Day5. Ari defeats Paula; Coello-Tapia vs Chingalan, the saga continues

It is hard to say how many times Ari Sanchez has embraced Paula Josemaria after a victory. This time, however, Andrea Ustero was at the centre of the embrace, as she and Ari reached their second final from two tournaments in this new Premier Padel season. After their triumph in Riyadh in the first P1 of the year, in Gijon the number 3 seeds will have the opportunity to secure back-to-back titles in the first P2 of the season thanks to a 6-2 3-6 6-4 win that concluded a two-hour and 36-minute contest. It was a match that seemed to be heading comfortably in favour of Ustero and Sanchez, who led 3-1 in the second set over Josemaria/Gonzalez after winning the opener, before losing five consecutive games and then regaining control in the deciding set. Contesting the second title of the season with the Spaniards, as happened in Saudi Arabia, will be Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay, who are seeking a trophy that has eluded them since October, when the number 1 seeds won the P1 in Rotterdam. The second semi-final was less balanced than the first, with Delfi and Gemma stopping the run of Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen with a double 6-2 victory in one hour and 39 minutes.

 

MEN The men’s final will once again, as in Riyadh, be contested by the top two pairs in the world. For the 31st time, Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia will face Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan. The number 2 seeds, however, had to work extremely hard to stop the run of Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz, who in their first tournament of the season together following Coki’s return from injury had won the opening set 6-4, before the comeback of ‘Chingalan’ and the 4-6 6-3 6-4 scoreline that closed the match after one hour and 54 minutes. In the second semi-final, the world number 1s defeated Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas 7-6 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes, after a highly contested first set in which Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia prevailed only in the tie-break (7-5). The head-to-head record between the two strongest pairs in the world stands at 21-9 in favour of Coello and Tapia, who are on a run of four consecutive victories between the final stages of 2025 and the first of 2026. Chingotto and Galan’s most recent triumph, the FIP World Cup Pairs title, however, remains historic.