Sheikh Mansoor crowns winners of inaugural Dubai Premier Padel P1

Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, crowned the men’s and women’s champions of the inaugural Dubai Premier Padel P1 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on Sunday.

Sheikh Mansoor presented winners’ trophies to Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia and Bea Gonzalez and Delfina Brea Senesi as the men’s and women’s champions, respectively.

The awards ceremony took place on the iconic Centre Court at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, ending a thrilling week of action featuring the world’s top male and female players contesting a prize pool of Dhs1.89 million.

The emirate’s first Premier Padel P1 tournament, organised by Dubai-based Gallop Global, was a collaborative effort supported by the UAE Padel Association (UAEPA), the International Padel Federation (FIP), the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai Sports Council (DSC), and Premier Padel.

Coello and Tapia clinched the men’s trophy in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Federico Chingotto and Alejandro Galan after a thrilling final match in front of a passionate Dubai crowd of more than 5,000 spectators.

Having racked up 30 consecutive match wins on the way to Dubai victory, World No.1 Coello said: “We keep focusing on every challenge one by one and the wins keep tallying up. We are aware that every match is difficult, so we just try to keep focus on every match. It feels fantastic to win in Dubai — a special city and special tournament.”

Gonzalez and Brea Senesi reigned supreme in the women’s final with a straight sets 6-2, 6-3 victory. With Brea Senesi unable to attend the post-match press conference owing to sickness, partner Gonzalez admitted she was surprised with her consistently high-performance levels in Dubai after a recent period on the sidelines.

“It was unexpected to play at this level, especially so soon after returning from injury,” said Gonzalez.

“We thank Sheikh Mansoor for both his patronage and for his unwavering support of padel in Dubai,” said Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, UAEPA President.

“In addition to congratulating our champions, Arturo, Agustin, Bea and Delfina, for their historic and dramatic success at the debut of Premier Padel in Dubai, we hope this milestone event will serve as another springboard to encourage the next generation of homegrown champions to pick up the sport.”

Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, added: “In a city renowned for hosting major international sporting events, the Dubai Premier Padel P1 has established instant credentials as a truly world-class event in every metric. Bringing the world and region’s best male and female players to Dubai only serves as a catalyst for the prosperity of our society and the growth of the sport in the emirate – congratulations again to Premier Padel, our champions, the organisers, and to Dubai.”

Ivan Modia, Dubai Premier Padel P1 Tournament Director and CEO of Gallop Global, said: “We thank our patron Sheikh Mansoor and the UAE’s visionary leadership for their relentless work in championing the UAE’s sports sector. Gallop Global remains steadfast in our commitment to bring Premier Padel and other world-class events here for many years to come.

“Finally, I thank and commend our wonderful partners, UAEPA, DET, DSC, FIP and Premier Padel for their dedication and commitment to this inaugural Dubai Premier Padel P1 and the ongoing growth of the sport in the country,” he added.

Meanwhile, FIP on Monday announced the launch of an inaugural new inter-continental cup competition – the equivalent of tennis’ Laver Cup and golf’s Ryder Cup – which will take place biennially.