Coello and Tapia start the season with a title. Ustero-Sanchez shine with a stunning debut victory

Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia picked up right where they left off. Meanwhile, Andrea Ustero and Ari Sanchezcelebrated a dream debut together by claiming their first title as a pair. The world No. 1s in the FIP men’s rankings confirmed their dominance once again: with today’s triumph in Riyadh, they have now secured 32 titles together on the Premier Padel circuit. Their latest success came via a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan in a final that lasted just one hour and five minutes. In the women’s draw, glory belonged to a newly formed partnership. Ustero and Sanchez sent a strong message to Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay: the competition in 2026 is going to be fierce.

 

MEN One balanced set, one dominated set: that was the story of Coello and Tapia’s performance, cheered on by an enthusiastic Riyadh crowd as they successfully defended last year’s title in Saudi Arabia. Chingotto and Galanhad no answers this time, though they are already eyeing revenge in Gijon, the venue of the next tournament. “We’re proud of our level – said Coello after recording his 21st win in 30 head-to-head matches against the duo nicknamed “Chingalan” -. We worked extremely hard during the preseason to win here today. I also want to congratulate Fede and Ale — they remain a great team — and thank the organizers for making this event possible”. Tapia echoed the sentiment: “Padel in Saudi Arabia is growing tremendously. Every time we come here, the tournament gets better. We’ll be battling Chingotto and Galan all year long — today, we were the better team”.

 

WOMEN Riyadh was expected to host the first showdown between former partners Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez as opponents. Instead, it delivered Ari’s first title alongside her new teammate — Andrea Ustero, the 2007-born Spanish talent widely tipped for superstardom. Despite already winning two Premier titles (including Bordeaux last year), Ustero appears destined for much more. After dropping the opening set 3-6 to Brea and Triay — who conceded a total of 18 break points — the No. 3 seeds mounted an impressive comeback to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The statistics told the story: 67 winners for Ustero and Sanchez compared to 44 from their opponents. “We didn’t expect to beat the world No. 1s, but we worked incredibly hard with our team”, said Ustero. “I’m very happy to have Ari by my side, both in training and in matches”. “I’m speechless”, admitted Sanchez. “It was hard to imagine such a strong start to the year. In the second and third sets, we were almost perfect”.

 

VIPs Among the spectators at the Riyadh Season P1 finals was Simone Inzaghi, former Inter coach and now manager of Saudi club Al-Hilal. Throughout the week, the Padel Rush Arena welcomed a host of VIP guests, including Cristiano Ronaldo, David Villa, David Silva and Theo Hernandez — football stars united by a shared passion for padel.

 

Next stop: Gijon, in the first week of March. The Premier Padel 2026 show has only just begun.