The world's best padel pair have a new team. Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello will play for Team Dalma, a new Abu Dhabi franchise unveiled on 22 October for the 2027 Hexagon World Series, the team competition that grows from a single event into a four-stop international circuit.
Team Dalma's line-up
Named after Dalma Island in the Gulf, the team pairs the world No 1s with a new women's partnership: Portugal's Sofia Araújo and Italy's Giulia Dal Pozzo, the Abu Dhabi Media Office announced. Tapia previously played the team event for Robert Lewandowski's RL9 team, while Coello comes from Team Bella Puerto Rico, beIN Sports reported, so the two had never played the competition together.
Abu Dhabi is a familiar place for them: they won the World Padel Tour Abu Dhabi Master there in 2023, in their very first tournament as a pair. They arrive in top form, with four titles in a row — Paris, Rotterdam, Düsseldorf and the Milano P1 — and 12 titles in 2026.
From a cup to a World Series
The Hexagon competition, until now a single team event, becomes a season-long circuit backed by the International Padel Federation, which the Abu Dhabi Media Office describes as the first official professional team padel circuit governed by the FIP. According to Libertad Digital and beIN Sports, the 2027 calendar has four stops: Madrid's Caja Mágica on 21–24 January, North America in March, Scandinavia in June and a final in Abu Dhabi on 21–24 October, organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi with the FIP.
Eight teams take part, each tie combining a men's and a women's match. Standings at every stop award points — from 25 for the winners down to zero for last — and the season total decides the Hexagon Team World Championship. The prize pool is €1.3 million over the season, with equal pay for men and women, Libertad Digital reported.
A faster format
The biggest change is the scoring. Matches are played over a best of five "super tie-break" sets: the first four go to 10 points, and a fifth, if needed, to 6, according to Libertad Digital. The format is designed to make matches shorter and every point count.
Celebrity owners
Team Dalma joins a line-up with famous backers: AD/vantage Padel Team (Andy Murray and Anthony Joshua), KRÜ Padel by Taktuka (Sergio Agüero), the Rafa Nadal Academy team, ElevenEleven Team USA (Eva Longoria), X Padel (Pierre Gasly) and Team Bella Puerto Rico, with an eighth team still to be confirmed.
Before any of that, Tapia and Coello return to the Premier Padel tour next week at the Kuwait Major. See where they stand in the padel rankings.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- Abu Dhabi Media Office — Abu Dhabi witnesses unveiling of Team Dalma as participant in Hexagon World Series 2027 padel tournament
- beIN Sports — Tapia and Coello join Team Dalma after their fourth consecutive title on the circuit
- Libertad Digital — El pádel explota su gran revolución: la Hexagon Cup cambia al formato exprés y Abu Dhabi ficha de Coello y Tapia