Top-eighth seeds get first-round byes at Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 draw ceremony
The top-eight seeds at the Ooredoo Qatar Major 2022 have all got first-round byes at the end of the impressive draw ceremony held at Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha on Saturday.
With the result of the draw, tournament’s top-seeds and world No.1 Juan Lebrón Chincoa (Spain) and Alejandro Galán Romo (Spain) will begin their campaign in Doha against the winners of the Victor Manuel Mena Gil (Spain)/Enrique Goenaga Garcia (Spain) and Benjamin Tison (France)/ Teodoro Zapata Pizarro (Spain) clash while second-seeds Francisco Navarro (Spain)/ Martin Di Nenno (Argentina) will face either a pair from the qualifying round or the Spanish duo of Javier Gonzalez Barahona/Juanlu Esbri Gonzalez.
On the home front, Qatar’s No.1 players, Mohammed Saadon al Kuwari and Abdulaziz Saadon al Kuwari, will have their work cut out for them as they face the challenges posed by Ruben Rivera Serra (Spain) and Denis Tomas Perino (Italy), the 30th-ranked pair, in their first-round encounter.
The Kuwari brothers are two of the region’s best players and they were part of the Qatari team that won the first Gulf Padel Cup Challenge when they defeated the United Arab Emirates team 2-1 in the final match held at the Aspire Zone in Doha earlier in the month.
The ceremony was attended by Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) officials, including Tournament Director and QTSBF Secretary-General Tariq Darwish Zainal, Board Member Karim Alami, Tournament Supervisor Ashraf Hamouda, QTSBF Executive Director Saad Al Mohannadi and Ooredoo CSR and Sponsorship Manager Ahmed Al Bannai.
Representing the players at the event were Spain’s Ricardo Martine, Chico Gomes from Brazil and Qatar’s Mohamed Abdullah.
“This has been a very impressive draw ceremony, and I have no doubt that a lot of exciting padel matches are on the cards in the days ahead. This tournament has attracted all the world’s best players, and we are in for what I can call a “mini–World Championship” in Doha. I would like to implore all our fans to get their tickets on time so that they can enjoy their favourite players showcase their stuff from Monday,” Tournament Director Tariq Zainal said.
The Premier Padel tour, the official new global padel tour of the International Padel Federation (FIP), is based on a new global calendar of international and national competitions – including four top category “Major” tournaments – which will take place in sensational venues around the world. At least 10 tournaments are scheduled for each of 2022 and 2023, ramping up to over 25 tournaments a year by 2024.
A total of 56 pairs are contesting in the main draw of the €525,000 total prize money event with 44 getting automatic qualification via rankings. Eight pairs will secure their entry through the qualifiers. At the same time, four wildcard entrants will complete the final list.