Coello and Tapia withdraw from the Dubai P1 on medical advice as Rufo and Iglesias knock out the No. 8 seeds

Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia have withdrawn from the Dubai Premier Padel P1 before playing a match. The world No. 1s announced the decision on Tuesday 10 November in a joint statement, saying they were following the advice of their medical team.

No Dubai hat-trick for the world No. 1s

Coello and Tapia had won both previous editions of the Dubai P1, in 2024 and 2025, and arrived at the Hamdan Sports Complex on a run of five consecutive titles, the latest at the Kuwait Major on 31 October. As top seeds, they had a bye into the round of 32.

The pair's joint statement did not say which of them was injured or specify the problem. Padel Addict reported Tapia as the injured player, though it noted that the extent of his injury was not clear. Their statement, shared on Coello's Instagram account according to Padel Magazine, began: "We regret to announce that we will not be able to participate in the United Arab Emirates this week."

The withdrawal does not change the top of the season standings. The FIP had already noted that the Kuwait title secured first place in both the FIP Ranking and the Race to the Finals for Coello and Tapia. A lucky-loser pair from qualifying takes their place in the draw, against Álex Chozas and Juani Rubini, who won their round-of-64 match 6-2, 6-4.

An open men's draw

It is the second major withdrawal of the week. Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto, the world No. 2s, had already pulled out before the start, with the FIP noting that Galán had also missed the FIP World Cup in Doha. With both of the leading pairs gone, Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger are now the highest-ranked team in the draw, ahead of Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz, seeded third.

Lebrón and Augsburger start on Wednesday 11 November against Javier Castaño and Pol Hernández, who survived the longest men's match of the opening day: they beat the Portuguese brothers Miguel and Nuno Deus 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (1) in almost three hours, according to the FIP. The Deus brothers had just won a World Cup bronze medal with Portugal. Martín Di Nenno and Paquito Navarro, seeded fourth, open against qualifiers Aragón and Roglan.

Rufo and Iglesias upset the No. 8 seeds

The biggest result of the women's round of 32 came from Lorena Rufo and Victoria Iglesias, who beat Alejandra Salazar and Aranzazu Osoro, the No. 8 seeds, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. The FIP described it as a blow to Salazar and Osoro's hopes of reaching the season-ending Finals in Barcelona. Rufo and Iglesias now meet qualifiers López and Fassio, who beat Pérez and Caparrós 7-5, 6-3.

Elsewhere, Manquillo and Sainz came from a set down to beat Riera and Bidahorria, the World Cup runners-up with Argentina, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, and set up a round-of-16 match against the No. 3 seeds Ariana Sánchez and Andrea Ustero. Fassio and Virseda beat Collombon and Sharifova 6-2, 7-5. Nine of the 22 matches played on the first day went to three sets, the FIP said.

What it means

Dubai is the last P1 of the season before the Mexico Major and the Premier Padel Finals in Barcelona, and the winners collect 1,000 points. For the chasing pairs, it is a rare chance to win a big men's title without facing either of the two dominant teams of 2026. For Coello and Tapia, the question is now how quickly Tapia can recover before the last two events of the year; reports in Spain and the UK say their participation there is not yet known.