Day 5. Number 1 against number 2: the most awaited finals at the Foro Italico

The number 1 seeds against the number 2 seeds. The fans at the Foro Italico couldn’t have dreamed of a better Sunday than the one they will watch from 6.30 p.m. CET, when the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel finals begin. Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia versus Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan in the men’s draw; Ari Sanchez and Paula Josemaria versus Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay in the women’s draw. These are the pairs that have won the most this year, and the ones that also competed for the first Major of 2025 in Doha.

MEN In Qatar, Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia lifted the trophy, and after failing to win last year, they are aiming to return to the throne in Rome. To earn the chance to do this, they had to overcome the big surprise of the tournament in the evening, the pair formed by Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero who, after having set point at 5-4 in the first set, took the set in a tiebreak. However, Coello and Tapia reacted angrily, managing to turn the match around, which ended 6-7 6-2 6-2. In the first semi-final, the defending champions came back to win: Chingotto and Galan lost the first set to Juan Lebron and Franco Stupaczuk, but then found their game and won the second in a tiebreak (7-2) before dominating the third, which began with a double break that set the tone for the decisive part of the match, which ended 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 in two hours and nine minutes.

WOMEN Three of the four winners of the two previous Majors in Rome will be on court in the women’s final. In 2023, Gemma Triay inaugurated the era of Premier Padel combined tournaments alongside Marta Ortega, while last year it was Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez (defeated two years ago by Triay/Ortega) who dominated the final against Lucia Sainz and Patty Llaguno. The first semi-final lasted only an hour, with Gemma and Delfi Brea conceding only four games (6-3, 6-1) to Marina Guinart and Victoria Iglesias, who nevertheless ended an unforgettable week by qualifying for an unexpected semi-final. The second match, between Josemaria/Sanchez and the pair formed by Bea Gonzalez and Claudia Fernandez, will be remembered for a first set that lasted 98 minutes and ended with a 10-8 tiebreak. The second set was more “normal”, ending 6-3 for the world number 1s, who tomorrow will be looking for their second consecutive title after Buenos Aires, their fourth of the season, to catch up with tomorrow’s opponents. Chingotto and Galan (three titles) have exactly the same mission against Coello and Tapia (four).