Spain's women began the defence of their title at the FIP World Cup in Doha with a 3-0 win over Germany on Monday, 2 November, and Argentina, runners-up two years ago, beat Chile by the same score. France won the closest tie of the opening day, 2-1 against Belgium, the International Padel Federation reported.
Spain do not drop a set
In Group A, Claudia Fernández and Bea González opened with a 6-0 6-1 win over Kurz and Blaschke. Paula Josemaría and Martina Calvo beat Renic and Hofer 6-1 6-0, and Gemma Triay, two days after winning the Kuwait Major with Delfi Brea, partnered Marta Ortega to a 6-0 6-0 win over Ermann and Schmitz. Brazil also won their first tie in the group, beating Great Britain after the first two matches through Cirne/Giusti Gomes and Piltcher/Abbud.
Argentina's teenager makes her mark
Argentina won all three of their matches against Chile in straight sets. Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria, who reached the last 16 of the Kuwait Major, beat Del Real and Candia 6-0 6-1; Martina Fassio and Claudia Jensen beat Lobo and Bentjerodt 6-2 6-0; and 16-year-old Victoria Vilchez, playing alongside Aranzazu Osoro, beat Arancibia and Ahumada 6-2 6-3.
France needed all three matches against Belgium in the same group. Bahurel and Collombon won the first, Wyckaert and Mestach levelled for Belgium in three sets against Pothier and Touly, and Léa Godallier and Clara Mansart sealed the tie 6-1 6-2 against Sermant and Vierendeels.
Italy, Sweden and Portugal win
In Group C, Italy beat Egypt 3-0, with Giulia Dal Pozzo and Emily Stellato completing the sweep 6-2 6-0, a few days after Egypt qualified for Doha in Kuwait. Sweden beat Indonesia, the other qualifier from the Asia-Africa qualifying event, after the first two matches. In Group D, Portugal beat the United States, also without needing a third match.
Spain's men without Galán
The men's teams started on Monday evening, and Spain began without Ale Galán. Galán, who withdrew from the Kuwait Major with Federico Chingotto, is out injured, and coach Juanjo Gutiérrez called up Javi Leal, Tennis Tonic reported. Arturo Coello, fresh from the Kuwait title with Agustín Tapia, now leads a team that has also included Juan Lebrón and Paquito Navarro (see our Spain squad guide). Spain play the United Arab Emirates, Sweden and Paraguay in their group; reigning champions Argentina face France, Australia and the Netherlands.
The group stage runs until Wednesday, the quarter-finals are on Thursday, 5 November, and the finals on Saturday, 7 November, with a record prize fund of €1.2 million.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- International Padel Federation — Day1 Women. Reigning world champions Spain make a winning start. France-Belgium the closest tie of the day, with Les Bleues coming out on top
- International Padel Federation — Group stage drawn as the race for the world title begins in Doha on Monday
- Tennis Tonic — PADEL. Spain lose Ale Galán for World Team Championships in Doha