The world’s top players will be in action as the main rounds of the 2023 Premier Padel Majors season begin with the Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex tomorrow, February 28.
Leading the star casts of 56 pairs of players, which include all the world’s top-20, at the tournament, which will be held until March 5, are world No. 1 Alejandro Galan and Juan Lebron of Spain, the top seeds and last year’s runners-up, who enjoyed a sensational season last year, winning two Premier Padel Majors and an equal number of Premier Padel P1 tournaments.
Aside from the duo, other top contenders in Doha include Arturo Coello (ESP)/Agustin Tapia (ARG), Javier Garrido (ESP)/Federico Chingotto (ARG), Fernando Belasteguin (ARG)/Carlos Daniel Gutierrez (ARG), Pablo Lima (BRA)/Jorge Nieto Ruiz (ESP) and Jeronimo Gonzalez (ESP)/Alejandro Ruiz Granados (ESP).
The top eight pairs have all been given byes and Galan/Lebron are set to meet the winners of the match-up between Daniel Windahl (SWE)/Jose Solano Marmolejo (ESP) and Federico Mouriño (ARG)/Victor Manuel Mena (ESP) in the Round of 32 of the €525,000 in prize money tournament.
Meanwhile, defending champions Francisco Navarro and Martin Di Nenno are both playing with different partners this year. While world No. 5 Martin Di Nenno will partner with fellow Argentinian Franco Stupaczuk, ranked 7th, the sixth-ranked Navarro of Spain, on the other hand, will be with Argentina’s world No. 10 Juan Tello this time around.
Ali Al Saygh and Rayyan Al Jufairi will represent Qatar, as will Mohammed Abdulla and Khalid Saadon Al Kuwari, Jabor Al Mutawa and Mohammed Al Khanji, and Abdulla Alhijji and Mohammed Saadon Al Kuwari, who were given wildcards.
“We are happy to welcome all the players to Doha once again. All the teams are here, and we are ready to host this tournament. This is a big challenge since we were busy with two big tennis tournaments over the last two weeks, but nevertheless, we are up to the challenge. We have built the courts outside the center court, and action is underway right now. We are set for action, and I know everything will go smoothly as usual without any hitches,” Tariq Zainal, the Secretary-General of the Qatar Tennis, Squash, Badminton, and Padel Federation, said.
Premier Padel is the official global padel tour, governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and backed by the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).
Premier Padel is the only tour to offer official ranking points to players, and “major” tournaments will earn the winners 2,000 points.
The Ooredoo Qatar Major Premier Padel will be broadcast live around the world in more than 180 territories on the likes of ESPN (South America, Central America, Mexico and Caribbean), Sky Sports (Italy, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland), beIN SPORTS(MENA, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey), Viaplay (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Netherlands), SuperSport (Sub-Saharan Africa), Canal+ (France & other global territories) and many more.