Riyadh Season Premier Padel P1
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The 2024 Premier Padel season is officially underway and promising a year full of high-quality padel after the Riyadh Season P1. The event showcased a blend of spectacular play, unexpected upsets and a field of word-class players ready to make the padel world vibrate. The conditions in Riyadh set the stage for a fast, dynamic and offense-oriented style of play, favouring the most aggressive players and delivering a feast of spectacular points, to the delight of fans. These are the main events that made fans around the world enjoy the first tournament of the season:
01
A historic event in Saudi Arabia
The Riyadh Season P1 tournament not only captivated audiences with its thrilling action, but also entered the history books as the first-ever elite padel tournament hosted in Saudi Arabia. This event marked a significant milestone for the sport, showcasing Saudi Arabia's growing interest and investment in padel. The successful organisation and global attention it garnered underscored the country's potential as a new hub for international padel competitions
02
Spectacular play
The fast-paced conditions in Riyadh, with hot temperatures and quick court features, favored aggressive play, leading to some of the most dynamic and exhilarating padel seen in recent times. Players who adopted an offensive strategy found success, engaging the audience with powerful rallies and awe-inspiring shots.
Riyadh set a high standard for the rest of the 2024 season to follow
© Premier Padel/Red Bull Content Pool
03
Plenty of upsets
The men's draw was full of surprises, as underdog pairs made significant runs. Notably, Italians Aris Patinotis and Facundo Domínguez overcame the sixth seeded duo of Fernando Belasteguín and Lucho Capra. Similarly, Javier Rico and Juanlu Esbrí ousted the fourth seeded team of Paquito Navarro and Sanyo Gutiérrez. The promising team formed by Salva Oria and Ignacio Sager went on a remarkable journey from the first qualifying round to the semi-finals, after defeating the 15-seeded and sixth seeded pairs.
The action was hot and full of upsets in both men's and women's contests
© Premier Padel/Red Bull Content Pool
The women's draw wasn’t short of surprises, either. The pair featuring 48-year-old padel legend Carolina Navarro – who has won more than 100 international titles during her 30-plus year long career - and her young partner Marina Guinart defeating the eighth seeded pair Victoria Iglesias and Bárbara Las Heras to reach the quarter-finals. This victory was emblematic of the tournament's unpredictable nature.
Additionally, the sixth seeded duo of Jessica Castelló and Claudia Jensen made headlines by advancing to the semis, dashing the hopes of the 3-seeded team Martita Ortega and Gemma Triay, who now part ways to play with Vero Virseda and Claudia Fernández respectively.
04
The favorites dominate
Despite the numerous upsets, the tournament's finale saw the two top-seeded pairs asserting their dominance in both the men's and women's contests. In the men's draw, top-seeded team Juan Lebrón and Alejandro Galán faced-off against Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia. In a high-octane final match, Lebrón and Galán overwhelmed their rivals with their suffocating pressure, taking the trophy home with a 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 win.
The women's final was also a battle of top-seeded pairs, with Paula Josemaría and Ariana Sánchez-Fallada taking on Bea González and Delfina Brea. Josemaría and Sánchez will remain the highest-ranked pair after winning the final in spectacular fashion, 6-3, 6-2, completing an almost flawless match.
These rivalries between Lebrón–Galán and Coello–Tapia, González–Brea and Josemaría–Sánchez will surely remain one of the main narratives of the season.
Bea Gonzalez and Delfina Brea made it all the way to the women's final
© Premier Padel/Red Bull Content Pool
Alejandro Gálan and Juan Lébron were the the men to bat in Riyadh
© Premier Padel/Red Bull Content Pool
Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia battled hard in the men's final
© Premier Padel/Red Bull Content Pool
Your Premier Padel Riyadh P1 winners
© Premier Padel/Red Bull Content Pool
05
Coming up: Premier Padel Qatar Major
Premier Padel now heads to Doha, Qatar for the first major tournament of the season, which will continue to determine the top teams to watch and bring more elite padel to fans worldwide.
06
Where to Watch Premier Padel
Red Bull TV will air Premier Padel matches starting from the quarter-finals of each tournament of the 2024 season, ensuring extensive coverage of the most decisive matches of each stage.