Players pose for a picture ahead of the exhibition match.
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
This week Premier Padel, the leading official professional padel tour worldwide, held a stunning exhibition match onboard the iconic Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft carrier — moored in the harbour of Genova — as part of the opening of the Genova Premier Padel P2 tournament.
The installation of a MejorSet “Full Panoramic” padel court – the first time ever on a ship of this magnitude – created an unforgettable and unique experience for all attendees, and guests were entertained to some exceptional skills from the world’s leading men’s and women’s padel players including Arturo Coello, Agustin Tapia, Federico Chingotto, Alejandro Arroyo, Ari Sánchez, Paula Josemaria, Claudia Fernández, and Gemma Triay.
The Giuseppe Garibaldi – a historic flagship vessel of the Italian Naval Squadron – has been in operational service for almost 40 years.
It has taken part in major international missions, including in Somalia, Kosovo, Lebanon and Libya and was most recently on an exercise in the Arctic Circle.
The ceremony also included several distinguished international and regional guests including: Capitano Marco Guerriero; Marco Bucci, Mayor of Genova; Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, Commander in Chief of the Naval Squadron. Also present at the ceremony were International Padel Federation (FIP) President, Luigi Carraro; FITP Liguria President, Andrea Fossati and Premier Padel CEO, David Sugden.
Premier Padel, chaired by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is embarking on an exciting new dawn on a global scale as a new unified global tour.
The Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour includes 25 tournaments in 17 countries culminating with the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Finals in Barcelona in December.
Following the conclusion of this week’s tournament in Genova, the tour will head to Malaga next week for its latest P1 tournament. Premier Padel has also announced several major partnerships in 2024 with global brands including Red Bull, Qatar Airways, Wilson, Bullpadel, Playtomic, MejorSet and Mondo which have been transformational for the official professional tour.
