Sevilla, it starts today! A show for over 200 athletes in Andalusia, a land of padel

Two hundred and two athletes representing 16 countries. Padel from all over the world stops off in Sevilla, where from today until Saturday the main draws of the FIP Platinum, the highest category of the CUPRA FIP Tour, the FIP’s international circuit, will be played. Each of the four winners will take home 300 FIP ranking points, with the Iconico Sports & Social Club ready to welcome the world’s padel stars.

NUMBERS According to estimates by the FIP Research & Data Analysis Department, Andalusia is the fourth province in Spain in terms of number of clubs after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, with 190 facilities (clubs + accommodation facilities) and 700 courts. The Sevilla and Andalusian padel movement in general (more than 900 facilities and 3,200 courts throughout the autonomous community, placing it in first place among Spanish communities) is driven by the Federación Andaluza de Padel (FAP) in conjunction with the Federación Española de Padel (FEP). The FAP, based in Sevilla and chaired by Jose Perez Garcia, currently has 9,064 licences for players, 203 federated clubs, 153 national coaches and 40 national referees (Source: FEP – updated in September 2025).

Andalusia has been one of Spain’s “canteras” for years: 17.8% of registered players are minors (a very high percentage compared to national data, where the average is 12.1%) and 6.6% are young people between the ages of 19 and 23 (again, this data is higher than the national average of 5.4%). The “Senior” category (between 24 and 39 years old) represents 29%, while the “Veterans” category (over 39) represents over 46%. The Andalusian federation is currently the third largest Spanish federation in terms of number of registered players after the Federación Cataluña and the Federación Comunidad de Madrid.

The FIP Platinum in Sevilla is the second of the season after the one in Puebla (Mexico) last March and the ninth overall in history since the category was introduced to the CUPRA FIP Tour calendar in 2022. Overall, the tournament is the fifth of the FIP circuits to be held in this province: the first was a “combined” FIP Promotion held in the municipality of Ecija in February 2022, which saw the Spanish pairs Pepe Aliaga-Francisco Guerrero win the men’s category and Marta Barrera paired with local favourite Lucia Perez Parra win the women’s category.

Last year, however, Sevilla hosted a Premier Padel P2, with victories for Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan in the men’s category and Delfi Brea and Bea Gonzalez in the women’s one. Also in 2024, the FIP Rise in Alcalá de Guadaíra (won by Lijo and Rubio from Sevilla in the men’s category and Barrera-Borrero in the women’s draw), which this year hosted an FIP Silver tournament won by Barajona/Garcia in the men’s category and Velasco/Canovas in the women’s one.

There are nine Sevilla players in the FIP Top 100 ranking, five of whom are men (three registered for the FIP Platinum) and four women, all of whom are registered for the home tournament. In the men’s category, the most famous local player in the Top 100 is Paquito Navarro (currently number 12), who is seeded number 1 in this tournament alongside Brazilian Lucas Bergamini; followed by Josè Luis Gonzalez (62), Alvaro Melendez (91), his brother Pedro (122), Fran Ramirez (128) and the young wild card Santiago Jose Pineda (170).

Among the women, the top player is Victoria Iglesias (number 21), who will be seeded number 8 with Marina Guinart; followed by Marta Borrero (number 45), rising star Laura Lujan, already winner of 10 CUPRA FIP Tour titles (58), and Maria Portillo (88). Among the wild cards will be 39-year-old Ana Fernandez De Osso (395), famous in Andalusia not only as a professional padel player but also as a member of the FAP coaching team and a professor at several universities in the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences.