XIII South American Games, Day3. Argentina reach two finals: gold-medal matches against Paraguay and Chile await

SANTA FE – After three days of spectacular action on court, the padel tournament at the XIII South American Games 2026 in Santa Fe has reached its final stage. The Argentina team was once again the protagonist on Day 3, reaching the final in both the men’s and women’s categories. The objective of the ‘Seleccion Albiceleste’ is to make history by winning the first two gold medals in padel at this competition. In the men’s event, home pair Contreras/Piotto will face Abud/Dehnike (Paraguay). In the women’s event, Argentina’s Milena Vilchez/Mosca will have to overcome Arancibia/Ahumada Carrasco (Chile). The support from the crowd during the matches was strong: during the semi-finals, the Estadio Envincible came close to a sell-out.

 

Also scheduled for Day 4 are the finals for the Bronze Medals: Uruguay, represented by Artia Malugani/Ensslin Alves, will play against Chileans Salinas Ordenes/Negrete Oliva. In the women’s event, Aragones Miro Quesada/Torres Draxl (Peru) will face Alvarez/Holguin Reyes (Ecuador).

 

MEN’S On Day 3, dedicated to the semi-finals, Argentina defeated Uruguay. Contreras/Piotto dominated the first set 6-0. The second set was more closely contested: Uruguayans Artia Malugani/Ensslin Alves raised their level, but the Argentine pair still prevailed in the tie-break. Contreras/Piotto are showing their strength: they have not yet conceded to their opponents throughout the competition. In the other semi-final, Abud/Dehnike (Paraguay) defeated Chileans Salinas Ordenes/Negrete Oliva in two sets (6-4 6-2). The Paraguayans will now face Argentina in the final, aiming to give their country another reason to celebrate: at the end of August, wearing the Paraguay shirt, they secured qualification for the Doha World Championships by prevailing at the FIP World Cup Qualifiers South America.

 

WOMEN’S Argentina also dominated their women’s semi-final. Milena Vilchez/Mosca defeated Aragones Miro Quesada/Torres Draxl (Peru) 6-1 6-1. The stars of the ‘Seleccion Albiceleste’ have conceded just 10 games throughout the tournament. Their objective now is to win the Gold Medal in front of their home crowd. To do so, they will have to overcome Chileans Arancibia/Ahumada Carrasco in the final, after they won their Day 3 semi-final against Alvarez/Holguin Reyes (Ecuador) in two sets (6-3 6-0). As in the case of Abud/Dehnike, Chilean Arancibia also secured her ticket to Doha with her national team at the FIP World Cup Qualifiers South America in August.

 

DAY 4 SCHEDULE On Friday 25 September, the finals for the medals at the XIII South American Games 2026 will be played. The day’s programme will begin with the women’s Bronze Medal match between Ecuador and Peru (11 am local time). The competition will conclude with the men’s gold-medal final Argentina-Paraguay, not before 6 pm local time. The matches will be available to watch on the Odesur YouTube channel.