts Portugal. The home side defeated Sweden 2-1, with the decisive point coming in the third tie after each team had won one of the opening two matches. There was also great balance in Italy-France (Group B), where the ‘Bleus’ secured victory by winning the third and decisive tie (2-1). In the same group, Belgium also made an impressive start with a 3-0 win over the Netherlands.

 

Spain also displayed its strength in the opening matches of the women’s competition (Group A). The defending champions resumed exactly where they had left off in the previous edition: with a victory. The team in red defeated Belgium 3-0, conceding only nine games and, as in the boys’ competition, not a single set. Portugal also enjoyed an impressive 3-0 victory in its opening match against the Netherlands. The closest women’s contest was Italy against Sweden in Group B. After losing the opening tie, the ‘Azzurre’ responded by winning the second and third to seal the overall victory. In the same group, France also made an excellent start with a 3-0 win over Estonia.