Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Italy topped the four men's groups at the FIP World Cup in Doha on Wednesday, 4 November, while the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Brazil took the other quarter-final places. France's men lost to Argentina and will play for ninth place, but France's women, beaten 3-0 by Argentina, are through to a quarter-final against the Netherlands, according to the International Padel Federation (FIP).
France push the champions, then fall
France went into the final day of Group A needing to beat the reigning champions after their opening defeat by the Netherlands, as we explained in our day 2 report. For one set, it looked possible. Maxime Joris and Timéo Fonteny took the first set 7-5 against Agustín Tapia and Tino Libaak, before the Argentinians came back to win 5-7 6-3 6-4 in 1 hour 46 minutes, Padel Magazine reported.
"We believed in it right up to the last point," Joris told Padel Magazine, adding that he felt the pair had played "a near-perfect match". Fede Chingotto and Franco Stupaczuk then beat Yoan Boronad and Jérémy Robert 6-2 6-1 to secure the tie. Argentina finish first in Group A, the Netherlands second and France third.
The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany celebrate
The Dutch made sure of second place with a 3-0 win over Australia. Sten Richters and Thijs Roper beat Brown and Melisi 6-3 7-6, Bram Meijer and Menno Nolten won 6-2 6-1, and Jort Nolten and Nicolas Van Betuw won 6-1 6-4. The FIP noted that the Dutch men came through the qualifying rounds. "We are still a small country, but this result is the reflection of all the hard work the players put in," coach Pablo Moreno told the federation.
In Group B, Spain beat the United Arab Emirates 3-0 with wins for Juan Lebrón and Javi Leal, Paquito Navarro and Jon Sanz, and Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto. Sweden took the second place by beating Paraguay 2-1, through Albin Olsson and Douglas Rutgersson and Willy Slaryd and Adam Axelsson.
Group C went to Portugal, who beat Chile 2-1 with wins for the Deus brothers and for Diogo Jesus and Antonio Luque. Chile's defeat opened the door for Germany, who beat hosts Qatar 2-1; Christian Bohenke and Nick Merten were again among the winners. In Group D, Italy beat Brazil 2-1 to finish first, with Flavio Abbate and Giulio Graziotti among the winning players. Brazil, already sure of a top-two place, finished second.
Women: four group winners, Brazil through on ratio
Holders Spain beat Brazil 3-0 to win Group A. Marta Ortega and Ari Sánchez won 6-1 6-1, Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernández 6-0 6-0, and Andrea Ustero and Martina Calvo 6-2 6-0. Brazil still finished second on the ratio of matches won. Germany, who had beaten Brazil on Tuesday, lost 3-0 to Great Britain and finished fourth.
France had already qualified and rotated their squad against Argentina, Padel Magazine noted. Delfi Brea and Claudia Jensen beat Steffi Merah and Charlotte Soubrié 6-0 6-0, Aranzazu Osoro and Martina Fassio beat Clara Mansart and Lucile Pothier 6-2 6-2, and Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria beat Léa Godallier and Louise Bahurel 6-1 6-1. Argentina top Group B, France are second.
Italy beat Sweden 3-0 to win Group C, with Giulia Dal Pozzo and Giorgia Marchetti winning 6-0 6-0; Sweden still finished second. In Group D, the Netherlands beat Portugal 2-1 to take first place. Janine Hemmes and Tess de Vocht came from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the deciding rubber, after Sofía Araújo and Patri Ribeiro had won 6-4 6-4 for Portugal and Marcella Koek and Bo Luttikhuis 7-5 7-6 for the Dutch.
The quarter-finals
The quarter-finals are on Thursday, 5 November, from 18:00 local time. In the men's event, Argentina play Germany, Italy face Sweden, Spain meet Brazil and Portugal take on the Netherlands. In the women's event, Spain play Sweden, the Netherlands face France, Argentina meet Portugal and Italy play Brazil.
The Netherlands and Sweden both have their men's and women's teams in the last eight, a first for both countries, the FIP said. France's men start the 9th-16th place bracket against Qatar, while Mexico play the United Arab Emirates, Paraguay meet the United States and Chile face Australia.
What it means
Argentina and Spain won all three of their ties in both events, but the story of the group stage is the rise of the Netherlands and Sweden. For France's men, the regret is the opening-day defeat by the Dutch: they came within a set of beating the champions and still finished third. Their women now face the Dutch side that has just beaten Portugal. Read our World Cup preview for the full squads.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- International Padel Federation — Men's Day 3: top teams reach the quarter-finals, celebrations for the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany!
- International Padel Federation — Women's Day3. Spain, Argentina, Italy and the Netherlands finish top of their groups. Brazil beaten but through
- International Padel Federation — The Netherlands and Sweden make their mark in Doha: "Hard work, talent and team spirit"
- Padel Magazine — At the 2026 World Cup, Joris/Fonteny made Tapia/Libaak tremble and rekindled the regrets of the French team
- Padel Magazine — Fonteny/Joris, after their near-victory against Tapia/Libaak: we believed until the very last point
- Padel Magazine — 2026 World Cup: France outclassed by Argentina, but the main focus is elsewhere; on to the quarter-finals
- Padel Magazine — France condemned to play for 9th place at the 2026 World Cup, and it starts against Qatar